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ODISHA REVIEW

E-mail : [email protected] : http://odisha.gov.inContact : 9937057528(M)

VOL. LXXVI NO.1 AUGUST - 2019

SANJAY KUMAR SINGH, I.A.S.

Commissioner-cum-Secretary

KRUPASINDHU MISHRA, O.A.S (SAG)

Director

DR. LENIN MOHANTYEditor

The Odisha Review aims at disseminating knowledge and information concerning Odisha’ssocio-economic development, art and culture. Views, records, statistics and informationpublished in the Odisha Review are not necessarily those of the Government of Odisha.

Published by Information & Public Relations Department, Government of Odisha,Bhubaneswar - 751001 and Printed at Odisha Government Press, Cuttack - 753010.

For subscription and trade inquiry, please contact : Manager, Publications, Information& Public Relations Department, Loksampark Bhawan, Bhubaneswar - 751001.

Rs.5/- Five Rupees / Copy

Editorial AssistanceBibhu Chandra Mishra

Bikram Maharana

Production AssistanceDebasis PattnaikSadhana Mishra

Cover Design & IllustrationManas Ranjan Nayak

D.T.P. & DesignHemanta Kumar Sahoo

PhotoKishor Kumar Sinha

Raju SinghManoranjan Mohanty

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CONTENTS

Address of Hon'ble Governor of OdishaProf. Ganeshi Lal to the Odisha LegislativeAssembly ... ... 1

History of Odisha Needs to be Rewritten Sudhansu Sekhar Rath ... 7

Quit India Movement in Cuttack :Role of Surendra Nath Dwivedy Dr. Jugal Kishore Hota ... 11

Social Movements and Social Change in India : Sanghamitra Jena ... 15A Conceptual Framework Nupur Pattanaik

Shasibhusan Rath :A Freedom Fighter-cum-Journalist Dr. Prafulla Chandra Mohanty... 20

Mahatma Gandhi's Views on Education Prof. R.K. Nanda ... 24

Swadeshi Movement in Odisha Balabhadra Ghadai ... 29

Jayee Rajguru : A Great Martyr Dr. Sudarsan Pradhan ... 33

'The Quit India Resolution' and AugustRevolution in Odisha Dr. Janmejay Choudhury ... 37

Surendra Sai Dr. Bhubaneswar Pradhan ... 41

Buxi Jagabandhu : The Gallant Fighter Er. Raghunath Patra ... 42

Jayamangal Rath : A Reformer Kanhu Balakrishna Bihary ... 43

Konark : The Quintessence of Art Prabhudutt Dash ... 45

Tsunami Sangram Keshari Kar ... 46

Shree Gundicha Yatra of Lord Shree Jagannath Susanta Kumar Dash ... 47Dr. Bhaskar Mishra

Padmashree Satya Narayan Rajguru :The Poet and the Historian Dr. Jayanti Rath ... 54

Rama Devi :The First Woman Freedom Fighter of Odisha Manas Chandra Behera ... 57

Role of Gandhiji in the Freedom Movement Rabindra Kumar Behuria ... 62

Lauliki : A Shatkarma of Gheranda Samhita Santamati Dash ... 70

AUGUST - 2019

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National Flag

The national flag is a horizontal tricolour ofdeep saffron (kesari) at the top, white in themiddle and dark green at the bottom in equalproportion. The ratio of width of the flag to itslength is two to three. In the centre of the whiteband is a navy blue charkha or the wheel whichappears on the abacus of the Sarnath LionCapital of Ashoka. Its diameter approximatesto the width of the white band and it has 24spokes. The design of the national flag wasadopted by the Constituent Assembly of Indiaon July22, 1947. Its use and display are regulatedby the Indian Flag Code.

iv

National Song

Vande Mataram !

Sujalam, suphalam, malayaja shitalam,

Shasyashyamalam, Mataram !

Shubhrajyotsna pulakitayaminim,

Phullakusumita drumadala shobhinim,

Suhasinim sumadhura bhashinim,

Sukhadam varadam, Mataram !

The song, Vande Mataram, composed in Sanskrit by

Bankimchandra Chatterji, was a source of inspiration to the

people in their struggle for freedom. It has an equal status

with Jana-gana-mana. The first political occasion when it was

sung was the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress.

v

Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he,

Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.

Punjab-Sindhu-Gujarat-Maratha,

Dravida-Utkala-Banga,

Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga.

Tava shubha name jage, Tava shubha asisa mage,

Gahe tava jaya gatha,

Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.

Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he, Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he!

The playing time of the full version of the National Anthem is approximately52 seconds. A short version consisting of first and last lines of the stanza(playing time approximately 20 seconds) is also played on certain occasions.

The song, Jana-gana-mana, composed originally in Bengali byRabindranath Tagore, was adopted in its Hindi version by the ConstituentAssembly as the National Anthem of India on January 24, 1950. It was firstsung on December 27, 1911 at the Calcutta Session of the Indian NationalCongress. The complete song consists of five stanzas.

National Anthem

vi

'FATHER OF THE NATION' MAHATMA GANDHI

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MARTYRS OF ODISHA

Jayee Rajguru(1739-1805)

Veer Surendra Sai(23.01.1809 - 28.02.1884)

Birsa Munda(Died in Ranchi jail in June 1900)

Baji Rout(Shot dead on 11.10.1938)

viii

MARTYRS OF ODISHA

Raghunath Mohanty(18.07.1910 - 04.04.1941 hanged)

Dibakara Parida(30.11.1911 - 04.04.1941 hanged)

Laxman Naik(22.11.1899-29.03.1943 hanged)

ix

I extend my heartiest greetings and good wishes to all of you on the 73rd

Independence Day of our Country. This historic freedom attained through the path of

‘Ahimsa’ reminds us of the great sacrifice and invaluable contribution of the Father of our

Nation Mahatma Gandhiji and the great Nationalist leaders of our Freedom Movement.

Let us pay our respectful homage to the great patriots and revolutionaries of

our country and our state, those who sacrificed themselves for achieving this historic feat

on this day in 1947 and our valiant martyrs and brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives for

the peace and security of our country. Our freedom was the result of their selfless sacrifice.

Role of Odisha and its people in the Nation’s Freedom Struggle is an unforgettable chapter

in the annals of human history. Odisha was in the forefront of India’s struggle for

Independence pursuing the path of “peace and non-violence”. 40 years before the revolt of

1857, Odisha revolted for freedom with its brave sons, the ‘Paikas’ under the leadership

of Buxi Jagabandhu of Khordha in a fierce battle with the British known widely as the

“Paika Bidroha”. The “Paika Bidroha” of 1817 in Odisha is being termed as India’s first

organised armed rebellion against the British rule by many scholars, researchers and historians.

Anti-colonial uprisings also took place in several parts of the State that are a testimony to

the nationalistic fervour and altruistic spirit of the people of Odisha.

Odisha today is a bright example of stability with growth. With more than 4.5 crore

people at the core of all its initiatives, the State is committed to transform itself with its

Message ofProf. Ganeshi Lal,

Hon'ble Governor of Odisha,on the occasion of the

Independence Day -2019

x

pro-people and pro-poor approach. The 5 ‘T’s approach of governance i.e Teamwork,

Transparency, Technology, Transformation & Time for effective and timely delivery of services

to the people has now gained real momentum and is poised to fast transform the State and its

people.

An era of open accountability and responsive governance has now been ushered in

Odisha. Our pro-people schemes, zero tolerance to corruption, a good number of welfare

and empowerment programmes for women and the girl child, old and aged, disadvantaged

and the differently-abled, farmers, youth, workers, artisans, etc. have been benchmarked

and emulated by States all over the Country. The State treats women as equal partners in

the process of development and now is a model for women empowerment and social security.

Odisha is among the top States of the country in investment on irrigation and water resource.

Odisha’s industry friendly policy framework followed by a robust ease of doing business

mechanism is fast transforming Odisha into a prime destination for live investments.

Odisha has always demonstrated that there is vast scope for large scale employment

and value addition, massive industrialization and creation of world class infrastructure, MSME

clusters and Start-up hubs in areas of health, rural housing, transport and numerous other

sectors. The State is fostering Start-ups to boost entrepreneurship ecosystem. Odisha has

been lauded for its robust Disaster preparedness and management model, and granting of

land Rights to the urban poor. In the meanwhile, Odisha has emerged as a prime sports

destination with aggressive promotion of sporting activities in the youth, world-class

infrastructure and forward looking policies.

With the sincere and co-ordinated efforts of the people of Odisha, we can effectively

combat and overcome any crisis and give them their rightful place in the society. Let us join

hands and work together for strengthening and safeguarding the dignity of our State, its

people and the country as a whole.

Jai Hind.

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On the occasion of the Independence Day, I convey my best wishes to all.

On this occasion, I pay my sincere tributes to the great freedom fighters like Father

of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, Netajee Subhas Chandra Bose, Sardar

Patel, Maulana Azad, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Utkalmani Pandit

Gopabandhu Das, Utkal Gourab Madhusudan Das, Nabakrushna Choudhury, Gopabandhu

Choudhury, Saheed Laxman Nayak, Veer Surendra Sai, Maa Rama Devi, Malati Choudhury,

Dr. Harekrushna Mahtab, Biju Patnaik and Parbati Giri.

I also pay my homage to our martyr Jawans who have sacrificed their lives for the

sake of the country's peace and security.

This year the whole world is celebrating the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma

Gandhi. Gandhian Principles and ideals have become more relevant today. I have been

consistently demanding for inclusion of 'Non-violence' in the preamble of our Constitution.

I would like to reiterate it again. This will further glorify our democracy in the whole world.

The real freedom comes with inclusive growth in the society. From Malkangiri to

Mayurbhanj and Kalahandi to Kendrapara, today all classes of people are a part of our

development paradigm. Efforts are on by the State Government to fulfill the aspirations of

the four and half crores of people of our State. Odisha has created a special identity

Message ofShri Naveen Patnaik,

Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odishaon the occasion of

Independence Day- 2019

xii

throughout the country in various spheres of development and the Odia race is marching

ahead with self-confidence.

The common man is at the focal point of all our programmes. We are focussing on

5'Ts' mantra to fulfill the claims of the general public. 5'Ts' mantra will be fruitful in providing

better services to the people by making the administration more accountable and responsive.

Freedom is not only a right, it is also a responsibility. The responsibility of nation-

building and that of building a healthy society as well. The empowerment of the poorest of

the poor in the society is Independence. Independence is the empowerment of women,

the empowerment of the youths, the empowerment of farmers and the empowerment of

workers. An empowered society alone can build a strong Nation.

Let us continue our concerted efforts for building a prosperous Odisha and

empowered India.

Jay Hind.

xiii

I convey my best wishes and warm greetings to the brothers and sisters of Odisha

on the auspicious occasion of the 73rd Independence Day.

15th August is a day of pride, glory and immense pleasure for every Indian. On this

day, our Country became Independent which was under the British rule since long. The

Indian Independence bears the glorified stories of our freedom struggle, heroic deeds, and

sacrifices. With the clarion call of the Father of the Nation “Mahatma” Gandhi, people from

every nook and corner of our Country joined hands together against the British colonialism.

Our Freedom struggle led by Gandhiji is unique, in the annals of history as it based on the

principles of ‘Ahimsa and Satyagraha’. The Nation is grateful to it’s great Leaders like Lala

Lajpat Rai, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Ballav Bhai

Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Saheed Bhagat Singh, Khudiram Bose, Prafulla Chaki,

Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan, Aruna Asaf Ali and scores of Patriots who have shown

indomitable courage for the cause of the Nation. I pay my deep tribute to them on this

auspicious occasion.

As we celebrate the Independence Day, let us recall the invaluable sacrifices and

the firm determination of the eminent personalities of our soil like Jayee Rajguru, Buxi

Jagabandhu, Veer Surendra Sai, Birsa Munda, Laxman Naik, Baji Rout, Utkalgourab

Message ofShri Raghunandan Das,

Hon’ble Minister, Water Resources,Information & Public Relations

on the occasion ofIndependence Day- 2019

xiv

Madhusudan Das, Utkalmani Pandit Gopabandhu Das, Maa Ramadevi, Dr. Harekrushna

Mahtab, Legendary Biju Patnaik and many other Leaders of our State who also

contributed immensely for this noble cause.

After independence, our State also remarkably progressed with the pace of our

Country. The State Government is implementing 5 ‘T’ under our beloved Chief Minister

Shri Naveen Patnaik’s behest, i.e Team Work, Transparency, Technology, Transformation

and Time which have become the dimensions and core of good Governance Model

which aims for the timely delivery of citizen-centric services.

Formation of a healthy society based on justice and equality was the main

objective of our Freedom. Peace and progress is considered as the prime path to achieve

this goal.

Let us come together irrespective of caste, creed, colour and religion to celebrate

unitedly this National Festival by paying respectful homage to the martyrs and to those

who have dedicated their lives for our Motherland.

Let us work with profound promise to build a prosperous and developed Nation

in order to enhance its identity more vigorously.

Let the Independence Day be a celebration of tribute and commitment.

Jai Hind.

xv

Editor’s Note

SUSHMA SWARAJ

A peoples' Minister in truest sense. She was really an icon formillions of people of our country and beyond to be inspired.

Editor, Odisha Review

1AUGUST - 2019

Odisha Review ISSN 0970-8669

Address of Hon'ble Governor of OdishaProf. Ganeshi Lal

To the Odisha Legislative Assembly

Hon’ble Speaker & Members,

I heartily welcome all of you to this inaugural session of sixteenth Odisha Legislative Assembly.At the outset, let me congratulate all of you for your spectacular victory during the last elections. Let mealso take this opportunity to immensely thank the people of Odisha who ensured a free, fair and peacefulelection and gave their clear and decisive mandate. I would now seek the wholehearted cooperation ofall Hon’ble Members while I look forward to a fruitful session of the Sixteenth Assembly.

2. This August House has expressed its deep condolences on the sad demise of Late Ladu KishoreSwain, sitting Member of Lok Sabha and ex-member of OLA, Late Harihar Karan, former Minister,Late Priyanath Dey, former Member, who had made significant contributions to the development of theState. I request Hon’ble Members to join me in paying tribute to Late Bed Prakash Agrwalla, LateGangadhar Pradhan, former Ministers of this House, Late Dutikrushna Panda, Late Chandrasena Naik,Late Parikhita Karna, all former Members of this House and Late Prasanna Kumar Sahoo, Ex-HeadConstable, CRPF, Late Manoj Kumar Behera, Ex-Constable, CRPF and Late Ajit Kumar Sahoo,Ex-Naik, Rashtriya Rifles who are no more with us. The House may convey our heartfelt condolencesto the bereaved families of the departed souls.

3. Odisha faced Extremely Severe Cyclone ‘FANI’ on 3rd of May this year. It was one of therarest of rare summer cyclones, and in fact the first one in 43 years to hit Odisha and one of the onlythree to hit in the last 150 years. It caused havoc in Puri and Khurda districts and left marks of extensivedamage to life and property of more than 1.65 crore people in 12 districts it passed through.

4. I take pride in saying that my Government was fully prepared to face all possible eventualitiesin the face of this disaster. It undertook one of the biggest human evacuations in history with a record1.4 million people being shifted in just 24 hours preceding the landfall. The fellow feeling and compassionfor the affected people at the hour of their need that flowed from every nook and corner has been veryremarkable. I express my heartfelt gratitude to the people of Odisha who have shown great courageand strength in the face of a calamity of national magnitude. I also express my deep sense of appreciationfor the human resource and the services extended by various State Governments, national and internationalorganizations. Let me express in unequivocal terms that this care and concern from all around the globewill further strengthen Odisha and raise its spirits to newer heights.

2 AUGUST - 2019

Odisha ReviewISSN 0970-8669

5. In 2000, my Government took up the challenge to radically transform Odisha. Since then, it hasbeen a memorable journey with the full support and co-operation of our people that has made myGovernment more committed in its purpose and more devoted in its service to them. They have firmlystood by my Government during success and setbacks that has given it more strength, vigor andmotivation to stay focused on its goal of transforming Odisha into an inclusive State to realize dreams,fulfill ambitions and contribute meaningfully towards the prosperity of its fellow citizens.

6. The people of Odisha have once again reposed their faith in my Government for the 5th

consecutive term. With due deference to the people of Odisha for their unprecedented support, myGovernment would like to assure everyone that the faith they have in its abilities to deliver a clean,transparent and pro-people governance will never be belied.

7. The recent success has immensely encouraged my Government to sustain its efforts to achievehigher growth and to expand its vision of inclusive development. As my Government was determined tokeep its promises made to the people of Odisha, it called the first meeting of the Council of Ministersimmediately after the swearing-in- ceremony and resolved to implement the Manifesto promises as thepriorities of the Government in a time bound manner.

