How the Poona Golf Course swung the Shikalgar story

Every individual deserves a fair chance, no matter their past. What these young men needed was an opportunity. The rest they achieved with their own dignity and hard work, said Khan, who is associated with the golf course for over three decades

At the Poona Golf Course, a quiet change has been unfurling over the past two decades. Dozens of young men from the Shikalgar community—long burdened by the stigma linked to past criminal associations—now work as caddies at one of the city’s oldest sports institutions, thanks to Ikram Khan, advisor to the Poona Golf Course. The transition has offered them not only employment but also dignity, structure, and a path to reintegration with the society.

MPCB officials claim domestic untreated wastewater discharged into the river as the primary reason for pollution. (HT PHOTO)

Once pushed to the margins and denied opportunities, many Shikalgar families have witnessed a reversal of fortune/s after the golf course began inducting their youth as caddies. The move has opened a rare window into a diametrically different world where discipline, etiquette, and responsibility form the bones of daily work. Today, these caddies work shoulder-to-shoulder (and hobnob) with industrialists, retired officers, bureaucrats and other eminent members of the society. Their professional conduct has helped demolish long-held prejudices attached to their community.

“Every individual deserves a fair chance, no matter their past. What these young men needed was an opportunity. The rest they achieved with their own dignity and hard work,” said Khan, who is associated with the golf course for over three decades.

On the course’s manicured greens, the transformation is visible. The disciplined presence of Shikalgar caddies has reshaped public perception of a community once branded and ostracised. Their work ethic and respectful interactions have created a new image of the community—one that is rooted in reliability and ambition. Shikalgar families who spent years in the shadow of old perceptions are now being recognised for their hardworking youth.

Former Pune police commissioner K K Kashyap, who had first suggested that the golf course induct Shikalgar youth as caddies, said, “The initiative helped them break away from the labels imposed on them for generations, and rebuild confidence.”

So much so that the shift is now influencing the next generation of the community. Within Shikalgar settlements, younger children have started looking up to the caddies as role models—something that the community lacked for decades. “Seeing seniors in uniform, earning respect and stable income, has changed how our children think. School attendance has improved, and families are pursuing education much more seriously,” said Amol Bhada, a caddie from Yerawada who has been at the golf course for five years.

For many, the change is internal. “For years, the tag of ‘criminal community’ followed us everywhere. People judged us even before knowing our names,” said senior caddie Nirankar Singh Bhada. “But things changed once we began working at the golf course. Today, many of us earn ₹30,000 a month, sometimes more. The respect we now get is unbelievable. For the first time, we feel seen and hopeful about our future.”

There are currently about 100 Shikalgar caddies at the golf course, most of them earning between ₹30,000 and ₹35,000 per month, with some earning even higher based on experience.

Not just the Shikalgar community but the Poona Golf Course too has reaped the benefits of this shift. Members often acknowledge how the caddies’ discipline and dependability have enhanced the club’s reputation, making it a space where sport and social reform intersect. “This model has strengthened both the functioning of the course and its social relevance,” said Gaurav Gadhoke, president of The Poona Club Ltd., which manages the facility.

Going ahead, the club plans to broaden opportunities for the Shikalgar youth beyond traditional caddying. Some have started receiving basic training in golf, while others are exploring roles in groundskeeping, hospitality and sports management. The idea is to facilitate upward mobility and create long-term career pathways.