[1] He was an associate of Nana Patil during the Quit India movement and together they established Prati Sarkar, a parallel government, in Satara-Sangli region of Maharashtra and indulged in armed struggle against the British.
During this period, he got involved in the Quit India movement and joined Rashtra Seva Dal, a forum of freedom activists which gave him an opportunity to become an associate of Nana Patil.
[2] In 1943, along with Nana Patil, Kisanrao Ahir and a few others, he declared a parallel government, Prati Sarkar, which operated in around 150 villages in the western Maharashtra region which included Satara and Sangli.
[5] Shivaji University honored Naikwadi with the degree of DLitt (honoris causa) in 2008[2] and the Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan in 2009.
[11] He died on 22 March 2012, at the age of 89, succumbing to age-related illnesses at Lilavati Hospital in Bandra, Mumbai, survived by his wife, Kusum, two sons, Vaibhav and Kiran and two daughters, Vishakha and Pragati.