8. My Government is peoples’ Government. More than four and a half crore people of our Stateare at the forefront of all its initiatives. Consultative governance is at the core of its growth trajectory.My Government will abide by the suggestions received from the people and work ceaselessly to providetotally citizen centric governance.

9. Creating and developing key and basic infrastructure including communication facilities, provisionof drinking water, electricity, boosting agriculture with irrigation facilities, improving health and educationwill continue to be the priorities of my Government.

10. We are primarily an agrarian State and agriculture continues to be the backbone of our economicgrowth and prosperity. It provides living to a vast majority of our population.

11. Sustainable input management is the key to agricultural productivity. Working in this direction,my Government envisions that all farmers and landless agricultural labourers will be covered underKALIA scheme. This scheme will be continued as promised. My Government will provide interest freecrop loans to small and marginal farmers up to Rupees one lakh. My Government will continue with thepace of irrigation development in the State with an investment of Rs. 50,000 crore in addition tocommitment on the existing projects. My Government will lay emphasis on agriculture developmentand farmers’ welfare as a major strategy for bringing poverty below 5% over the next 5 years.

12. Empowerment of women has been the key to our progress. To take women empowerment tothe next level, my Government will ensure that Women SHGs under Mission Shakti will get Governmentbusiness worth Rs.5,000 crore. The Women SHGs will be provided loans at 0% rate of interest uptoRs.5 lakh.

13. My Government proposes to create MISSION SHAKTI as a separate Department and form aState level federation supported by federations from Gram Panchayat, Block to the District. Mission

3AUGUST - 2019


Shakti buildings shall be constructed by my Government in each Gram Panchayat and Districtheadquarters. Self Help Groups’ functioning will be scaled up and taken to the next level.

14. Our women will now get Rs.10 lakh for their treatment instead of Rs. 7 lakh under Biju SwasthyaKalyan Yojana. Every widow and destitute women will be covered by my Government under socialsecurity pension. Interest subvention will also be provided by my Government for women entrepreneurs.

15. My Government will pursue the cause of one third reservation for women in the Parliament andState Legislative Assemblies to its logical end.

16. My Government will ensure opening of Odisha Adarsha Vidyalayas in the remaining 124 blocksof the State. Education enables, empowers and creates opportunities for sustained self-development.The focus of my Government is on qualitative aspect with emphasis on creating ample opportunities forthe poor and meritorious students. My Government will provide education loans to students at 0% rateof interest. All technical institutes, colleges and universities will be enabled with free wi-fi services andIT labs will be set in High Schools. My Government will set up a Scholarship Council which willfacilitate scholarships both on merit and socio-economic criteria.

17. My Government would like to carry forward the benefits accrued from 1st and 2nd editions of‘Make in Odisha’ campaign in terms of investment and employability to the youth of Odisha. MyGovernment will endeavour to create 30 lakh employment opportunities in 6 focus sectors. 75% ofjobs will be reserved for qualified local youth by my Government in all upcoming industries in Odisha.The World Skill Centre will produce 1.5 lakh high skilled professionals, who will have global employablepotential. “Skilled in Odisha” will be made a global brand by my Government and 15 lakh youth will beskilled in the next 5 years.

18. My Government will constantly endeavour to reduce the regional disparities and increase thepace of development to achieve this objective. In all predominantly minority dominated areas worldclass community centres will be provided by my Government in identified clusters. A Micro and SmallEnterprisers Welfare Board will be formed by my Government to work for the sustenance and growth,of those in Micro and Small Enterprise sector. A Welfare Board will also be formed by my Governmentfor those engaged in traditional livelihood earning means like priests, barbers, washermen etc.

19. My Government is striving very hard to create World class sports facilities in Bhubaneswar andwould sincerely attempt to make Odisha as the face of sports in India. World-class training andcoaching facilities in Odisha will be created by my Government through High Performance Centres.Promotion of sports among tribals will be the priority of my Government. Astro Turfs will be laid in all17 blocks of Sundargarh District to prepare world class players from the cradle of hockey.

20. Composite Modern Urban Hostels will be provided by my Government in 114 locations of theState to facilitate higher and job oriented study facilities for all category of students. Skill UpgradationIncentive will be provided to the ST, SC, Backward Classes and Minorities Youth which will be followedby the provision of seed money and soft loan for their gainful self-employment.

4 AUGUST - 2019


21. Covering all uncovered, deserving workers under the Odisha Building and other ConstructionWorkers Welfare Board and extending benefits under different welfare programmes will be one of thepriorities of my Government. Registration of migrant construction workers, both in source and destinationStates, will be taken up on a regular basis. My Government will make sincere efforts to register allworkers in the unorganized sector as beneficiaries under the Odisha Unorganized Workers’ SocialSecurity Board in phases within five years and cover them under different social security initiatives.

22. Conversion of the left out KUTCHA houses into PUCCA houses will continue to be a priorityof my Government. Handing over land rights under JAGA Mission to the slum dwellers residing inurban areas of the State will be among the priorities of my Government.

23. My Government is committed to continue one Rupee per kg Rice Scheme along with openingof new ‘Aahar’ centres at more locations and extension of night ‘Aahar’ facility to the existing centersin a phased manner. Dynamic inclusion of poor, distressed and eligible persons under the State FoodSecurity Scheme in proportion to increase in the State’s population will be ensured by my Government.

24. Completion of work in the 5 ongoing new Government Medical Colleges within the next 3years, filling up of all existing posts and creation of new posts will be among the priorities of myGovernment. My Government will work sincerely towards making adequate number of doctors,paramedics and other technical manpower available.

25. My Government proposes to bring out a new Industrial Policy in line with the perspective planwith emphasis on creation of job opportunities. Best-in-class Industrial Parks will be established foreach of the focus sectors. Industrial corridors will be created for setting up small and medium enterprisesacross the State. For extension of credit at concessional rate to the eligible MSMEs, a suitable ‘InterestSubvention Scheme’ shall be introduced by my Government.

26. Full coverage of drainage, water and sanitation facilities in all Municipal Corporations, MunicipalCouncils and NACs will be ensured by my Government. ‘Odisha Smart Cities Mission’ will attempt todevelop 5 Municipal Corporation cities as Smart Cities.

27. Biju Express Way will connect North to South, East to West of Odisha. My Government willattempt to connect the heritage Silver city of Cuttack with Smart City of Bhubaneswar by metro railway.Puri will be made a world heritage city. All places of tourism importance will be linked and way-sideamenities will be provided on all major roads. District Tourism Councils will be formed in all thedistricts by my Government.

28. With Odia Language declared as the 6th classical language of the country and an Odia Universitybeing established at Satyabadi, the focus of my Government will continue to be on the promotion ofOdia language and literature, promotion of Odia culture and preservation and propagation of its danceforms, art, sculpture and its heritage.

29. People want pace in the governance model and the youth of today are in a hurry to achievethings in time. All of us here know very well that some of the promises take time, but my Governmentwill strive very hard and leave no stone unturned to give its best to fulfill the promises it made to the

5AUGUST - 2019


people of Odisha in a time bound manner. It is in this context that along with 3Ts of Teamwork,Transparency, Technology, leading to Transformation, my Government has now added the fifth dimensionof ‘Time’.

30. I would urge upon all of you to focus on our journey of transformation towards a new Odisha,an empowered Odisha where poverty will be a thing of the past, where women will be equal partnersin growth and development, where growth will be inclusive of all vulnerable sections in its landscape ofdevelopment and where the dreams of the youth will come true. We now need to make the world knowthat Odisha’s time has come, and for all of us the time starts now.

I now leave you to further deliberations and wish you all success.

JAI HIND.

6 AUGUST - 2019


7AUGUST - 2019


History of Odisha Needs to be Rewritten

Sudhansu Sekhar Rath

Do we have to rewrite the history of Odisha? Ifyou ask me I would say “Yes.” At least we shouldget it verified by using modern scientific andtechnical methods so that it is accepted by all, bythe experts on the subject as well as by thecommon man without leaving any chances for asecond guess. Leave the experts aside, thecontemporary common man has become sotechnology savvy and knowledgeable about whatscience, engineering and technology could achieveor could be made to achieve today that he or sheis not prepared to accept anything but the resultto be right on the dot, be it in the affirmative orthe negative and nothing in between. It is theresponsibility of the historians and thearchaeologists to take the lead and move in thisdirection and devise tools and methods thosecould be integrated into the education and culturalsystems at the society, family and individual levelsfor the truthful revelation of our history in detailso that it gets its proper place in the history ofIndia and the world.

India did not have a chronologicallyrecorded formal history of its own till the Britishcame to rule the Country. Whatever history aboutIndia existed then, existed indirectly in epics andscriptures, inscriptions on copper plates andstones, travel stories of the visitors from abroad,on the walls of the temples, monuments and caves,

and of course, on the tongue of people as legends,folktales and folklores. The Europeans, whovisited India as merchants and finally ended up asits rulers, started to document its land, sea, rivers,flora, fauna, weather, culture, people, tradition,literature, epics, art, architecture, sculpture,religions, industries, education system,manufacture, trade, commerce, past rulers, strongpoints and weaknesses of the natives, the traveldiaries of the foreign visitors and about all thatthey could think of. They did it for their ownbenefit; to know the people and the land so wellthat they could rule its inhabitants without facingany problem and plan their future strategies basingon their knowledge acquired from analysis ofthese documents. From their investigationemerged the statistical accounts, gazetteers,journals, geographical surveys, maps and othervital documents, and most importantly the formalhistory of India and its different regions, of course,written from their point of view. However, theywere not always right because of their lack ofcomplete knowledge about the varied Indianculture, traditions and languages, and again attimes, due to their wrong perceptions and hastyconclusions. Another reason for wronginterpretation of our history by the Europeans andthe Europeanised Indians is their heavydependence on the travel diaries of the foreignvisitors. Some tourists visited the country and

8 AUGUST - 2019


returned to their motherland with their experienceand knowledge and let their people know aboutit in detail. Most of the trips of these differentclasses of visitors were sponsored by the kingsand the emperors or the rich and the influentialpeople of their respective homeland. Since theirtrips were sponsored, while writing the storiesabout their travel in India or some of its regionslike Odisha, they have always tried to glorify theirown country and their sponsors. We observe thisphenomenon more in case of the writers who hadan interest in or were directly or indirectly relatedto the contemporary ruling dynasty of thiskingdom. Through their writings they usuallydegraded the native rulers and the people andglorified the rulers and the people of their mastersmore just to make them larger than life. RabindraNath Tagore at page 2 of his article ‘History ofBharatavarsha’ states “It appears as if we arenobody in India; and those who came from outsidealone matter.” This phenomenon was prevalentduring the colonial period and continued to causedamage even in the post-colonial era as thetextbooks of history were derived from the historybooks of these foreign writers. To this effectRabindra Nath Tagore further states, “But our realties as with the Bharatavarsha that lies outsidethe textbooks.” Odisha and the Odia race arethe worst sufferers in this regard. During the lasthundred years many successful attempts by theindividual historians and archaeologists have beenmade to bring the real history of Odisha to lightthough some of their conclusions based ontraditional methods, like circumstantial andepigraphic evidences, corroboration, andcomparison of contemporary events, are still beingquestioned today.

History being highly subjective in natureits interpretation depends on the imagination,assumptions and analysis made by the interpreter

and hence varies from scholar to scholargenerating many different and even sometimesopposing statements. At times scholars researchingon the subject stretch their imagination far andwide and occasionally too far and too wide thatleads to many assumptions made by them includingsome wrong ones. The layman interested to knowabout the history gets confused by these opposingand wrong statements of the scholars and finallyloses interest in the subject. It happens with thehistory of India in general and the history of Odishain particular or for that matter with the history ofany region.

Aristotle says, “History is an account ofthe unchanging past.” How can we go back intime and change what has happened already? Ifwe do that it would not be history; it would befiction. So let our history not change in future.This can be achieved by taking the help of modernscientific methods existing today and devising newones if required for certain purposes along withthe usual traditional methods of applyingepigraphic evidences and corroboration, etc. Thestudy of history no longer remains confined to therealm of the humanities; it now has spread itswings into the spheres of science and technology.Many modern techniques like 3-D remotesensing, satellite imagery and GIS technology, highresolution aerial photography, RADARtechnology, seismic technology, carbon dating formetals used and fossils trapped between stoneblocks of temples and monuments, spectrumanalysis and many more are now being used toconfirm the inferences drawn by the scholars ofhistory and archaeology. With the science andtechnology advancing at a rapid rate I expect moreand more new tools and methods for this purposeare also going to be introduced in future. Hence,not only the historians or the archaeologists alonebut also the scholars of all other fields like,

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engineering, architecture, computer graphics,virtual reality, artificial intelligence, metallurgy,science, sculpture, art, performing art,environment, geography, geology, anthropology,management, administration and literature shouldget involved in the process of bringing out the realhistory of Odisha to light. The amalgamation ofexpert knowledge and skill of the scholars ofdifferent fields, use of modern scientific equipmentand procedures, collection, assimilation andanalysis of data and their coordination andinterpretation without any prejudice will bring outa fuller picture of our past in such a manner that itbecomes indisputable and easily comprehendedeven by the layman. The experts in computergraphics and virtual reality could work to covertthe compiled data for reconstruction of our historyand historical monuments in 3-D walk-throughaudio-visual format. Such facilities are requiredto be installed at the apex universities and researchcentres. It may be an expensive process and takeyears to complete but, I think, it has to be done.

A good starting point for studying ourhistory scientifically would be to study theindividual historical and archaeological sites andsurroundings, even of those in ruins, as our historybasically revolves around our forts, castles,temples and monuments. It is not to be done byany single scholar, rather by a large team ofprofessionals of various fields as stated above.The research of a team may be focused on asingle or a specific group of temples ormonuments. For this, apart from collecting datafrom the site and using scientific methods, all othersources like the writings of recent and medievalhistorians, the epics, scriptures, inscriptions onstone blocks, temples, monuments, copper plates,coins, excavated material and even the legends,folklores and folktales are to be studied seriouslyand the relevant information retrieved. Some

scholars totally discard the epics, legends, folktalesand folklores considering them as fictitious havingno historical value. However we know, the sciencefiction today could be a reality tomorrow andsimilarly the legends today could have been areality in the past. Though this statement may notbe true by one hundred per cent, I feel, everystory has a core of truth and rather than discardingit completely the component of truth or the coreof the story needs to be recognized and extractedfrom it. In the British period the Europeans termedour education system, culture and tradition andour industry as inferior to their correspondingsystems and inflicted such thinking into our mindsresulting in breakdown of all our traditionalsystems throwing the entire nation into confusionand uncertainty. They classified all our epics asmythology considering them as fictitious havingno historical value. Our people started to loseinterest in them and finally they were all removedfrom our so called modern lifestyle. However,some of the statements made in our epics haverecently been proved to be true using moderntechnology. For example, using satellite imageryand spectrum analysis it is proved by NASA thatthe Ram Setu connecting India and Ceylon ismanmade and a scholar of IIT, Kharagpur recentlyproved that the River Chandrabhaga near the SunTemple at Konark once existed. I expect manymore such things to come to light if more scholarstake interest in it.

For rejuvenating our history with truth Iwould like to say that the research topics chosenby the scholars of different departments of aparticular university or even of differentuniversities for their Doctoral Degree be notselected randomly but be focused on a particularsubject, monument or event dealing with its variousaspects lying in different fields so that when allthe findings by the individual scholars of differentstreams are merged together it brings out a fuller

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picture of the subject from all angles like, science,engineering, architecture, computer graphics,virtual reality, geology, history, archaeology,culture, tradition, religion, administration, literature,town planning and human resource management,etc. It would require extreme coordination andconstant communication amongst the differentgroups and the individuals carrying out theresearch. I think with modern electronic and othercommunication facilities it is quite possible to doit effectively and economically. However for itssuccess, an apex body with representation fromall fields would be needed for selection of the maintopic and assignment of subjects related to it tothe scholars of different disciplines, devise waysfor the research, monitoring, evaluation andcompilation of the data to arrive at the final version.It has to work in the manner that is prevalent inthe corporate world. The final result would belike a product developed by the contribution ofeach and every person involved with it andworking within a fixed guideline to make it asuccess for the product to be appreciated byeveryone. The individual work of the scholars maybe evaluated and recognised as their contributiontowards their individual Doctoral Degree.

We have always neglected our history.On the personal front, I do not know who weremy grandfather’s grandfather and mygrandmother’s grandmother. Where did they liveand what did they do for a living? Now I feel, Ishould have asked my grandfather when he wasalive. But unfortunately I was very young at thetime and not wise enough then to ask suchquestions. Somebody or to say in particular, myteacher then should have asked me to do so.Hence, I think, we should instil a sense in the mindof our young generation about how important isour history, both at individual and at thecommunity levels, better at all levels. We may startwith asking them to find their own roots. The

history teachers in schools should take the leadand assign projects to each and every student totrace their respective roots as far back as theycould go in one academic session, of course, alongwith the usual homework of tracing the root fromBahadur Shah Zafar leading back to ChenghizKhan.

