“To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge”—Socrates.

And it won’t be wrong to say that Shrikant Jichkar knew the extent of his ignorance. The Marathi man, who died in a car accident in 2004, has the distinction of being “the most qualified person” in India according to Limca Book of Records.

He was born into a Marathi family based in Aajangaon near Nagpur. A scholar with interests in myriad subjects, he began as a doctor (MBBS and MD) and went on to complete 20 post-graduate university degrees with gold medals in most of them.

Here is a list of his merits that will make you go green with envy and develop utmost respect for this man who attained the feat at a young age:

He had an MBBS and MD, LLB and post-graduation in International Law, Masters in Business Administration (DBM and MBA) and in Journalism (B.Journ).

He did his Masters in Public administration, Sociology, Economics, Sanskrit, History, English Literature, Philosophy, Political Science, Ancient Indian History, Culture & Archaeology, and Psychology. He got his D. Litt in Sanskrit.

But how did he deal with the plethora of exams?

He used to appear for the exams in every summer and winter. Between 1973 and 1990, he wrote as many as 42 University exams. In 1978, when he was just 24, he wrote the IPS (Indian Police Service) examination, got through and resigned. Two years later he got into the coveted IAS and resigned four months later to contest his maiden general election.

Political stint

At 25, he became the youngest MLA in the country and rose to become a minister handling 14 portfolios at one go. He was a member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (1982-85), Maharashtra Legislative Council (1986-92) and joined as a Minister of State, Government of Maharashtra. He was also elected as a member of Rajya Sabha (1992-98).

A bookworm

His personal library boasting of 52,000 books is one of the biggest in this category in India.

Artistic streak

An academic career couldn’t confine the polymath. He was an accomplished painter, actor and photographer too.

This man’s life is no less educative than a massive tome.

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