Laxmibai Kelkar (English: Laxmibai Kelkar, born- 6 July, 1905, Nagpur, Maharashtra; died- 27 November, 1978) was a famous social reformer of India. He had founded an organization called ‘Rashtra Sevika Samiti’. Her original name was Kamal, but people used to respectfully call her ‘Aunty Ji’.
Lakshmibai Kelkar was born on 6 July 1905 in Nagpur, Maharashtra. At the young age of just fourteen, she was married to Advocate Purushottam Rao Kelkar, a widower from Wardha. Lakshmibai Kelkar was the mother of six sons.
Lakshmibai Kelkar fought fiercely against the conservative society. He kept Harijan servants in his house. With the inspiration of Mahatma Gandhi, he got a spinning wheel at home. Once when Mahatma Gandhi appealed for donations in a meeting, Lakshmibai donated her gold chain.
Laxmibai Kelkar’s husband died in 1932. Now the responsibility of her child widow sister-in-law along with her children also fell upon her. Laxmibai gave two rooms of the house on rent. This solved the economic problem to some extent. During these days his sons started visiting the Sangh branch. The change in her thoughts and behavior aroused Lakshmibai Kelkar’s attraction towards the Sangh and she met Dr. Hedgewar, the founder of the Sangh. In 1936, she started a new organization for women called ‘Rashtra Sevika Samiti’. During the next ten years of continuous travel, the work of the committee expanded to many provinces.