Another reason for the diminishingknowledge of the local, regional and nationalhistory of the contemporary younger generationis due to our current family system. We now livemostly in nuclear families where all the membersof it are quite busy in building their respectivecareer. They live in the present and think of thefuture only. In joint families the grandfathers andgrandmothers and other senior members hadenough time for their grandchildren and used totell them about the local and the regional heroes,culture, trade, tradition, the rulers and the majorevents of the past, etc. through storytelling,folklores and folktales. They made them awareabout their roots which is no longer happening.I feel that, apart from teaching history in schoolsas per the prescribed syllabus, the students shouldbe taught at least once in a week about the majorevents, the heroes and the monuments, etc., inshort the history of their region.

Knowledge about the past works like afoundation to make the individuals in a societystand together promoting unity and helps them todevelop the sense of nationalism. It helps inproper planning of their future. So is theimportance of history. For the benefit of the societyit has to be revealed truthfully and explicitly sothat nobody could challenge it in future as truth istruth having no other way for its depiction.

Sudhansu Sekhar Rath, 62, Some Vihar, Saleswar,Bhubaneswar-752101, sudhansu.s.rath @gmail.com.

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The Quit India Movement was the ultimate callof Gandhi to make people of India free fromprolonged foreign oppression. Mahatma Gandhialways moved with the time and was a master infeeling the pulse of thepeople. He thought that agreat storm was about toblow. So he was trying tochange pople's outlookand create public opinionin a definite direction.

The historicsession of All IndiaGongress Committee tookplace in Bombay on 8th

Aug 1942. Maulana AbulKalam Azad, as thePresident of this Session,said that the slogan “QuitIndia”means nothing moreand nothing less than thecomplete transfer ofpower to Indian hands1.So far as Odisha is concerned important leaderslike H.K. Mahatab, Malati Choudhury, S.N.Dwivedy, Prahallad Ray, Laxminarayan Mishraand some other had attended the session. Late inthe night of August 8th the historic “Quit India” ,

Quit India Movement in Cuttack :Role of Surendra Nath Dwivedy

Dr. Jugal Kishore Hota

resolution was passed by an overwhelmingmajority. Only thirteen members voted against theresolution 2. Then Gandhi gave them a stirringexhortation, “Let every Indian consider himself

to be a freeman. He mustbe ready for the actualfreedom or perish in theattempt …There is to beno more bargaining.There is no compromiseon the demand offreedom. Freedom firstand then only rest. Weshall do or die3.” Thusstarted the historic QuitIndia Movement on 9th

August 1942.

The Odisha unit of theCongress gave quickresponse to the historicQuit India resolution. TheSocialists also decided togive their full support to the

Congress. They made elaborate preparations tomaterialize the movement. S.N. Dwivedy wasauthorized to organize underground movement inOdisha4.” He translated the brief typed note ofGandhi, i.e “Paralyse the government and from

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today we are free , Do or die.”5 The message ofGandhi was distributed among all the office-bearers of the District Congress Committee. S.N.Dwivedy with Malati Devi took bold steps tomake the movement widespread. He travelledhere and there is disguise. The return journey fromBombay was full of courage and adventure. Onlyto avoid arrest they diverted their route andreached Bhubaneswar via Raipur andVijayanagar.

Arriving Bhubaneswar at mid-night S.NDwivedy changed his identification and posedhimself as a Bengali Pilgrim,Dwivedi and MaltiDevi very cautiously crossed the river Kathajodiin a small boat6 at night. The river was everflowingon both sides with a roaring sound. The boat wasnever steady; floting up and down in the heavycurrent. So much so that water was flowing inside.It was indeed a great risk, no doubt, but theirmind was full of courage and adventure. The spiritof patriotism and inner love for Odisha promptedthem to cross the river in such a terrible situation.Inside the boat daring Malati Devi began to singthe inspiring lines of poet Nazrul written in Bengali.

“DURGAMA GIRI KANTARA MARU,DUSSTARA PARABAR HE,

LANGHITE HABE RATRI NISITHE,JATRIRA HUSIAR HE,JATRIRA HUSIAR”

[Oh’ freedom fighters, be cautious to cross thedangerous hills, mountains and the seas in the midmight.] The above song reveals the daringnessand the spirit of nationalism that enchanted themind and the soul of a determined women leader.After entering, Cuttack she was arrested by theBritish Police an 12 th Aug 1942 in herBakharabad residence.7 Then the totalresponsibility was taken by Dwivedy to run theunderground movement. An office of the August

Revolution was set up at Alisa Bazar Cuttack inthe house of Nandi Sahu who was a non-politicalfriend of Dwivedy. Later Nandi Sahu andUdayanath Rath were detained by British Policefor giving shelter to Dwivedy.8 Both sufferedenormous personal losses and their business wasshattered for the sake of freedom struggle.

Many important freedom fighters ofOdisha namely Nabakrushna Choudhury,Gopabandhu Choudhury, Biswanath Das, RadhaKrushna Biswasray, Rabindra Mohan Das,Nilambara Das, Prananath Pattanaik, RamaKrushna Pati and others were arrested.9 All theCongress offices in Odisha were declared illegal10.The Congress institutions like Swaraj Ashram,Cuttack, Bari Ashram, Jajpur and ChauliaganjCongress office were seized by the BritishGovernment. The unexpected arrest of theCongress leaders made the freedom movementleaderless. In the meantime the Socialists followedby Communists, Forward Block and studentfederation members came forward to protest therepressive measures of the British regime. It ledto the destruction of Government properties,strikes in schools and colleges, defiance of orderand simultaneous organization of protest meetingsand hartal.

Thus the 1942 movement may well bediscussed as a spontaneous, voluntary, massmovement that sprang from the national urge forindependence . In this sense it was truly a people’smovement11.The underground movement ofDwivedy in Cuttack put the British Authority introuble. The Police could not arrest him in spiteof several raids in different places of Cuttack.Ultimately Dwivedy was declared absconder bythe local administration. A Gazette Notificationwas issued declaring that, if Dwivedy did not

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surrender, the movable and immovable propertyof his family would be confiscated and if anybodygave news about Dwivedy he would get a cashaward. This was announced by the administrationbeating drums in the streets of Cuttack. TheGovernment declaration had little impact onDwivedy. Because he had taken the vow to “door die’. The threat of British Government ratherinspired him to work more actively for theindependence of our motherland.

Dwivedy has elaborately described hisunderground days in his autobiography, ‘MoJivana Sangram’ which was published in 1984.He had no time to sleep and time passed in greatanxiety and excitement. Nobody was allowed tomeet him during day time except Mathuri Sahu,the son of Nandi Sahu and Banka Bihari Das.Banka Bihari was assigned to write letters andpost them safely. Similarly Radhanath Pandit,Biswanath Pandit, Pandit Banamali Mishra,Sachidananda Mishra and a few others wereassigned different jobs, but they never gatheredat one place. S.N. Dwivedy had establishedcontacts with the underground headquarters inKolkata.12 By then at all India level a powerfulunderground movement had been set up underthe leadership of famous Socialists like RamManohar Lohia, Aruna Asaf Ali, AchyutPatwardhan, Sucheta Kripalini and many otherGandhians and Socialists.

In Odisha, at almost all districtheadquarters underground units were setup byDwivedy. The August Revolution under hisdynamic leadership became vigourous in Odishain general and Cuttack in particular. Severalattempts to arrest him proved fruitless. But a fewdays later his close comrades Banka Bihari Dasand Sachidananda Mishra were arrested. Realising

the gravity of the situation Dwivedy had made aplan to escape from Cuttack to Kolkata. Butunfortunately on the very day he was to leave,the police raided his underground shelter andarrested him. The police handcuffed him andarmed guards escorted him to the police station.Then began the painful jail life of S.N. Dwivedyin 1942.Though jail life was not new for him thathe suffered in 1930, then twice in 1932, followedby 1933 and 1940 for more than three years,13

but this time he was sentenced to six years rigorousimprisonment and his other colleagues to fouryears.14 During his trial in the court, Dwivedy hadmade the following statement. He said “we haveno faith on British justice. We do not hope to geta fair trial from the judge appointed by the BritishGovernment. We have worked with fullknowledge to drive out the British Governmentfrom our country and our struggle will continuetill the last vestige of British imperialism wasliquidated. There was no need for any trial. Wewould gladly bear if the highest punishmentpermissible under the land was given to us.”15

It was not just a brave statement but italso expressed the burning desire of his heart andintense patriotism. Again he said “ I must confessthat at the time of the trial there was a lurkingfright of going to the gallows, but after thestatement I felt greatly relieved and free. I thoughtthe mission for which I had struggled by remainingunderground would be fulfilled if I was hanged.”The above statement of Dwivedy had a deepimpact on the Irish Judge.16 In his judgement thejudge highly praised the patriotism andorganizational capacity of Dwivedy.This was reallya rare example in the history of Indian freedomstruggle.17

During his imprisonment period Dwivedycontinued to meet other political prisoners in

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Cuttack. His routine work was to encourage theyoung prisoners to continue the agitation after theirrelease. Inside jail he tried his best to getinformation about other prisoners and jail officials,later his secret activities came to light and he wastransferred to Koraput jail within 24 hours withhandcuff.18 After spending a jail life of three yearsand nine months, Dwivedy was released from jail.But very strongly he insisted that until order forthe release of all prisoners were passed he wouldnot leave the custody. Finally that was done andthe chief secretary informed him over telephonethat order for the release of all political prisonershad been passed. Then his joy knew no boundand people in large number took the true freedomfighter in a procession to the Swaraj Ashram ofCuttack. This was really a great patriotic work ofS.N. Dwivedy for which he will be rememberedby the people of Odisha for all time to come.

References:

1) Das, Ghanashyam, (ed) 1957, HISTORY OFTHE FREEDOM MOVEMENT IN ORISSA,Vol- IV, Cuttack, P-125.

2) Ibid, P-125

3) Ibid.

4) Dwivedy S.N.1984, Quest for Socialism, NewDelhi, P-117.

5) Ibid, P-118

6) Dwivedy S.N. 1992, AUGUST BIPLAVA,Cuttack, P-53

7) Dwivedy S.N. 1984 op.cit, P-119

8) Ibid, P-120

9) Rath Gangadhar, 1934, BHULINAHI (Odia),Cuttack, P-125.

10) Orissa Gazettee Notification Nos, 137, 142, 9August 1942.

11) Das, Ghanashyam (ed) op.cit, P.127.

12) Dwivedy, S.N. QS, P-123

13) Ibid, P-125.

14) Home confidential, file No-652, 1942, OrissaState Archives Acc No-2443.

15) Dwivedy, S.N. Qs, P-123.

16) Ibid, P-121.

17) Ibid

18) Ibid - 125

Dr. Jugal Kishore Hota, Principal, Jhadeswar JuniorCollege, Tolkani, Chitri, Jajpur.

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Introduction

Democracy is largely understood as popularsovereignty where people have control over thedecision made by the state. Since it is notpractically possible for the people in the moderndemocratic societies to participate in the decisionmaking process of the state directly, they do sothrough representatives. But when political partiesbecome ineffective in representing the interest of

the people, we see the emergence of socialmovements (SMs). It is a truism that no society isstatic. Space, processes and nature as well asthe direction of social change vary from time totime and society to society. Social movements arenothing new and they are taking place all aroundthe globe, whether, they are based on certainissues or interests, under different institutionalenvironments. In India also social movements

Social Movements and Social Change in India :A Conceptual Framework

Sanghamitra JenaNupur Pattanaik

Abstract

Social Mobilization began in India in the year 1970’s.They gained a variety of names such as people’smovement, popular movement, etc. These movements emerged and highlighted some of the major issuessuch as gender and environment. The major agendas of them as “Movements of landless, unorganizedlabour in rural and urban areas, Adivasis, Dalits, displaced people, peasants, urban poor, small entrepreneursand unemployed youth took up issues of livelihood,opportunities,dignity and development and now womenmovements”. These movements largely distanced themselves from political parties or tried to cut across theideologies of the political parties. Yet many of them rooted themselves or drew from ideologies of the variousshades environmentalisms or gender politics or socialism. Previously there were old social movementswhich have made changes in our country from time to time. There are innumerable movements, and thereforeit is difficult to provide a precise classification of social movements. These are classified as old and newsocial movements. Such citizen based movements are not new to our country. In the past, India has seensome of the most powerful people’s movements such as which led to some of the landmark decisions andbrought the entire nation together.Swadeshi Movement-1905, Satyagraha,Chipko Movement-1973, NarmadaBachao Andolan, Jan Lokpal Bill, Nirbhaya Movement,etc. This paper tried to reflect how social movementshave brought about social change in India, what are the different types of social movements, what are thetheories relating to these movements and how can these movements act as a catalyst in bringing aboutchange in our country. In a society a large number of changes have been brought about by efforts exerted bypeople individually or collectively. A social movement is defined as a collectively acting with some continuityto promote or resist a change in the society or a group of which it is a part. Social movement is a form ofdynamic pluralistic behavior that progressively develops structure through time and aims at partial or completemodification of the social order.

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have taken place around identity issues or interestbased activism. Social movements play animportant role in escalating not only the processesof change, but also in giving direction to socialtransformation. Till the1960s, sociologists’ interestin social movements was largely focused onSanskritisation and socio-religious reformmovements, excluding the political dimension asbeyond their scope. It is sometimes argued thatthe freedom of expression, education and relativeeconomic independence prevalent in the modernWestern culture are responsible for theunprecedented number and scope of variouscontemporary social movements. However,others point out that many of the social movementsof the last hundred years grown up, like the MauinKenya, to oppose Western colonialism. Eitherway, social movements have been and continuedto be closely connected with democratic politicalsystems. Occasionally, social movements havebeen involved in democratizing nations, but moreoften they have flourished after democratization.From the early 1970s new forms of socialmobilization began in India. They gained a varietyof names such as social movement, people’smovement, popular movements etc. Thesemovements emerged and highlighted some of themajor issues such as gender and environment.

In a society a large number of changeshave been brought about by efforts exerted bypeople individually and collectively. Such effortshave been called social movements. A socialmovement is defined as a collectively acting withsome continuity to promote or resist a change inthe society or group of which it is a part. Socialmovement is a form of dynamic pluralistic behaviorthat progressively develops structure through timeand aims at partial or complete modification ofthe social order. A social movement may also bedirected to resist a change. Some movements aredirected to modify certain aspects of the existing

social order whereas others may aim to change itcompletely. The former are called reformmovements and the latter are called revolutionarymovements. Social movements may be ofnumerous kinds such as religious movements,reform movements or revolutionary movements.It is an effort by a group, its aim is to bring orresist a change in society, it may be organized orunorganized, it may be peaceful or violent, its lifeis not certain. It may continue for a long period ormay die out soon.

Various proponents of social movementshave introduced from time to time discussion onsocial movements as a series of contentiousperformances, displays and campaigns by whichordinary people make collective claims on others,as collective challenges by people with commonpurposes and solidarity, in sustained interactionswith elites, opponents and authorities. Objectives,ideology, programmes, leadership, andorganization are important components of socialmovements. They are interdependent, influencingeach other. These social movements then bringabout change in the social, economic and politicalenvironment and thereby, become a social forcethemselves. M.S.A. Rao defined social movementas a ‘sustained collective mobilization througheither informal or formal organization or which isgenerally oriented towards bringing about change’.Social movements involve: a) Collective massmobilization, b) Collective mass support,c) Formal or informal organization, d) A consciouscommitment towards its aims and beliefs ande) Deliberative collective action towards change.Social movements can be identified the majoragendas of them as “Movements of landless,unorganized labour in rural and urban areas,Adivasis, Dalits, displaced people, peasants,urban poor, small entrepreneurs and unemployedyouth took up the issues of livelihood,opportunities, dignity and development. “Most

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well-known movements in the country are Chipkomovement, Save Silent Valley, Narmada BachaoAndolan, Koel Karo, Chhattisgarh MuktiMorcha, Jhola Aandolan Chutmarika (fightingpolythene), Appiko movement, Save Kudremukh,Lok Satta Movement, Swadhyay Movement,Swatantra Sharad Joshi, Karnataka Rajya RaithaSangha.These movements largely distancedthemselves from political parties, or tried to cutacross the ideologies of the political parties. Yetmany of them rooted themselves or drew fromideologies of the Mahatma Gandhi, various shadesenvironmentalisms or gender politics, orsocialism. There are two types of movements thatare old and new and several theories that guidethese movements.

