Santokben Sarmanbhai Jadeja was an Indian gangster and politician from

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. She was known popularly known as Godmother. Her area of operations have been in and around Porbandar. Though now marginalized, she was once a key player in the criminal operations of Porbandar. Santokben was charged with 14 murders and had 500 cases against her gang members. She served as an Member of the Legislative Assembly from

Kutiyana Kutiyana (Devanagari: कुंतियाणा; Gujarati: કુતિયાણા) is a city and a municipality in Porbandar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is situated on the banks of Bhadar river. History Source:- The name o ...

from 1990 to 1995.

Early life

She was married to Sarman Munja Jadeja, a leader of Maher community, who was an ordinary mill worker at Maharana Mill, but became a gangster and don when he killed the local gangster Devu Vagher, who was hired by the mill owner to break the strike. Till 1986 Santokben was playing the role of a home maker and a mother. When under the influence of Pandurang Shastri of the

Swadhyay The Swadhyaya Movement or Swadhyaya Parivara started in mid 20th-century in the western states of India, particularly Maharashtra and Gujarat. Founded by Pandurang Shastri Athavale (1920-2003), the movement emphasizes self-study (''swadhyaya'') ...

movement her husband Sarman had bid farewell to arms and crime. But in December 1986, her husband was shot dead by Kala Keshav gang owing to old rivalry. This brought Santokben in to forefront, who decided to go back to old way of his spouse, to get even.Life of Godmother comes to an End
/ref> She hailed from

town in Porbandar district. She was an MLA from 1990 to 1995 as a candidate of

Janata Dal Janata Dal (“People’s Party”) was an Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal, Indian National Congress (Jagjivan), and the Jan Morcha united on 11 October 1988 on the birth annive ...

and was close to

Chimanbhai Patel Chimanbhai Patel (3 June 1929 – 17 February 1994) was an Indian politician associated with Indian National Congress and Janata Dal, and a former Chief Minister of Gujarat state in India representing both those parties at various times. Patel ...

Criminal activities

She was alleged to be behind the murder of 14 people, who she believed were responsible for her husband's murder. She was arrested for giving shelter to the people, who raped two girls. In 2007, she came into the news again with the killing of Navghan Arsi, the son of Arsi Jadeja, the brother-in-law of Santokben. She was in the news in 2008 when her daughter-in-law was shot dead by her son Karan Jadeja. Police records reveal that in the late 80s and early 90s, her gang had about 525 criminal cases lodged against it at its peak. It was reported that her gang comprised 100 men, mainly from the Mer community. She was booked in numerous murder cases. She was named in 2005 in the murder of Keshu Odedara, a councilor with Porbandar municipality. Her period of operation started during the 1980s and lasted for about a decade, until she was made to relocate to Rajkot.

Politics

She was elected on the

ticket from the Kutiyana constituency in the

Porbandar district Porbandar district is one of the 33 districts of Gujarat state in western India. The district covers an area of 2,316 km2. It had a population of 5.85,449 of which 48.77% were urban as of 2011 census This district was carved out of Junagadh ...

. She served as an MLA from 1990 to 1995. In December 2002, she filed her nomination to contest the election from the Kutiyana assembly seat but later withdrew in favor of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

candidate.

Death

She died of a heart attack in Porbandar,

on 31 March 2011.

In popular culture

She was the subject of a

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

film, '' Godmother'' (1999), where her role was played by

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of Hindi film, television and theatre. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several ge ...

, who later won the

National Film Award for Best Actress The National Film Award for Best Actress (officially known as the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Actress) is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to an actress for the best performance in a leading role wi ...

. She was not happy with how she was portrayed in the film.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jadeja, Santokben 1949 births People from Porbandar Gujarati people Gujarat MLAs 1990–1995 Indian politicians convicted of crimes 2011 deaths Women in Gujarat politics Crime in Gujarat Indian crime bosses Indian female gangsters Janata Dal politicians