Bhagwandas Raikwar
A Sagar ustad who spent over 60 years reviving Bundeli akhara martial arts and trained thousands of young people, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2026.
Bhagwandas Raikwar spent more than sixty years keeping alive the fighting arts of Bundelkhand. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2026 in the field of sports, from Madhya Pradesh [1], and died in April 2026, before the award was presented [2].
The akhara
Raikwar was born on 2 January 1944 into a poor family in Sagar district [2]. He gave up a bank job to devote himself to martial arts [2]. At a time when young people were drifting away from these traditions, he worked to revive the Bundeli akhara system, which was slowly dying out in the region [2].
He founded and trained at the Chhatrasal Bundela Akhara [2]. As its ustad, he taught thousands of young people to use the lathi, sword, spear, trishul and shield [2]. Through workshops for theatre, cultural and social groups he trained about 3,000 girls and 4,000 boys, and branches of his akhara run in several villages around Sagar [2]. Theatre schools such as the Bharatendu Natya Academy in Lucknow invited him to train their students [2].
On stage
He demonstrated Bundeli martial arts across India, from Delhi and Mumbai to Guwahati and Shillong, at the Kumbh, the International Trade Fair in New Delhi in 1988 and the Vikram Mahotsav in Ujjain in 2025 [2]. He also took the art abroad, including to Russia and Singapore [2].
Raikwar died on 18 April 2026 [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2026: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2026 investiture ceremony brochure: citation for Bhagwandas Raikwar — Press Information Bureau, Government of India. Accessed 12 October 2026.
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