Swadeshi Movement – 1905

The movement which started duringIndia’s struggle for freedom focused on removingthe British Empire from power by becomingSwadesh i.e.self-sufficient. A lot of Indians cameforward in support of the movement andboycotted foreign goods. They burnt all theimported clothes they had, boycotted Britishproducts and revived the production of domesticcommodities. It gave people the power to speakagainst the authority and the courage to expresstheir views.

Satyagraha

Probably one of the most notedmovements in Indian history, Satyagraha broughtthousands of people together in a peaceful way.The non-violence movement started by MahatmaGandhi to send the British back to their countryand leave India free of foreign rule did eventuallytaste success.

Save Silent Valley Movement – 1973

A social movement aimed at theprotection of Silent Valley, an evergreen tropical

forest in the Palakkad district of Kerala, startedin 1973 brought many activists and peopletogether. The protest was focused on stoppingthe valley from being flooded by a hydroelectricproject. The controversy surrounding the valleystill exists and people are still waiting for the finalresult

Chipko Movement – 1973

Based on Gandhian principles, theChipko Movement or Chipko Andolan sawpeople protesting against deforestation by huggingtrees to stop them from being cut. Led by ChandniPrasad Bhatt and Sunderlal Bahuguna, the proteststarted in the early 1970s when a group of womenopposed the cutting down of trees. Their actionsspread like wildfire and hundreds and thousandsof people across India came out in support of thegreen movement.

Peasant movement - have a longhistory that can be traced to the numerous peasantuprisings that occurred in various regions of theworld throughout human history. Early peasantmovements were usually the result of stresses inthe feudal and semi feudal societies, and resultedin violent uprisings. More recent movements,fitting the definitions of social movements, areusually much less violent, and their demands arecentered on better prices for agricultural produce,better wages and working conditions for theagricultural laborers, and increasing theagricultural production. The economic policies ofBritish adversely affected the Indian peasants.The British Govt. used to protect the landlordsand money lenders. They exploited the peasants.The peasants rose in revolt against this injusticeon many occasions. The peasants in Bengalformed their union and revolted against thecompulsion of cultivating indigo. Anthony Pereira,a political scientist, has defined a peasantmovement as a “social movement made up ofpeasants (small landholders or farm workers onlarge farms), usually inspired by the goal of

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improving the situation of peasants in a nation orterritory.

Namantar Andolan – 1978

It was a Dalit movement to change thename of Marathwada University in Aurangabadto Dr. B. R. Ambedkar University. This 16 yearlong movement was successful in 1994 when the‘compromise’ name of Dr. Babasaheb AmbedkarMarathwada University was accepted. Themovement saw several protests which led toterrible consequences including killings,molestation, burning of houses, etc. of Dalit’s.

Jungle Bachao Andolan – 1980s

When the government decided to replacethe natural sal forest with highly valued teak, thetribal of Bihar came out in strong numbers toprotest against this decision. Having started inBihar, the movement spread to other states likeOdisha and Jharkhand too.

Narmada Bachao Andolan – 1985

This protest, to express the views againsta large number of dams being constructed nearthe Narmada River, brought a large number ofadivasis, farmers, environmentalists, and humanrights activists together. The movement involvedprominent celebrities and people went on hungerstrikes to show their support for the cause. Thedecision is still pending, though the court initiallyruled the decision in the Andolan’s favor, therebyaffecting an immediate stoppage of work at thedam and directing the concerned states to firstcomplete the rehabilitation and replacementprocess. Later the court allowed the constructionto proceed.

Jan Lokpal Bill – Anti Corruption Movementby Anna Hazare – 2011

When anti-corruption activist AnnaHazare began a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in

New Delhi on April 5, 2011, the whole nationcame together and stood by him. The movementled to the resignation of Agricultureminister Sharad Pawar from the group of ministersthat had been charged with reviewing the draftJan Lokpal Bill. The initiative brought together ahuge number of people, making it a one-of-its-kind event in decades. It was also one of thoserare events that demonstrated what is possible ifthe world’s largest democracy woke up to takethe reins in its hands. The movement was namedamong the “Top 10 News Stories of 2011” byTime Magazine.

Nirbhaya Movement – 2012 (Womenmovement)

The 2012 Delhi Gang Rape saw one ofthe angriest reactions from people who were veryclear on expressing that they have had enough.After the incident, thousands of people came outon streets to protest in several parts of the country.The movement also created a stir in social mediawhere people changed their display picture to ablack dot and tens of thousands of people signeda petition protesting the incident. Taking themovement into consideration, the government atthe centre and various states announced severalsteps to ensure the safety of women.

Social Movement in Odisha

There are various social movementswhich have taken place in Odisha like caste-based movements, tribal movements, linguisticmovement, etc., which have taken place from timeto time, but the most famous movement was theAnti-Posco Movement that took place in Odishain the year 2010, it was a huge mass movementto protect the land, environmental and humanrights.

Social Movement and Social Change

Social movements justify the successfulfunction of a civil society, where there is expression

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and direct actions of human rights for better growthand sustenance and human resource is addressed.Social Movement is the most effective institutionin producing social change. Social Movementsbring social change in our society. It paves wayfor the awareness of the people on different issuesand from time to time we find change in ourpolicies, programmes, only because of socialmovements taking place in our society. Each andevery type of movement like it may be educatinga girl child movement, women’s movement wefind there is a lot of awareness among the peopleon women’s issues and we find from time to timedue to these movements we find policies in ourcountry for women and many other changes.There is huge sensitization among the masses, dueto these movements but as well as we see thatdespite these movements there still continuesviolence against women in each and every sphere.Not only this but also Peasant’s Movements thatare taking place in our society are creating a lotof avenues for the farmers. Ecological Movementsare there, which tries to prevent environment, stillthere is awareness among individual, but still wecome across a lot of environmental issues. HumanRights Movements, Anti-Corruption Movements,Anti-Rape Movements, so there are various typesof movements. These social movements bringabout social change in our country but still wefind social movements fails to bring about acomplete change in our country.

Conclusion

So there is a need of strong awakeningof a strong civil society group, though we find alot of civil society groups prevailing in oursocietyfrom time to time but it hasn’t brought inthe total transformation of society; still we comeacross a lot of awareness on various issues whichcan be said to be a partial change, not a completechange in our society. Social Movement itself is a

sign panel of citizenship and gives rise toexpression of needs and well-being.

References:

Aberle, D. (1966). The Peyote Religion among theNavaho. Chicago: Aldine.

Alfred, Taiaiake. (2013). “Idle No More: The IndigenousPeoples’ Movement.” Idlenomore. tumblr.com. January27. Retrieved August 13, 2014, from http://idlenomore.tumblr.com/post/41651870376/taiaiake-alfred-idle-no-more-and-indigenous-nationhood

Benford, R. & David, S. (2000). “Framing Processesand Social Movements: An Overview and Assessment.”Annual Review of Sociology 26:611–639.

Blumer, H. (1969). “Collective Behavior.” Pp. 67–121 inPrinciples of Sociology, edited by A.M. Lee. New York:Barnes and Noble http://www.wikipedia.org/socialmovements in India

Oomen T.K., (2004) “Nation, Civil Society and SocialMovements: Essays in Political Sociology”, SagePublications

Ray. R. & Katzenstein, M.F (2005), “Social Movementsin India: Poverty, Power, and Politics”, OxfordUniversity Press

Saha. G., (2004) “Social movements in India”, SagePublications

Sanjay Sanghvi: “The New People’s Movements inIndia” in: Economic and political weekly. 42, no. 50,(2007): 111

Social Movements in South Asia: Selected InternetResources

Wass, G. (2011),”Corporate Activity and Human Rightsin India”, HRLN, New Delhi.

Mrs.Sanghamitra Jena, Reader &HOD (Department ofSociology), Rajdhani College, Bhubaneswar.

Nupur Pattanaik, Ph.D., Research Scholar, Departmentof Sociology, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack.

20 AUGUST - 2019


Shasibhusan Rath was an ardent freedom fighter,an eminent legislator, able social reformer, ajournalist, and a constructive worker organiser.He was a patriot who loved his motherland andmothertounge Odia verymuch. Shasibhusan born on 1stJanuary, 1885 at Sorada in thedistrict of Ganjam of OdishaState. His father wasLambodar Mahapatra andHaramani was his mother.Shasibhusan was given onadoption to his father’s sisterwho was issueless and so hissurname was changed fromMahapatra to Ratha. From thebeginning of his childhood hewas possessing a strong mindof independent character. Hestarted his lower primaryeducation in 1890 at Sorada.After that he went to Russelkonda (Bhanjanagar) in 1895, the place of hisadopted father to complete his High schooleducation and successfully passed matriculationin 1904. Later on he went to Parlakhemundi forhigher studies and so admitted himself inMaharaja’s college. He was a sincere lover ofdifferent languages and accordingly acquired

mastery over eleven languages like Odia,Sanskrit, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Bengàli, Marathi,Gujurathi, Burmese, Germany and English. Afterhis study he went to Bombay to do business. He

learnt there leather technologyand started a leather relatedmanufacturing and tradingcompany named “Rath andCo.”. He earned a good amountof money out of his business butfaced a lot of competition. Healso learnt press technologythere from a press. The climateof Bombay was not suitable tohis health. He was affected byJaundice, a disease of liver. Sohe came to his village Sorada fortreatment. During the period ofhis stay, he felt that Britishers notonly had taken their human rightsor independence but alsoallowed to grab the rights of

their language Odia by Bengalis and Telugus.British Government also divided and merged theOdia speaking areas in different neighbouringstates like West Bengal, Bihar and MadhyaPradesha. The status of his Motherland andmothertongue allowed him to think over theirdevelopment and freedom. Accordingly he started

Shasibhusan Rath :A Freedom Fighter-cum-Journalist

Dr. Prafulla Chandra Mohanty

21AUGUST - 2019


working for the betterment of Odia language, onthe unification of Odia speaking areas and onfreedom of India. Later on he went to Cuttack tomeet the eminent Odia leader Madhusudan Daswho was working hard for improving the statusof Odia language, economic upliftment of Odiasand unification of Odia speaking areas andformation of a separate new Odisha state.Shasibhusan joined as a manager in Madhubabu’sUtkal Tannery for some time. After sustaining hugeloss Madhubabu became insolvent. Shasibhusanwent to Culcatta and again joined in a shoe shopas a manager. An organiser can’t remain silentduring odd times of his land and languages. So hestarted organising the Odia people and labourersalong with Kaviraj Padmalochan Mishra and ableto establish Odia schools and some of theimproved labour amenities.

Shasibhusan returned to his village on thecall of his father for marriage. After some monthsof his marriage his father Lambodar expired andso the total responsibility fell on him. Staying atthe village he was thinking to publish a weeklyNewspaper in order to focus and carry the painsand tortures of the people of Odisha to the Britishgovernment. In the meantime he was blessed witha daughter on 13th Feb.,1913 named “Asha”which inspired him to publish the weeklyNewspaper named after his daughter in Odia onthe auspicious day of Mahabishuva Sankranti i.eon 13th April 1913. Pandit Gopabandhu,Neelakantha and Godavarish were associatedwith the publication and later on they formed ateam to work for Utkal Union and FreedomMovement. On looking at the popularity of theactivities of the team, publication of the weeklynewspaper Asha Shasibhusan decided to publishthe weekly as daily from 13th April 1928. Ashaafter becoming daily took the entire market of

Odisha and some parts of Andhras, Chhattisgarh,Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. Ashabecame a strong, solid and sound mouthpiece ofcitizens of south Odisha and central India to fulfilthe demands of freedom and formation of a newOdisha province. The editor Shasibhusan, theteam behind Asha and the publication becameeyesore of British government officials. Strong andfearless Shasibhusan published each and everynews of illegal and irregularities made in Britishadministration with priority which invited dangerto him. Shasibhusan joined on the clarion call givenby Mahatma Gandhi for Non-cooperationmovement. Shasibhusan Rath, the prominenteditor of “Dainik Asha” and the leader of SouthOdisha joined the movement fearlessly andworked as an activist in the continuing struggleof the Indian war of independence.

Participation in Non-cooperation movementin the context of struggle of Independence:

Gandhiji came to Odisha and also visitedBrahmapur to spread Non-cooperationmovement in 1921 and addressed a massive rallyat Barracks ground. Inspired by Gandhiji’s idealsand speeches, Shasibhusan joined Congress andworked vigorously along with V.V.Giri, DibakarPatnaik, Pantulu Ramalingam, BanchhanidhiPatnaik, Jayamangal Ratha, Biswanath Das andothers. Sribascha Panda was made the firstPresident and Jayamangal Ratha was the firstsecretary of the Ganjam district Congresscommittee. At that time, the district had two districtCongress committees one for Odias and the otherfor Telugus. But on the instruction of Gandhijithese two rival committees were merged into oneand Shasibhusan became the President, LingarajPanigrahi the Vice-President and Balaram Pandawas the secretary of this committee. As that time

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Shasibhusan was also the vice president of theUtkal Pradesh Congress committee, the state levelorganisation. Gandhiji wanted to settled the Odia-Telugu dispute and also very much sympathetictowards the simple Odia tract.The strong Telugusdid not came to the compromise. But anyway theyagreed to settle the dispute on the advice ofMahatma Gandhi.

Shasibhusan along with Biswanath Dasparticipated in the Civil disobedience and SaltSatyagraha movement. Hence both the youngleaders were always in the badbook of the BritishGovernment. On 20th May, 1930 a rally againstthe British Government was organised by womenvolunteers. They went on a procession to the Girimarket area where along with other Congressleaders Shasibhusan Rath gave a very fiery speechand impressed the audience very much. Thedistrict magistrate promulgated 144 Cr.P.C. in thearea and a few were arrested and police madeLathicharge to evacuate the assembled freedomfighters. On the spot Shasibhusan was arrestedand sent to Vellore Central Jail straight from themeeting place amidst the people with tearful eyes.Inside the Jail, Shasibhusan able to meet otherNational freedom fighters like Tilak from whomhe learnt Tamil and taught Hindi. He spent thedays inside the jail by translating Gandhiji’s-Bhagwat Gita written in Gujarati language toOdia, his mother tongue. He was released fromjail in 1931, March under Gandhiji-Irwinagreement. This incident was recorded by the thendistrict magistrate as follows: “As there was somerowdy element causing trouble, Shasi Bhushan,popularly known as S.B. Rath, editor, Asha andBiswanath Das, M.L.C. were arrested andconvicted. They had undoubtedly been stirring uptrouble behind the scenes and they had greatinfluence among the Odias.” This somehow

illustrated on the personalities of Shasi Bhushanas a brave, fearless, serious, sincere, greatfreedom fighter of frontline and saluted like "NaraByaghra."

Gandhiji came to Odisha for the secondtime in 1927. He visited many places likeBrahmapur, Aska, Gobara, Bhanjanagar, Kodala,Boirani, Khallikote, Rambha, etc. An associationof Dalita Harijanas (Hadis) named as Patita PavanSangha presented a petition for their upliftmentunder leadership of Sasi Bhushan Ratha toGandhiji during his meeting at Berhampur.Accordingly Gandhiji advocated for the removalof untouchability and arranged with the entry ofHarijanas into the Lord Raghunath temple ofBrahmapur. Gandhiji also spoke on spread ofKhadar, the hand made garments and only touse Swadeshi made products. Shasi Bhushanorganised a conference of freedom fighters, socialactivists, Congress volunteers against British ruleand for the unification, amalgation of Odiaspeaking areas in 1927 for the frist time. Hebecame the President and Jayamangal Ratha wasthe Secretary of this D.C.C. Shasi Bhushan waselected as a member to Madras legislative council(MLC) for two times from 1920 to 1930 and inthat capacity he could pass the proposal therewith the help of Sir A. Parshuram Patra andHarihara Mardaraj for separate Odisha state. Hewas also associated with the management ofBrahmapur Municipality and Khallikote college.

Mahatma Gandhi visited Odisha for thethird time in May 1934, with a scheduledprogramme of visiting Ganjam district on 16thMay of the year. But his visit to Cuttack and Purifrom 9th to 16th of May was over in the name ofPatita Pavan Yatra. The programme of visitingGanjam was cancelled suddenly as he required

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to visit Bihar, the earthquake - prone area.Shasihusan was also elected as a member ofGanjam District Board in 1929 but became avictim of political manipulation in the GanjamDistrict Board election, 1936. Later he resignedfrom Congress in 1939 and then fought theelection independently.

