Swargiya Laxmanrao Inamdar was born on 21st September, 1917 on the day of Rishipanchami. He had seven brothers, of whom he was third, and two sisters. He hailed from Satara Dist. of Maharashtra and he was a practicing lawyer by profession. He visualized a value based and ethical Co-operative movement for rapid, sustainable & equitable growth of the Country. He was the chief motivational force in the formation of Sahakar Bharati in 1978.
Lakshmanrao Inamdar, popularly known as Vakil Saheb, was one of the early Pracharaks of RSS in Gujarat. He is credited with inducting Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Bal Swayamsevak in RSS. Vakil Saheb is credited with shaping Narendra Modi’s career and shared a special bond. Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of a 2013 biography of Modi says, “I haven’t seen this kind of reverence in Modi for anyone, living or dead.”
He passed away at the age of 67 in Pune, Maharashtra. During the last 5 years of his life he extensively traveled all over the country to acquaint himself with the co-operative movement in different parts and sowed the seeds of Sahakar Bharati which has now grown into an all India organization operating in all States and with a network of Cooperators & Cooperatives in over 400 Districts. Presently, more than 20,000 Cooperative institutions are linked to Sahakar Bharati.