Nagpur-born Dutch mayor continues search for biological mother after 4 decades: 'Just want to tell her...'

Falgun Binnendijk said he holds no grievance towards his biological mother. (Image: X)

A Dutch mayor has returned to Nagpur to continue efforts to trace his biological mother more than four decades after he was abandoned as a newborn at a city shelter.

Falgun Binnendijk, currently the Mayor of Heemstede in the Netherlands, was left at Matru Sewa Sangh, a shelter for abandoned children and women, when he was three days old. Official records show he was born on February 10, 1985, to a 21-year-old unmarried woman. The child was placed at the shelter on February 13, 1985, and remained there for about a month before being legally adopted, according to a report in The Times of India. 

According to shelter records, Falgun was later adopted by a couple from the Netherlands and taken to Mumbai before leaving India. A nurse at the shelter named him ‘Falgun’, referencing the month of his birth in the Hindu calendar.

Falgun has said he was always aware that he was adopted. Speaking to The Times of India, he said the information was never concealed from him while growing up in the Netherlands.

His first visit to India took place in 2006, when he travelled across the country as a tourist. He later said that the experience prompted questions about his origins, particularly after people frequently assumed he was Indian and addressed him in Hindi.

In 2017, Falgun returned to Nagpur with the specific aim of locating his biological mother. At the time, Matru Sewa Sangh staff were able to provide limited details, including his date of birth and his mother’s name. However, further identifying information such as an address was unavailable, and the search did not progress.

After returning to the Netherlands, Falgun married, had four children and entered public life. He was eventually elected Mayor of Heemstede, located near Amsterdam. Despite these developments, he said the search for his birth mother remained unresolved.

In August 2024, Falgun again travelled to Nagpur to renew efforts to trace his origins. Local administrative officials, including municipal commissioner Abhijeet Chaudhari and district collector Vipin Itankar, assisted by facilitating access to available records. The search initially yielded no results.

A breakthrough came in December 2025, when district administration officials traced a retired nurse who had been working at Matru Sewa Sangh at the time Falgun was admitted as an infant. Falgun met the nurse during his visit and confirmed that she was the person who had named him at birth, The Times of India reported.

He said the nurse was able to recall details from the period, including the circumstances surrounding his admission to the shelter. The meeting was facilitated by senior district official Vinod Jadhav.

Falgun said he holds no grievance towards his biological mother. He stated that his intention is to meet her and inform her that he has lived a stable life. “I just want to tell her that I am fine and that everything turned out well,” he told the publication.

During his recent visit, Falgun was accompanied by his wife and four children. He has said that one of his daughters has been named after his biological mother. He plans to return to Nagpur again next year to continue the search.