Social reforms and welfare activities :

Shasi Bhushan Rath was also a socialactivist. He was the President of Dandasi Sanghabeing himself a Brahmin for which he faced a lotof difficulties from his own Brahmin society andworked for the upliftment of the Harijanacommunity. Dandasis were proclaimed as thecriminals of bad character by the Britishgovernment in the 1923 Declaration, as they wereinvolved in theft, dacoity and drinking,etc. ButShasibhusan as the President of the Dandashicommunity fought against the declaration andwaived up the criminal status on the community.Shasibhusan along with his younger brother SaratChandra Mahapatra worked hard fromPanchayat to National level for their social andeconomic uplift. Shasibhusan in 1930, for the firsttime became successful in eradicating the goat,buffalo sacrifices as a custom before GoddessTara Tarini near Purushottampur and KandhuniDevi during Kanta peedha Yatra at Sorada, Hehad organised a rally against this blind belief. In1934 Shasibhusan visited Burma and organisedthe Odias residing there by opening of Odiaschools, cultural and literary groups with the aimof developing Odia language. He also spread thedialogues of Mahatma Gandhi on free Indiamovement among the citizens of India residingthere.

Shasihusan was born in 1885, with agolden spoon in his mouth but died in poverty asa dedicated personality of the country on 19thMarch, 1943. He spent all of his self occupiedand ancestral property for the social welfareworks. He happened to be the secondGopabandhu Das in serving the people inhazardous difficulties. He was very familiar withthe name of “Ratha babu” in short everywhere inand outside the state. He was also called as thefather of journalism in Odisha by his sincereefforts. He spent everything his wealth, money,time and also his total high valued life for thepeople in organising freedom movement and inbringing out the most loved newspapers likeDainik Asha, The New Odisha and many otherjournals. He has given a lift to all other aspiringtalents by publishing day news and literarypublications to strengthen the Odia language andworked hard in the amalgamation of Odiaspeaking areas putting him in a lot of risk andhardship. He was a brave, courageous leader, asocial worker, an honest politician and a truepatriot of the soil. Lastly he was known for hisstrong, determined and unbiased selflessnesspersonality mostly as ‘Nara Byaghra’ that meansa tiger man. It would be a great attribute to him ifwe follow his unique qualities of dedication andpatriotism.

Dr. Prafulla Chandra Mohanty, Sankaranti Sadana,At.-Bayali, Po- Mantridi, Dist- Ganjam- 761008.

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One of our greatest tragedies in India is that wehave completely misunderstood the system ofeducation as interpreted by Mahatma Gandhi. Hestated very clearly that “Our freedom lies not inmerely liberating ourselves from foreign rule butfrom the rule of the passions.This basic fact has beenoverlooked by us, with theresult that India afterindependence has beentotally different from the Indiaof Mahatma Gandhi.

Again he said,“Literacy in itself is noeducation. Literacy is not theend of education or even thebeginning. By education Imean an all-round drawingout of the best in the child andman-body, mind and spirit.”Further he added, “Trueeducation must correspond tothe surroundingcircumstances or it is not a healthy growth.” Inanother context he also told, “What is reallyneeded to make democracy function is notknowledge of facts, but right education.”According to him, “An education which does not

teach us to discriminate between good and bad,to assimilate the one and eschew the other, is amisnomer.

Mahatma Gandhi educated throughmodern education and he had done a lot of

research on it. So he had somany thoughts on it. He knewit very well that moderneducation will not beadvantageous for India. Webelieve that a people withoutmodern education will fallbehind in the end; not onlythat, it would not even besurprising if such a peoplewere exterminated altogether.Be that as it may, it is certainthat, whatever struggle we putup for our rights, the conditionof Indians will never becomewhat it ought to be as long aswe remain backward ineducation. 1In a letter to

Harilal Gandhi he has stated that, there is nothingto be ashamed of in your being weak inMathematics and general literary education. Youcould have learnt them had I given you thenecessary opportunity. The practical knowledge

Mahatma Gandhi's Views on Education

Prof. R.K. Nanda

25AUGUST - 2019


boys in India possess is not due to the educationthey receive in schools, but is due to the uniqueIndian way of life. It is due to the meritorious deedsof our ancestors that we find healthy standards ofbehaviour, thrift, etc., around us, in spite of therepeated inroads of modern education, theimmorality that we see among the people and theirgrowing selfishness. This I am writing to you togive you courage and ask you to go deeper intothe matter and observe things for yourself. It isnot right to attribute the relation of cause and effectbetween things after just a superficial glance. 2

Education is perhaps one of the mostimportant ingredients to a happy, successful, andconstructive life. In fact, having access to a goodeducation during childhood and during the earlyadulthood can make a real difference in one’s laterlife. However, not all education systems areequally good. It is saddening to see how miserableand uninterested teachers (or even entirelycorrupted systems) do nothing but close the mindsof young children.

Nothing of what Gandhi has said canreally be understood properly—in fact, the mostimportant of all, is his views of education. To mostof us, educated as we are along the westernpattern, his declaration that education of this kindis simply “no use” may seem shocking, but that isbecause our ‘modern’ education has blinded usto certain important facts. So, as a first step, letus take a brief look at that basis of the educationthat we have received. The basis of moderneducation is traceable to the philosophy of ReneDescartes (1596-1650), who made a strictpartition between mind and matter, treating themas totally independent compartments.

There is one single word with which therevolution that Descartes, and later Newton,brought about is identified: “think”. It is a word

that is considered sacred in modern education,and undoubtedly the thinking capacity of man hasincreased by leaps and bounds over the last 400years. But if we reflect carefully, we will realizethat we are taught to think primarily about things,very rarely about the thinking process itself. Thatdelicate link between mind and matter—is hardlytouched upon. In the medical sciences we aretaught to think about things such as muscles andnerves, organs and skin but the wonderful thingthat gives life to these, the consciousness thatdistinguishes the live body from the dead, isconsidered ‘out of bound’ to science. Even inpsychology, purportedly the science of the mind,we try to analyze the other’s mind, not our own,and the fact is we can never understand thefunctioning of anyone’s mind until and unless weunderstand our own.

Modern education teaches us to thinkabout everything but the thinking process itself.We thus remain ignorant of our own inner selves,especially of how much of a slave we are to selfishmotives, to passions, to the meanest of innerdrives. We perform what we are convinced aregood acts, unaware that at the bottom of ourmotivation is a desire for reward, for recognition,for honour, for a ‘good return’ on ‘investment’made in the form of a temporary sacrifice. So,instead of serving others through these good acts,we end up serving our own ego. And bad actsare performed in abundance, for the simple reasonthat we do not recognize them to be bad—oureducation has provided us no facility for suchrecognition. Herein lies the key to understandingone of the greatest problems of our age: the gapbetween the preaching and practice of our ideals.When we ourselves deviate from these ideals, weare hardly even aware, for our mind has deceivedus into these violations. In order to really put those

26 AUGUST - 2019


ideals into practice, a necessary but not sufficientcondition is to learn, to think about our ownthinking, the operation of our inner self. Thisenables us to recognize how far we are movedfrom the ideals that we subscribe to in theory.

Then comes the next, and critical step: tolearn, to control our own thinking. Only one whois a master of one’s own thoughts, rather than aslave to them, can truly practice any ideal. Masteryover one’s thoughts results in repress one’spassions. Education required for such mastery isvery different from that which came withDescartes’ philosophy, and leads in the directionof becoming ‘master and possessor of one’s ownNature’ rather than merely control over thematerial bodies and forces around us. Fortunatelyfor us, such an education process does not haveto be invented, but merely conceptualized. It isthe substance of Indian thought. That is whyGandhi insisted that “the civilization India hasevolved into is not to be beaten in the world”. He was not referring here to institutions such asthe caste system, but to the education processesby which a human being (and hence society) couldbecome truly civilized. At the heart of thiseducation process is a set of practices by whichwe can become worldwide, can learn to identifywith every being rather than just with the narrowself. It is these practices, spiritual in their essencethat formed the basis of everything that Gandhidid or said, especially in the field of education.Our meager efforts to keep alive his concepts of‘basic education’, have been a failure becausewe have lost sight of his (and our) spiritual mind.As Gandhi made very clear, spiritual educationdoes not exclude the analytical variety that weare used to these days. The important point to beborne in mind is that analytical education by itselfdoes not enable us to become better (i.e., more

humane) human beings—as is evident from thefact that in the modern curricula there is scopefor learning about and putting in to practiceeverything ranging from genetic engineering toheart transplants—but not simple human valuessuch as compassion, love, honesty, morality oreven wisdom. He was, in effect, telling onlyBuddha’s advice: "Learning is a good thing. Truewisdom is obtained by practice only. Practice thesimple truth only." This is not true, but it may helpto see how, in many vital aspects education of thekind we are used to differs radically fromeducation of the kind Gandhi recommended, andwhich is being re-discovered as the paradigmunfolds itself.

The practical knowledge boys in Indiapossess is not due to the education they receivein schools, but is due to the unique Indian way oflife. It is due to the meritorious deeds of ourancestors that we find healthy standards ofbehaviour, thrift, etc., around us, in spite of therepeated inroads of modern education, theimmorality that we see among the people and theirgrowing selfishness.

“Man is neither mere intellect, nor thegross animal body, nor the heart or soul alone. Aproper and harmonious combination of all thethree is required for making of the whole manand constitutes the true economics ofeducation.”3 His concept of political system isclosely connected with education. In a goodpolitical system, there must be the element ofgoodness necessarily present in every man. Thereis the need of a proper education system to theindividuals in order to bring out such element ofgoodness. He talks about education is morecomprehensive than that of the literal meaning.He thought that education is closely associatedwith the socio-economic development of the

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society. He took up scheme for basic educationin which vocational training or work experienceis the utmost important. He thought that suchcreative thinking should be taken up from primaryto higher level education. His view on basiceducation is greatly influenced by his philosophyof satya (truth), ahimsa (non-violence), firm beliefin God, dignity of labour. The Kothari Commissionalso followed Gandhi’s ideal of vocational trainingin education. This Commission says, “Werecommend that work experience should beintroduced as an integral part of all Indiaeducation–general or vocational. We define workexperience as participation in productive work inschool, in the home, in a workshop, on a farm, ina factory or in any other productivesituation.”4 This Commission re-emphasizes theGandhian principle of learning by doing in themodern education.

The main aim of education is thedevelopment of human personality. He expandedfourfold personality in the individual that is body,mind, heart and spirit. True education stimulatesthe spiritual, intellectual and physical strength ofthe individual. His view on education of heartwhich brings the idea of sympathy, fellowship anddeep feelings of love. The aim of education is notonly to produce good individual but also one mustunderstand one’s own responsibilities in which onelives. One who understood his or herresponsibilities would lead to the spirit of socialconsciousness and social mindedness.

He talks about education in terms ofdiscipline. It is regarded as one of the mostimportant parts and parcel of education. Withoutdiscipline, the sound education system isimpossible. It is a quality that one’s self can leadto the regulation of one’s intellectual, moral,spiritual and social behaviour. It is stated that the

goal of education consists of character-building.Such character-building requires the moral,intellectual and social behaviour under allcircumstances i.e., strength of personality, thevirtue of compassion, kindness, fair-mindednessand the spirit of dedication. Gandhi strongly holdsthat education is not end in itself but it is the mostpowerful weapon which creates all persons ofgenuine characters. There is degeneration ofeducation when the qualities of truthfulness,firmness, tolerance are absence from it. Trueeducation is life process which helps in cultivatingthe spirit of co-operation, tolerance, public spiritand a sense of responsibility. All these qualitiesare considered as disciplines for the developmentof human personality. Such disciplines can createthe harmonious balance between the individualsand social aim of education. His principle of‘learning by doing’ tries to stimulate the individual’smind to think creatively, independently andcritically. His great emphasis on work-culture tothe students from the primary stage to higher stageis to enable the students to start producing fromthe time he started his training. So, his primaryinformation of basic education is Head, Heart andHand rather than Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.

Gandhi also maintains that education isessential for the accomplishment of the goal ofpeace. It can be earned only through morality andethics. According to Gandhi, education is theunderstanding of the best in man - body, soul andspirit. He retained that education must be basedon ethics and morality. Ethics and morality areintrinsic to Gandhi’s life. We cannot be separatededucation from ethics, morality and spiritualism.For this purpose Gandhi has given some rules forall students so as to guarantee that morality andrighteousness always be considered as an essentialpart of their education. Regarding this, such rules

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can make to right thinking, self-control, serviceto the society, respect to others and constantawareness for their duties andresponsibilities. However, in our present daysociety we are facing so many conflicts. One ofthem is based on our knowledge which has beenseparated from work-ethics. Knowledge isseparated in thought, in life as well as in marketvalues by faulty psychology, faulty sociology andfaulty economics respectively. Education plays acrucial role which helps to equip individuals withthe skills and attitudes that are necessary in orderto adapt in changing situations and to add theinventive spirit in the task of social change. ‘Workand knowledge should go together’ is the Gandhianprinciple of education. The educational systemstry to develop the individual soul and mind,courage and self-reliance, cultivate the highestintellectual, scientific, moral and ethicalaccomplishments.

We can conclude that his concept ofeducation is not only the obliteration of illiteracybut learning by doing. He preaches the philosophy

of simple living and high thinking. His educationsystem are greatly accenting the culture of peace,sincere work, observance of the cause of thenation, social minded, friendliness, right feelings,economic advancement, physical betterment andsocio-cultural advancement. It is based on work-centre education which can supply the necessaryeconomic self-sufficiency and self-reliance.

References :

1. Indian Opinion, 5-1-1907

2. LETTER TO HARILAL GANDHI, March 5, 1911

3. Harijan, 22-6-1940

4. Report of the Educational Commission 1964-66,(Kothari Commission), (New Delhi, Ministry ofEducation, Government of India, 1966), p.7

Prof. R.K. Nanda, KSOL, KIIT(DU), Patia, Bhubaneswar.

29AUGUST - 2019


The partition of Bengal by the Viceroy of India,Lord Curzon in1905 led to a wave of indignationthroughout Bengal. The widespread agitationknown as Swadeshi Movement heralded a newage in our national history and it was instantlyidentified as the highest form of patriotism .Justas the movement reverberated throughout India,its echoes were felt in Odisha too.

According to the report of theCommissioner of Odisha, the Swadeshi and theBoycott movements had a very mild effect onOdisha, but the contemporary newspapers ofOdisha give us quite a different picture. Inresponse to the Swadeshi movement a grandmeeting was organized at Cuttack Jubilee Parkon 20th August 1905 under the presidentship ofJanakinath Bose. Its aim was to propagate andpopularize the Swadeshi ideas. The crowd wasso great that it was impossible to accommodatethem all. Dhirendra Nath Choudhury,Headmaster, Cuttack Town High School andBiswanath Kar explained to the people thesignificance of boycott and Swadeshi. Asignature-campaign was started and the listcontaining the names of those who took a pledgeto use only Swadeshi goods was read out. At lastMadhusudan Das, in a fiery speech said, “Apromise was of little importance unless it was put

into practice. General Togo of Japan, forexample, uses the shoes made in his own countryonly, however uncouth they may be .The exampleshould inspire us in one way or other.’’

Madhusudan’s speech found a readyresponse. He gave a clarion call and urged thepeople of Odisha to boycott foreign goods,especially the ‘Manchester –made-cloth’ and the‘Liverpool-salt’, and to take a solemn vow to usethe indigenous goods only. Much before thebeginning of the Swadeshi Movement he hadestablished the ‘Odisha Art Wares’ at Cuttack.Now he toured the entire province and addressedhuge meetings in order to propagate the messageof Swadeshi. The Swadeshi Sabha which hepresided over in the Jagannath Ballav Math atPuri aroused much enthusiasm among the publicin general and the students in particular. Hisspeech made an indelible impression on the mindsof Nilakantha Das, Godavarish Mishra and manyothers who were in the youthful of stage of theircareer as students. Among others who respondedto Madhusudan’s call to sign a pledge, NagendraNath Raxit and Nilakantha were the foremost.

Swadeshi meetings were also organizedat Balasore, Sambalpur and many other places.A crowded public meeting was held at Balasore

Swadeshi Movement in Odisha

Balabhadra Ghadai

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Town Hall under the chairmanship of AbdusSobhan Khan. People of all walks of life includingthe Zamindars and pleaders joined the meetingwith great enthusiasm and were very muchinspired to use indigenous goods and boycottforeign goods. Another meeting was held in theBarabati School under the presidency of FakirMohan Senapati with the same objective. Thespeeches of Fakir Mohan Senapati, KarunakarSahu and Daitari Das inspired the people whoresolved to use indigenous goods only. A similarmeeting was held at Puri on 9th September 1905under the chairmanship of Harish ChandraGhose. Dandapani Banerjee explained the idealsof Swadeshi to the people. The students who hadstarted the signature-campaign in the townpersuaded the shopkeepers to sell only Swedishgoods. They also dissuaded the customers frompurchasing foreign goods.

The vernacular newspapers of Odishaalso played a leading role in propagating theSwadeshi ideas. The Prajabandhu of Ganjam, theManorama and Sambalpur Hitaishini played asignificant role in this matter. The resurgentnationalism was also reflected in the contemporaryliterature. Fakir Mohan Senapati in his poemssang that in the past the European ladies werefond of cotton goods manufactured in Odisha.Now our people depend on Manchestor clothand Liverpool salt. His satire aimed at arousingpatriotism and love for Swadeshi goods.

The partition of Bengal was effective from16th October 1905. It was decided to observethe day in Cuttack as the day of solemn pledgeand protest against the partition plan. From theearly morning of 16th October many people, mostof whom were students paraded the streets ofCuttack singing Bande Mataram. They tied rakhi

around each other’s wrists, even on the wrists ofthe Muslims. None was reluctant to wear a rakhi.The procession was headed by a sankirtan party.A similar procession was taken through thestreets of Balasore to the Town Hall wherespeeches were delivered by the leaders toencourage the use of native goods.

The Swadeshi Movement in Purireceived a momentum when a group of studentsreached there from Calcutta. During the pujaholidays they organized meetings and processionsand paraded the streets with ‘Bande Mataram.’Moving from place to place and door to doorthey requested the people to purchase onlySwadeshi goods, particularly clothes, for use onthe occasion of Kumara Purnima. Under the Puribranch of the Utkal Union Conference, aSwadeshi Sabha was held on 20th October1905,in the Jagannath Ballav Math with MahantaBhagaban Ramanuja Das on the chair. AswiniKumar Dutta and Phanindra Kumar spoke on theutility of indigenous goods, and advocated theboycott of foreign goods. They also urged thepeople present in the meeting that they should takea solemn pledge before Lord Jagannath to useonly Swadeshi. The meeting was followed by asignature campaign. The Swadeshi Movement,thus, became popular through public meetings,demonstrations, processions, patriotic songs,picketing and bonfire of foreign textiles. The massbath in the Ganga, followed by a barefootedparade and procession in Calcutta on 16thOctober 1905 produced great influence on thestudents of Odisha,who without any hesitationjumped into the movement with unbelievableenthusiasm. The repression on the part of theGovernment to crush the movement was notsuccessful. Instead of getting crushed, themovement became popular and widespread.

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The Swadeshi movement gave atremendous fillip to the revival of cottageindustries in Odisha. Among other things weavingindustries received the greatest attention. TheRajas and Zamindars being inspired by thepatriotic fervour encouraged the weavers ofBanapur, Sukinda, Basudebpur and Sambalpurto produce fine handloom textiles for them. Onauspicious occasions, the well-to-do class insteadof purchasing Manchester cloth, preferredindigenous clothes such as Berhampuri patta andManiabandhi sari. Swadeshi articles steadilymade their way to the household, and even thechildren were reported to have developedfondness for Swadeshi toys.

The Utkal Union Conference under thedynamic leadership of Madhusudan Dasencouraged the production of Swadeshi goods.It set up a factory at Cuttack to produce weavingmaterials. The second session of the conferencepassed a resolution “that the weaving beundertaken by weavers under branchassociations.’’ Training in the art of weaving wasimparted here. The third session of the Conferenceextended its thanks to the committee which hadstarted the tanning factory in Cuttack, arrangedfree education and training in flying shuttle for theweavers. Rajas, Maharajas and Seminars tookkeen interest in the Swadeshi enterprise. Maharajaof Mayurbhanj planned to set up a big factory atBaripada.

In order to encourage the production ofindigenous goods, C.I.Chintamani, a prominentSwadeshi leader, visited Cuttack and deliveredan inspiring talk in the Odisha Association on11th August 1906. Next day, a Swadeshi meetingwas held under the chairmanship of Gouri ShankarRay in order to select indigenous goods to be

sent to to the next session of the Congress. Beinginfluenced by the idea of Swadeshi, a largenumber of delegates from Odisha proceeded toattend Calcutta session (1906) of the Congress.After returning from Calcutta, the delegatesOdisha began to propagate the ideas of Swadeshiand Swaraj in Odisha. Bipin Chandra Pal, therenowned leader of Bengal, visited Cuttack inApril 1907. He delivered two inspiring talks onSwadeshi, national education and the presentpolitical trend in India in the Municipal compoundand the Town Hall on 9th and 10th April 1907respectively. In spite of casual rains the meetingswere attended by thousands of earnest listeners.These meetings proved the keen interest of thepeople in the Swadeshi movement.

The Government had prohibited thestudents and teachers to participate in the meetingand demonstrations. Violation of this orderresulted in the expulsion of many students fromschools. To provide education to these students,national schools were started. Maharaja ofMayurbhanj donated a big sum of money to thesociety for the promotion of technical educationin Calcutta. Having realized the importance ofeducation, Gopabandhu Das established theEkamra Academy at Bhubaneswar with the helpof two Sanskrit scholars but the school wasclosed down after a few years due to lack offunds.

The Surat Split of the Congress in 1907weakened the Moderates and brought a groupof nationalists to the scene under the leadershipof Gopabandhu Das. He took a bold step inestablishing a National School called SatyabadiVana Vidyalaya at Sakhigopal, Puri in 1909 inpursuance of the programme of NationalEducation of the Congress. This institution became

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famous as a band of devoted and talentedteachers like Pandit Nilakantha Das, PanditLingaraj Mishra, Acharya Harihar Das, PanditGodabarish Mishra and Pandit KrupasindhuMishra along with Gopabandhu Das introduceda new pattern of education most suitable to Indiansociety.

Revolutionary terrorism had raised itshead after the Swadeshi Movement. A group ofultra radical youths started terrorist activities underthe leadership of Jatindranath Mukherjee,popularly known as Bagha Jatin.They usedBalasore and Kaptipada jungle areas as the basesto raid on British establishment. In an encounter

with the police Jatin died while his friends-Manoranjan and Hiren were hanged. Three youngmen of Odisha - Sasanka Mukherjee, Atal Bihariand Bairagi Tripathy were taken into policecustody for their connection with the Bengalrevolutionists. However, Jatin became the symbolof daring patriotism in Odisha. His adventurousactivities prove beyond doubt that Odisha playedno less an important role in the revolutionarymovement of India.

Balabhadra Ghadai, Principal, M.K.College, Khiching,Mayurbhanj.

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The first phase of the 19th centuryin Odisha witnessed twosignificant political events, i.e., theBritish occupation of Odisha in theyear 1803 A.D. and second onewas throwing of the British yokein 1804 A.D. under the leadershipof Jayee Krishna Rajguru,popularly known as JayeeRajguru. Jayee Rajguru, the firstIndian and also the first Odia whostarted the resistance movementagainst the mighty British empirelong before the “Sepoy Mutiny”

in 1857 A.D and prior to the“Paik Rebellion” in 1817 A.D.His indomitable courage,dedication and sacrifice formotherland have indeed writtenhis name with the halo ofmartyrdom.

He was born on the auspiciousday of Kartika Anla Nabami inthe year 1739 in the village of BiraHarekrushnapur Sasan, near Puritown of Odisha. He was the sonof Chand Rajguru and HaramaniDevi. Jayee Rajaguru was a

Jayee Rajguru : A Great Martyr

Dr. Sudarsan Pradhan

Abstract

The first phase of British resistance movement started in 1804 under the leadership of Jayee Rajguru. JayeeRajguru who was not only the Diwan of Khurda kingdom but also acted as the regent of minor kingMukunda Deva-II, who was the last king of Khurda. The policy of the British Commander Col.Harcourtstrained the relationship between Mukunda Deva-II and his Minister Jayee Rajguru one hand and Britishon the other hand. Harcourt planned to take away the hereditary estate of Mukunda Deva –II that led toopen fight between the two party. After the defeat of Barunei battle against British, King MukundaDeva-II and his minister Rajguru were imprisoned at Barabati fort and shifted to Medinpur latter on. At lastthe British sanctioned pension to King and allowed him to stay at Puri as the superintendent of Jagannathtemple. In the Midnapur trial, Jayee Rajguru was declared guilty of a rebellion against British rule andwas ordered to be hanged to death. Jayee Rajguru was not only the first martyr of India, but also aprominent figure of the Indian independence movement in the state of Odisha.

Key Words: Jayee Rajguru, Mukunda Deva-II, Col. Harcourt, Battle of Barunei, Midnapur Trial,

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learned scholar like his grandfather GadadharRajguru. Mukunda Deva II, at the time of hisaccession to the throne of Khurda was a minor.So the responsibility of the entire administrationwas entrusted to the hands of Jayee Raja Guru.He was appointed as the Dewan and as such heworked as the regent, the guardian of the minorRaja1. Jayee Rajaguru’s primary duty was tosecure the honour of the king as well as tosafeguard the interest of the kingdom.

On the eve of the British conquest ofOdisha in 1803 A.D. the British Commander Col.George Harcourt sought the cooperation of RajaMukunda Deva-II for the safe transportation oftheir luggage and artillery through his territory. Inreturn of that, Col. George Harcourt promised topay the Raja one lakh of rupees and reward fourvaluable parganas viz. Rahanga, Serai,Chabiskud, and Lembai taken over by theMarathas about half a century ago. But JayeeRajguru as the guardian and Diwan of MukundaDeva-II did not like this proposal. Because, hecould see the real intention behind it and the dangerit was likely to bring for the state. So he warnedthe Raja against the proposed alliance with theBritish. But King Mukunda Deva-II ignored thiswarning as he attached importance on therecovery of the four valuable Parganas taken overby Marathas.2

After the British occupation of Odisha,Col. Harcourt did not fulfil his promise. So JayeeRajguru met Harcourt at Cuttack and submitteda petition reminding him of his promise to payone lakh rupees, restore the four Parganas andreduce the annual peshkash3. On the other hand,Col Harcourt rejected all these demands.However Harcourt paid him rupees fortythousand and assured him the remaining amountwould be paid latter on4. Afterward, the promises

being rejected, being aggrieved Jayee Rajgurureturned back to Khurdha. He further reportedto the Raja that Harcourt was not only unwillingto give up the mahals but also had intention oftaking from the Raja “whatever hereditary countryremained in his possession”.

In the same time, the British Governmenthad prepared agreements defining in liberal termsits relation with tributary Rajas. Except the kingof Khurda, all the native rulers accepted theproposals. Raja Mukunda Deva-II, who wasbitterly disappointed openly challenged the Britishpolicy5. An open fight became inevitable. Due toconstant pressure from British Commissioner,Mukunda Deva-II signed the agreementsometimes towards the beginning of 1804. TheRaja of Khurda also defaulted in the payment ofannual peshkash. Col. Harcourt blamed the roleof Jayee Rajguru which strained the relationbetween the British and Raja of Khurda. TheCommissioner despatched a letter on 2nd

August,1804 and directed the Raja to deposit thepeshkash without any delay. They also informedhim, that his khelat would be sent very soon andthe same is received from Calcutta. Again, theBritish also sent one Golam Amin to advise theRaja in this matter. The Raja was requested tocomply with his advice. Mukunda Deva II didnot work as per the wishes of British that led openhostilities between the two.

Jayee Rajguru made elaboratepreparation for a fight against the British. At first,he attempted to secure the assistance of the nativelocal rulers and the Marathas, if possible. Onereligious mendicant, Sambhu Bharati wasappointed for mobilising public opinion in thisregard. Maratha Sardars were employed toorganise the army. Troops were stationed atimportant places like Banapur, Dompara, Delang,

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and Gangapara. In spite of this, Lord Welleysellydid not take military action as he suspected Raja’salliance with Marathas. Hence, Col. Harcourt wasinstructed to settle all disputes with the Raja ofKhurda without the use of force. But the Rajaand particularly Jayee Rajguru resorted to hostileaction against the British forming a triple allianceamong the Rajas of Khurda, Kanika andKujanga6. The Zamindars of Bishenpur,Harishpur, and Marichpur also joined in thisconfederacy. Jayee Rajguru also sought the helpof Bhonsle Chief of Nagpur.

On November 15,1804 that at theinstance of the Raja, 250 cavalry and 900 Paiksproceeded to and plundered the disputed fourParganas. There, they disarmed a smalldetachment in the service of the Company. Afterthis incidence J.Hunter, who was the collector ofPuri and Col.Harcourt marched from Cuttack andproceeded to Khurda7. A severe fight betweenthe two camps ensued at Pipili. Thereafter MajorFletcher, an officer of the Madras army, wasentrusted to take the Raja’s fort. Another groupof military force was sent to Gangapara undercaptain Stony. His advance was stoutly opposedby the Raja’s Commander Baishnava Bharati.At last, the Raja’s army met a deplorable reverse8.The Raja along with his queen and royal familymembers took up the position in his Barunai fort.A vigorous fight continued for three days duringwhich the nephew of Major Fletcher was killed.Meanwhile Major Fletcher with the help of aladder succeeded in climbing the wall of the fortand he was soon followed by his team. The fortwas thus stormed and seized on December 4,1804 after three weeks of clash9. The king alongwith his family members including Jayee Rajagurumanaged to escape from fort and took shelter ina jungle. Then the Commissioner Col.Harcourt,

deposed Mukunda Deva II from the throne ofKhurda with effect from December 5,1804.

Raja and Jayee Rajguru were at first keptconfined in the Barabati fort10 for some time. JayeeRajguru was brought before Col.Harcourt.Harcourt asked him whether he had caused thedisturbance or he had done it at the instigation ofRaja Mukunda Deva-II. Rajguru boldly repliedthat, he was entirely responsible because the Rajawas the minor child. Subsequently Raja MukundaDeva-II and Jayee Rajguru were shifted toMidnapur jail. There, Raja Mukunda Deva-II,submitted the petition to the Government statingall the facts relating to the rebellion of 1804 andrequesting for his release and restoration of hisestates in view of his innocence. He put the entireblame on Jayee Rajguru11. The Raja was releasedfrom jail and allowed pension but denied therestoration of estate. He was allowed to live inPuri in his palace of Balisahi. Subsequently, bythe regulation of 1809 and 1810, he wasappointed as the Superintendent of LordJagannath’s temple.12 Selection of Papers from theRecords at the East India House, Vol.I, pp.323-325,Court of Directors to Governor General in Council, 8April,1817.

In Midnapur, the trial of Jayee Rajgurutook place at Bajhitota. He was declared guiltyof waging a rebellion against the lawfullyestablished British Government. He was orderedto be hanged to death13. Rajguru was brutallykilled by the British soldiers in broad day light on6th December,1806. He exhibited extraordinarycalmness of mind and spirit –even at the time ofhis savage death.

In the fight against the British rule in thecountry, leading the freedom struggle JayeeRajguru made the supreme sacrifice for the sakeof the motherland. The Odias and countrymen

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can never forget such a valiant sacrifice by JayeeRajguru. He is the martyr in the history of earliestrebellion against the British.

References:

1. Rao, Narayan, Jayee Rajguru : A profile of greatpatriot of Odisha, Gopabandhu Sahitya Mandir,2016 .

2. Harichandan,Fakir, Khurda Itihasara Antarale(Odia), Cuttack, 1999

3. Das. K.C, Odishara Sashastra Mukti Sangram(Odia).

4. Mishra. Jatadhari, Odishara Pratham SaheedJayee Rajguru (Odia).

5. Ray, Bhabani Charan, Freedom Struggle in Odisha,2006.

6. Raysingh, Laxmi Narayan, Bharat Ra PrathamaGana Biplab, Cuttack, 1965.

7. Mohapatra, Kedarnath, The Khurda History (Odia),Cuttack,1984.

8. Roy, B.C, Foundation of British Odisha, NewStudents Store, Cuttack, 1960.

9. Harichandan Digamber, Khurdha Darpan (Odia).

10. Patnaik, P.K, The forgotten chapter of OdishaHistory, Calcutta,1979.

11. Mohapatra, Chakradhar, Utkal Itihas Ajnat Adhyay(Odia).

Dr. Sudarsan Pradhan, Faculty in History, RavenshawUniversity, Cuttack, E-mail : [email protected].

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The Cripps Mission was failed. There was afeeling of frustration among all sections of people.The Congress which had done nothing so far toembarass the British Government apart fromdemanding a Constituent Assembly to frame a newConstitution for the country could no longer siton the fence when the Japanese were virtuallyknocking at the doors of the country. Gandhijinow started his campaign for ‘orderly Britishwithdrawal’ from India. He began his campaignlate in April 1942. In his views, “whatever theconsequences…to India her real safety andBritish’s too lie in an orderly and timely Britishwithdrawal from India.” The phase ‘Quit India’to denote this move somehow came into vogueand it caught on. On May 10, 1942, he wrote inthe Harijan: “The presence of the British in Indiais an invitation to Japan to invade India. Theirwithdrawal removes that bait.” A fortnight laterhe wrote in the Harijan: “Leave India in God’shands, or in modern parlance, to anarchy. Thenall parties will fight one another like dogs, or will,when real responsibility faces them come, to areasonable agreement.”

The Congress Working Committee onJuly 14, 1942, in a resolution demandingwithdrawal of the British power from India, said:

“should this appeal fail, the Congress cannot viewwithout the gravest apprehension the continuationof the present state of affairs involving aprogressive deterioration of the situation and theweakening of India’s will and power to resistaggression. The Congress will then be reluctantlycompelled to utilize all the non-violent strength itmight have gathered since 1920…..for thevindication of political rights and liberty. Such awidespread struggle would inevitably be underthe leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.” TheCongress Working Committee, in their meetingat Wardha, adopted a long resolution, popularlyknown as the ‘Quit India Resolution’ whichinitiated a new phase of the freedom struggle inthe country. The All India Congress Committeemeeting at Bombay on August 8, 1942, whileapproving of and endorsing the resolution of theWorking Committee, expressed the opinion that“events subsequent to it have given it furtherjustification and have made it clear that immediateending of the British rule in India is an urgentnecessity both for the sake of India and for thesuccess of the cause of the United Nations. Thecontinuation of that rule is degrading andenfeebling India and making her progressively lesscapable of defending herself and of contributingto the cause of world freedom.”

'The Quit India Resolution' andAugust Revolution in Odisha

Dr. Janmejay Choudhury

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As a consequence, early next morningon August 8, 1942 Gandhiji and all members ofthe Working Committee were arrested and theAll India Congress Committee and the ProvincialCongress Committee were banned. But peopledid not take this action of the Government lyingdown. There were numerous acts of violence anddestruction of or damage to public property andin quite a number of places, there was abreakdown of Government machinery anddislocation of normal life and communications.Though the Congress leaders disclaimed anyresponsibility for this outbreak of violence, it ishard to believe that all of them were ignorant ofsuch large-scale planning by the extremists. Onthe Government side, severe repression went onand hundreds were put to death or thrown inprison. The general policy of the Government wasto suppress the disturbances in the country andalso to detain the Congress leaders until they gavea definite assurance and guarantee of a differentline of conduct.

The Governor of Odisha, in his secretreport to the Viceroy, outlined his plan to suppressthe possible Congress rebellion. He believed thatthe Congress might give Odisha a prominent placein their campaign. Such a move alarmed the Britishauthorities. They made elaborate plans to nip it inthe bud. Such was the situation in Odisha beforethe outbreak of the historic rebellion in August1942. The Government swiftly moved itmachinery of repression against the Congressleaders and their organization throughout thecountry from the early morning of 9 August 1942.In Odisha, as in other parts of the country, earlyin the morning of 9 August 1942 all importantCongress leaders were taken to custody.

In the districts of Cuttack, the movementbegan from the town itself and the students of

Ravenshaw College, the premier institution in theprovince, launched a strike which was followedby other educational institutions in the town. On14 August some students of the RavenshawCollege set fire to the office room of the Collegewhich damaged records and furnitures. A fewstudents were arrested and put to jail. In thedistricts, particularly in Jajpur and Kendrapadasub-division, violence took place in several places.The people attacked post-offices, revenue offices,tahasil offices and Dak bungalows and some ofthem were burnt. Telegraph and telephone wireswere cut in several places and chowkidar’suniforms were snatched away and burnt. TheGovernment took drastic action on the people ofthose areas by imposing a heavy amount ofcollective fine.

An incident took at Kaipada, a villagenear Bari, where the people had set fire to post-office. Subsequently several persons werearrested and a small police party was engaged toescort them to the court at Jajpur. At that time afew thousand people assembled and theydemanded the release of the arrested persons.After repeated warnings, the crowd did notdisperse and the police opened fire which killedfive persons and injured many more. At Jajpur, asub-divisional headquarters of the district, thebiggest crowd gathered during the movement. On27 August 1942, a mammoth processionconsisting of about ten thousand people marchedtowards the office of the Sub-divisional officer.The Congress leaders approached the officialsto resign from their jobs in order to join themovement. Disturbances also occurred atErsama, Tirtol, Jagatsinghpur and Balikuda wherethe people resorted to violent activities and burntsome government institutions like post offices,police barracks etc. The officers handled the

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crowd very tactfully and no immediate policeaction was needed.

In the district of Balasore, the AugustRevolution took a violent turn at several placesand caused maximum causalities in the province.The people not only disobeyed the laws of thegovernment, organized hartals and carried onpicketing in front of government offices andcourts, but also set fire to dak bunglows, postoffices and police stations, cut telegraph lines andin some places also stopped the payment of taxesand rents. They were not prepared to toleratethe British Raj any more. The Governmentimposed collective fines and also resorted to firingat several places. The first violence took placeon 17 August 1942 at Bhandaripokhari where amob of about four thousand people surroundedthe police station. There were only one assistantsub-inspector and three constables in the policestation at that time. One constable was beatenseverely and others fled away to save their lives.The police station was burnt. The people alsodestroyed a wooden bridge so that the police forcefrom outside would not be able to come quicklyto the disturbance area. The government arrestedthe leading agitators including Jagannath Das, theCongress member of the Legislative Assembly,from that area. A collective fines of Rs.6,000/-was imposed on twelve villages for mob violence.Then police resorted to firing at Katasahi wherea violent mob attacked an armed police party on22 September 1942. Eight persons died in theincident. Subsequently the ring leader of the area,Muralidhara Panda was arrested. A week laterpolice opened fire to disperse an unruly mob atKhairadihi and at Tudigadia on 28 Sept in whichtwo local people and a few others from Nilgiri, aneighbouring state, were killed.

In the Puri District, the prominentCongress leaders were arrested soon after thebeginning of the movement. The students in theschools and the Sanskrit College went on strikeand some telegraphs wires were cut in other partsof the Odisha. But only one violent incident tookplace at Nimapada on 16 Sept 1942. The villagersof that area decided not to pay any rent to theGovernment and to the Zamindars also. Theywanted to hoist the Congress flag at the policestation. When they were prevented from doingso, the mob became violent. The police ultimatelyopened fire to disperse them which killed oneperson and injured several others. In the districtof Sambalpur, the most prominent Congressleader Pandit Laxmi Narayan Mishra was arrestedon his return from Bombay. The students ofseveral schools went on strike. In the district ofGanjam, the revolution took the usual form ofburning a number of Government buildings, mostof which were thatched sheds in the agency areasand of destroying the telegraph lines. In the districtof Koraput, the August Revolution took a veryviolent form. On 21 August, hundreds of Congressvolunteers led by the local leader, Laxman Nayak,had assembled at Mathili with the object of raidingvarious offices including the police station. In thepolice firing four persons were killed on the spot.Laxman Nayak and many others were arrested.Subsequently, Laxman Nayak alone wassentenced to death and 38 persons were awardedvarious terms of imprisonment. Laxman Nayakwas hanged in the Berhampur jail on 29 March1943. He was the only freedom fighter of Odishawho was hanged in the jail in the AugustRevolution. Out of 38 prisoners in the Mathilicase, 3 died in the jail and the rest were releasedafter independence.

The most atrocious incident took placeat Eram under Baudevpur police station where

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the police party opened fire against the unarmedvillagers and killed 29 people on the spot. Thatwas the most tragic event of the August Revolutionin Odisha and probably nowhere in India so manypeople were killed in a single police action duringthe revolution. The incident took place on 28 Sept1942. After Eram firing, the agitation calmeddown. The disturbances gradually declined andwas almost controlled by the end of October1942. Even after the arrest of the prominentCongress leaders in early August, some of themstill remained in the underground and tried to giveleadership to the mass movement in those criticaldays of the Revolution by secret organizations.Most notable of them in India were Jaya PrakashNarayan, Aruna Asaf Ali and Ram Manohar

Lohia. An underground organization alsofunctioned in Odisha under the leadership ofSurendra Nath Dwivedy, a member of the All IndiaCongress Committee. He secretly remained inCuttack town itself and established links withmany Congress workers in the province andsupplied them with cyclostyled bulletins for theirguidance and necessary action. In this way theAugust Revolution in Odisha continued tillachieving the independence.

Dr. Janmejay Choudhury, Lecturer in History, SriJagannath College, Kaipadar, Khordha.

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The Independence being the inborn right of men.It establishes impacts to gain it with more pain.The pleasure of freedom is somehow very sweet,Surendra Sai for it headed a tremendous fight.

Born in Khinda on twenty third day of January, The year Eighteen hundred nine brought merry.His early learning was from local surroundings,Being a claimant he was denied to be the king.

In Sambalpur then he raised a great revolution,The Gonds and Binjhals backed him very sudden.He fought more against the enemy very bravely,Sometimes he could get some short of victory.

But being caught by them he was taken to the jail,In a cell of Hazaribagh jail of Bihar he had to dwell.Being free by the Sepoy rebels he returned then,He came to Sambalpur back to fight again.

In Debrigarh forest fort he was secretly dwelling,One of his close friends turned faithless to him.The Britishers imprisoned him in Asurgarh Jail,His endeavour for liberty also became too fail.

He passed his last breath with so many grieves,As an optimist he possessed the strong belief.For future independence of lovely motherland,We pay homage to his soul for his brave stand.

Dr. Bhubaneswar Pradhan, Asst. Teacher, Kangaon High School,Bargarh-768033, E-mail: padhanbhubaneswar @gmail.com.

Surendra SaiDr. Bhubaneswar Pradhan

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When people of Odisha hid insidedominance of the Imperialism,Buxi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar Bhramarbar RayMohapatra displayed patriotism.

Maratha Raghuji executed treatybeing defeated by East India companyCompany desired to occupy Odisha nowSearched for domestic traitor with money.

Soon after abolition of Maratha rulePhate Mahammad of Malud felt perturbedEntrance path to Odisha via Chilika lake,as a traitor, for his benefit, showed.

He earned vast 'Nimak Haram Jagiri' andcompany earned Odisha in turnMukund Dev II, Khorda King was cast downby tyrany and loot of Maratha then.

The king desired to execute treatyfor safety of Odia’s life and wealth.But Buxi desired to wage a battleand expressed to colonel of British regiment.

Buxi gathered Odia Paikas from DhenkanalSambalpur, Kujang, Kanika and GanjamAll joined with Jayee Rajguru and Buxito fight away British to upkeep name.

In 1804, Paikas attacked British campsat Pipili when soldiers were unawareRoad was stained with British bloodcolonel was upset, called Major Fletcher.

Major attacked with regiment of MadrasBarunei fort but could not enter inGot upset by repeated defeats and nowwanted clue through conspiracy of his own.

One Charan Patnaik, other Kanchi Bewashowed secret path to Barunei fort

Raja was sent secretly to Gangamata Math, Puriremained with Jai Rajguru and Buxi both.

Due to advice of Rajguru, Buxi left fortUnwillingly with eyes flooded with tearJayee killed many before red-handed caughtBritish flag waved on fort on 4th Dec. 1804.

Rajguru was executed at MedinapurRaja was caught, remained in Medinapur Jail.Later released to remain as SuperintendentJagannath temple.With forfeiture of Khorda Khasmahal.

Buxi’s 'rodang jamindari' forfeited toDeban Krushna ChandraLast words of Rajguru inspired himAgain he gathered Paikas for revolutionOn request of Buxi, Raja joined then.

Paikas attacked Banpur Police Stationset fire, treasury-money lootedKilled a Salt officer of Chilika shore400 Kandha Paikas from Ghumusar joined.

Raja was caught, remained in Barunei fortAs prisoner, dearth of food and water somedays then taken to Cuttack Jail, breathed his lastOn March Nov. 1817, the History says.

Buxi, while in slumber in a cavewas caught by Madras regimentTaken to dense forest and shot deadEaten away by tiger, the rumour spread.

Buxi exhibited his paramount valourHellish pursuit of British, annals speakFor commerce they came, occupied IndiaRuthlessly ruled without shrink !!

Er. Raghunath Patra, Brundaban Dham, Lokanath Road,Patana Hat Sahi Chhak, Puri - 752001.

Buxi Jagabandhu : The Gallant Fighter

Er. Raghunath Patra

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Humanism is an attitude of themind, attaching prime importanceto man. Human values are oftenregarded as the central theme ofRenaissance of Civilization. Inrecent years the term“Humanism” has often been usedto refer to a value system thatemphasizes the personal worth ofeach individual.

Jayamangal Rath afreedom fighter, Social Reformerand significant Odia Nationalistand a great humanist was born on 27.01.1893 inManjusha (presently Mandasa in AndhraPradesh). His father, Narayan Rath became theDewan of Dharakote estate. Jayamangal Rath'sinitial education was in Manjusha as well as inDharakote.

Young Jayamangal Rath showed hisdesire for social service by writing a news itemfrom Manjusha which was published on17.01.1914 in “Sambalpur Hiteisini”, a well knownperiodical of that time. That article was related toa “Blind Care Society” established in Manjushaestate. His another article published in the“Sambalpur Hiteisini” on 09.01.1915 spoke a lotabout his keenness in social reforms particularly

against child marriage and infavour of widow re-marriage.

It is too noteworthy, thatthe major effect of nationalawakening in the 19th centurywas seen in the field of socialreforms. Nearly all the religiousreformers contributed to thesocial reform movement. Themovement penetrated fromUrban India to the Rural Indiaand down to the lower strata of

society and began to revolutionize and reconstructthe social sphere.

The social reform movements tried in themain to achieve two objectives i.e.(1) Emancipation of women and extension ofequal rights to them and (2) Removal of casterigidities and in particular the abolition ofuntouchability.

The spirit of reforms pioneeredparticularly in the context of Ganjam district wereSribatcha Panda and Jayamangal Rath. Both werestaunch reformists, embraced Arya Samaj bySribatcha Panda and Brahmo Samaj byJayamangal Rath. Both the Samaj, despite beingregional in scope and content and confined to

Jayamangal Rath : A Reformer

Kanhu Balakrishna Bihary

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Hindu religion, their general perspectives wereremarkably similar.

The year 1917 saw Jayamangal Rath, asan Asst. Editor of “Samaj Mitra” a monthlypublished from Dharakote and became its editorin 1918.

For a short period, he worked as ateacher in Aska arid Buguda under District Board,Ganjam. As an independent personality, histhinking and actions, could not cope with theAuthorities, so he resigned from service.

Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership andthoughts had an enormous influence whichJayamangal cultivated in himself systematically.Gopabandhu Das indentified the broad qualitiesof Jayamangal Rath and in the year 1920appointed him as the Secretary of Ganjam districtCongress Committee. Gopabandhu Das was alsoimpressed by Jayamangal Rath’s organizationalskills, hence entrusted him the arrangementresponsibilities on the occasion of MahatmaGandhi’s visit to Berhampur on 29.03.1921.

Sribatcha Panda a staunch, foremost andfiercest reformer of Odisha, the first B.A graduateof Ghumsar, nominated Jayamangal Rath asSecretary of “Go Raksha Ashram” in the year1923 situated at Rosul Konda under the auspicesof “Utkal Arya Samaj”. Jayamangal Rath wasmuch concerned for the development andupliftment of Harijans. He opened one night schoolin August 1923 at Gate Bazar Hadi Sahi.Patitapaban Sevak Samaj or Patitapaban missionfor the development of Harijans were establishedin various parts of Odia speaking tracts Viz.,Kharagpur, Kolkata in West Bengal, Ichapuram,lndupur (Edupuram), Koitha (Kaviti), Balada(Near Kasinagar) and Tekkali in Andhra Pradesh,Arjipalli (Near Chatrapur), Surolo, Pathara,Langaleswar. Rambha and Haripur (Near

Gopalpur) all in the coastal belt. The Berhampurbranch of Patitapaban Mission opened in 1927.During Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to Berhampurhundreds of Harijans entered Raghunath Temple.Jayamangal Rath was instrumental in this mission.“MAHIMA” a spiritual periodical startedpublishing from Berhampur since June 1940.

Jayamangal Rath was regularly writing inthe leading periodical of that time Viz, Samaja,Sampalpur Hiteisini. Utkal Deepika, Asha,Prajatantra, Sanskar, Nabeen etc. All his writingswere highlighting social evils and its eradications.

He vehemently fought for an appointmentof Odia teacher in Indupur (Edupuram) village,as a result of which Govt. of Andhra Pradeshappointed one Odia teacher for the benefit of Odiastudents.

In 1939 he conducted a meetingcomprising of all the Odia speaking fishermen ofAndhra Pradesh and impressed upon them forformation of fisherman cooperative societies intheir respective villages. He acted as the Secretaryfor Ganjam district fisherman cooperative society,for several years.

For his remarkable contributions in thefield of social services particularly in upliftment ofHarijans, invoking Odia nationalism andpropounding Gandhian values and messages,Jayamangal Rath has received enormous honourin the hearts of downtrodden. He breathed hislast on 20.06.1952.

Thus Jayamangal Rath has become asource of inspiration for the generations to come,as an embodiment of steadfastness, principles,simplicity and missionary commitment.

Kanhu Balakrishna Bihary, 2nd Lane, Alakapuri,

Berhampur-760010, E-mail : [email protected]

45AUGUST - 2019


The wonder of the world,the classic Kalingan temple architecture,The hallmark of art,the jewel of Odishan temple structure.

Konark, stands as a mute witness to history.A UNESCO World heritage site,it is the marvellous work of creativity.

Built by King Narasingha Dev, it bearsthe supreme sacrifice of twelve hundred sculptors andDharmapada, the master craftsman.

It bears the testimony of timelessness of art.A source of inspirationfor poets, art lovers and historians.

Despite the ravages of idol breakers and plunderersit has stood the test of time,It’s captivating beauty and breathtaking architectural marvelare scenic and sublime.

The majestic rock art and sculptural splendour enthralls us.The monumental work of art gives delight to spectators.Konark, the pride and glory of Odisha is in a state oferosion and dilapidation.

An eternal tourist attraction,it needs resurrection and restoration.

Prabhudutt Dash, Plot No 307, Haladipadia, Saralanagar,Laxmisagar, Bhubaneswar-751006

Konark : The Quintessence of ArtPrabhudutt Dash

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Roaring seaRaised unto horizonEmbraced by the atmosphereKissed by the gusty airDanced upon its wanton waves !

In a fit of paroxysmUnleashed its fury and fumesWashed out lives and vibesLike a scene apocalypse.

Beneath the skyAnd upon the EarthNobody was thereTo tear and shareDeath laid its icy touchHere, there and everywhere.

Still .... thereA hue and cryNear the Shore and near the bayIt's nothing but a tug-of-warAmong the empty bellies and shattered dreams.

Sangram Keshari Kar, Chahapada, Mahanga, Cuttack.

TsunamiSangram Keshari Kar

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As per description in the Puranas, among thetwelve Yatras of Darubrahma (woodenmanifestation) Shree Jagannath, Car Festival orShree Gundicha Yatra is considered the mostfamous one.

Those who get a glimpse of ShreeBalabhadra, the incarnation of Sankarshana (LordShiva), Shree Jagannatha, the incarnation ofBamana-Vishnu, Devi Subhadra, the incarnationof Lord Brahma, the creator and giver ofincessant bliss and Shree Sudarshana the powerfulweapon of Lord Vishnu in the Gundicha Temple-bound chariots would definitely be liberated fromearthly bondage.

According to Bamadev Samhita thosewho can witness the four deities on the Simhasana(the sacred seat) of Gundicha Temple for a week,they along with their ancestors would get a placein the heavenly abode i.e. Baikuntha for all timeto come. As per this text those who can hear aboutthis great festival they also get the desired result.Besides this, those who study the rituals of thedivine festival and make others aware of the samethey can also get a place in His holy abode.

As per the Purana and religious texts theCar Festival of the “Four Deities” takes place onthe 2nd lunar day of the bright fortnight of Ashadhafor the over-all well-being of the mankind. In the

Skanda Purana it has been described that nofestival of Mahaprabhu is more important thanthat of the Car Festival. Because Shree Hari thesupreme Lord of the cosmos rides His chariot ina very delightful mood to the Gundicha Templeto fulfil His pledged command. Gods andGoddesses also come to witness the sportive artof the Lords. One who touches the holy shade ofthe chariot can be absolved from grave sinsincluding the sin of slaying a Brahmin.

Further Sages and Rishis are of theopinion that those who witness the Car Festivalof the Daru Brahma they get the result ofAswamedha Yajna (horse-sacrifice ritual).

Although the concept of chariot isprevalent since Vedic days the car festival of ShreeJagannath has given a new impetus to thetraditional cultural flavor of the mass festival andhas transformed the Vedic ethos ‘to that of theuniversal.

As the chariot is a symbol of “ sandhinisakti” mere touch of the chariot would confercompassion of Lord Jagannatha on the devotees.

The famous verse in this context is asfollows :

“Rathe tu Vamanam drustvapunarjanma na vidyate”.

Shree Gundicha Yatraof Lord Shree Jagannath

Susanta Kumar DashDr. Bhaskar Mishra

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Rituals of Shree Gundicha Festival :

After the completion of morning ritualsof the deities such as Mangal Alati, Abakash,Ballabha, Khechedi etc. on the 2nd day of AsadhaSukla tithi the “Mangalarpana ritual” is performed.The four deities come in a Pahandi (ceremonialprocession) and board the sacred chariots oneafter the other. However, on their way to thechariots during the Pahandi a tahia (headgearmade of sola and sacred leaves) is tied on thefore-head of each deity. The deities namely LordSudarshana, Devi Subhadra, Lord Balabhadraand Lord Jagannatha come serially in Pahandi andboard their chariots. After the Pahandi the proxydivinities (bije pratima) such as Rama and Krushnaare placed by the Mahajana servitors on thechariots i.e. Taladhwaja and Madanamohan onthe Nadighosha chariot respectively.

Chhera Pamhara Ritual :

After boarding of the deities in theirrespective chariots the deities are decorted withMalachula and Vesha on the chariot. The ChheraPamhara (moping the chariots in a golden broom)ritual is performed by the Gajapati, the foremostservitor of the deities. For performing ChheraPamhara the Gajapati Maharaj comes in aceremonial procession by a Tamjan (palanquin)from the Shree Nahara (King’s palace). He firsthalts in front of the Taladhwaja chariot and climbsthe chariot of Lord Balabhadra. Other servitorsof the palace such as Nahara Puspalaka, BeheraKaran, Deulakaran, Rajguru, Lenka, Mekapa,Garabadu, Muduli etc. remain present on thechariot. Throughout the procession BeheraKhuntia acts as an usher to lead Gajapati bywaving a cane. The Garabadu servitor hands overhatuani to the Gajapati and he then gives floraloffering to the deity. Gajapati offers camphor lamp

in a golden diya (lamp) to the deity. This isfollowed by alati and chamara ritual.

Rajguru receives the golden broom fromMuduli servitor and hands it over to the Gajapatiafter performing a ritual namely samskara.Bhandar Mekap (another servitor) gentlysprinkles white flower around the chariot. TheKing sweeps around the chariot by the goldenbroom and thereafter sprays sandal paste on thechariot. Chhera Pamhara in other chariots suchas Devidalana and Nandighosha are donerespectively. After the Chhera Pamhara Gajapatigoes back to Shree Nahara in a procession. It isworthmentioning that Mudiratha performs theChhera Pamhara in the absence of Gajapati.

Ratha Tana (Pulling of Chariots) :

As per tradition, after the ChheraPamhara the Bhoi Sevaks remove the charamalafrom the chariots. Each chariot is tied with fourwooden idols of horses. Rupakara servitors aregiven the responsibility of tying the wooden horseswith the chariots. Four long ropes are tied in eachof the chariots. The girth of the rope is 8 inch andthe length is 220 ft.

The Kahalia servitor blows kahali (wind-instrument). This is followed by beating of gongs.Thereafter the chariots are pulled. Ratha Dahuka(the jester-like minstrel) sings many songs toenthuse the crowd to pull the chariotsenthusiastically. The area gets vibrated withchanting of “ Haribol” and “ Jaya Jagannatha”.With beating of gongs, chanting of devotionalslogans and samkirtana the chariots are pulledtowards the Shree Gundicha Temple which issituated at a distance of three Kms.

Usually the chariots reach the GundichaTemple on the same day of Car festival. But onsome occasions the chariots do not reach the

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destination because of some difficulties such as –delay in Pahandi, snapping of ropes, movementof chariots in wrong direction etc. At the time ofpulling of chariots Pankti Bhoga (dry sacred food)are offered in honour of the deities on both sidesof the grand road. Daitapati servitors and otherservitors concerned perform sacred service to thedeities remaining on the chariots.

The Collector and District Magistrate,Superintendent of Police and Additional DistrictMagistrate of the district usually remain in chargeof Nandighosha, Taladhwaja and Debadalanrespectively. Other officers of Temple and theDistrict Administration remain present at the timeof pulling up of the chariots and render necessaryco-operation. However, the servitors like RathaMaharana and Bhoi Sevak discharge importantresponsibility during the time of pulling of chariots.

Ratha Bhoga :

The deities on the chariots are offereddry sacred food instead of cooked rice. FromGopalaballabha ritual till Badasinghara ritual Khai,Kora, and different types of fruits are offered tothe deities. Mahasuara servitors serve the bhogason three different chariots. Puja-panda servitorsperform puja on the chariots.

According to Record of Rights earlierdifferent types of sweets such as Kakara, Pheni,Khai, Kora, Jhademeda, Mandua etc. in largequantities were offered as bhoga to the deities onthe chariots. But for last many years fruits andother bhoga with certain quantities are offered tothe deities.

Appearance on the Adapa Mandap(Simhasana) at Gundicha Temple :

After the three chariots reaching GundichaTemple the Temple and District Administrationin discussion with Daita servitors carry the deities

on the following day in Pahandi to the Simhasanaof Gundicha Temple. Before this the Kothasuansiaservitors perform simhasan majana and fixcharmala on the adapa mandapa.

The proxy divinities of Madan Mohanaand Rama-Krushna are taken by Mahajanaservitors inside the Gundicha Temple. Thesedeities are kept in Dakshini Ghara (a special roomin the south) in the temple premises. Thereafterthe deities such as Lord Sudarshana, LordBalabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannathaare taken serially by Daitapatis in Pahandi(ceremonial procession) to the simhasana insideGundicha Temple. During the said Pahandi,Pratihari Sevak holding Gouri veta ( a type ofcane) moves with the deities for their protection.All rituals similar to that of Shree Mandira areperformed in the Shree Gundicha Temple duringthe seven-day stay of the deities in the said temple.

Hera Panchami :

Hera Panchami is an important festiveoccasion during the car festival. On the 5th day ofAsadha Sukla (full moon phase) Hera Panchamiis celebrated.

As per the Record of Rights the “PaliaaMahajana” servitors of Goddess Lakshmiperform Majana in the storehouse (bhandaraghara) of Shree Mandira on the said day. Afterthe majana, Goddess Lakshmi is dressed inVanaka Lagi and Patta (silk) saree. She wearsother ornaments. She is worshipped byPujapanda. Goddess Lakshmi appears in abimana ( a vertical palanquin) that is kept underthe banyan tree inside the temple. The Bimanbaduservitors carry the bimana on their shoulders in aprocession to the chariot of Lord Jagannatha nearGundicha Temple. Pati Mahapatra servitorsperform certain rituals such as Prasada lagi,

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Bandapana, Chamara, Alati, Ghasa, Bidia & DahiPati. In the meantime the mid-day puja for thefour deities in the Gundicha Temple getscompleted and they are offered aalati. LordJagannatha takes His celestial bath in panchamruta(sacred purified water mixed with milk, curd,ghee, honey and jaggery).

After the evening puja (Sandhya dhupa)certain rituals near the chariot take place andMahalakshmi comes to Jaya-Bijaya dwara(door). Ajnamala (divine garland) from the holybody of Lord Shree Jagannatha is brought andoffered to Lakshmi and specific rituals areperformed. The Bimana of Goddess Lakshmi iskept near “ Nakachana dwara” ( the exit door).Here the Bhitarchha Mahapatra servitors receiveHatuani from the Garabadu servitors. They offerlamp and perform Dahipati manohi.

After this ritual, on Her return journeyLakshmi in Her palanquin proceeds to the chariotof Shree Jagannatha. She out of veiled angerbreaks a piece of wooden fixture in the chariot ofShree Jagannatha and comes back to ShreeMandir via Heragohari Sahi. For the sacred toand fro journey of Goddess Lakshmi specialPankti Bhoga is offered at Bada danda,Heragohari Sahi and at different Mathas. Thenthe celebration of Hera Panchami comes to anend.

Dakshina Moda (Turning the chariots facingthe south) :

As per tradition, after the Sakala dhupa(morning worship) on the following day of HeraPanchami the Ajnamala (divine garland) from thethree deities are brought and are given to the threerespective Palia Puja Panda servitors. Theyproceed to the chariots in a procession with gong,parasol & wind instrument and offer the Ajnamala.

Thereafter the three chariots of the deities takesouth turn and are kept near Nakachana gate.The chariots are thoroughly checked by traditionalMaharana (carpenter), Darji (Tailor), Bhoiservitors near the Nakachana dwara. If requirednecessary repair work on the chariots is takenup.

Sandhya Darshan (Evening Darshan) :

As described in the Puranas getting aglimpse of the four deities on the Adapa Mandapduring the evening (sandhya darshana) bringsincessant bliss to a devotee. As described inNiladri Mahodaya seeing the deities continuouslyfor 10 years in Nilachala (Shree Mandira) isequivalent to witness the deities for one day onlyat Adapa Mandapa at Gundicha Temple.Especially, if one sees the deities during evening /night hours gets ten times more than the desiredresults. The following shloka justifies the same.

“Niladrau Dasha Varshani Adapa –Mandape Dine”

The “Sandhya Darshana” ritual isperformed on the day before Bahuda Yatra(Return Car Festival) since ancient days.

As some special rituals are observed onthe 9th lunar day of Sukla Asadha the entry of thedevotees to Gundicha Temple is restricted after8 P.M. on the said day.

The timing of Sandhya Darshana is shownin the time-table published by the TempleAdministration. After the completion of“Badasinghara” ritual, on the said day, Paliaservitors cover the face of the deities with GitaGovinda Khandua saree and leave GundichaTemple. The Kotha Suansia servitors fix acharamala (a flight of stairs made up of logs ofpalm & coconut tree) on the Simhasana and the

51AUGUST - 2019


Daitapati servitors perform “Bahutakanti” andother secret rituals.

Bahuda Yatra (Return Car Festival) :

The return car festival is known as“Dakshinabhimukhi Yatra” (movement of chariottowards south). The 8th verse of Chapter 35 ofthe “Skanda Purana” speaks about the“Dakshinabhimukhi Yatra”.

As per description in the Purana,devotees can get the same desired result bywitnessing the deities while on this“Dakshinabhimukhi Yatra” as on the“Uttarabhimukhi Yatra” (movement of chariottowards north). In the morning of Return CarFestival (Bahuda), the Bhittarchha and Paliaservitors perform Mangala Aalati, Abakasharituals. Thereafter the Puja Panda servitorsperform Gopala Ballabha, and Sakala Dhupa etc.The rituals are followed by Senapata Lagi ritual(secret ritual) by Daitapati. The Pujapanda, PatiMohapatra and Mudiratha servitors performMangalarpana ritual in the three chariots on thefollowing day of Gundicha Yatra. The return carfestival commences soon after blowing of BijeKahali (victory bugle). When the three chariotsare on their way back to Shree Mandira onBahuda Yatra different institutions, temples andservitors offer dry special food (pankti bhoga)to the deities.

A special type of cake (Poda Pitha) isoffered to the deities when the chariots halt atMausimaa Mandir. Thereafter the chariots ofBalabhadra (Taladhwaja) and Subhadra(Darpadalana) proceed further and are stationedin front of Singhadwara. But the chariot(Nandighosha) of Shree Jagannatha halts atShree-nahara. Goddess Lakshmi is carried in a

palanquin to Shree-nahara and Dahipati ritual isperformed there. Gajapati himself facilitates themeeting of Goddess Lakshmi with ShreeJagannatha. Receiving the divine garland fromShree Jagannatha, Goddess Lakshmi enters theShree Mandira. Chariot of Lord Jagannatha ispulled up to Singhadwara thereafter.

Getting a glimpse of the deities on thesouth-ward journey during Bahuda gives incessantbliss and removes all sins and afflictions.

Sunabesha (Golden Adornment of Deities)on Ashadha Sukla Ekadasi (11th day of brightmoon phase) :

During the last phase of the GundichaYatra (Car Festival) the deities are adorned withgold ornaments on the chariots in front of the LionsGate on the Sukla Ekadasi and the general publicwitness the deities. The deities are adorned withvarieties of gold ornaments such as Sri Payara,Kirita, Kundala, Adakani, Kadambamali, HaridaMali, Sebati Mali, Chandrika etc. A sea ofhumanity floods Bada danda to witness themajestic Sunabesha of the deities. Adequate policearrangements are made to maintain law and orderduring Sunabesha.

Adhara Pana :

On Aashadha Sukla Dwadashi (12th dayof bright moon phase) Adhara Pana ( a specialtype of drink in which cheese, milk, sugar, spicesare mixed) is offered to the deities on the chariots.This sweet flavoured milk drink is kept in earthenpots which almost touch the lips of the deities.Mahasuara servitors prepare the drinks on eachchariot. At the time of offering of “Adhara Pana”Bhittarachha, Taluchha and Palia Puspalaka holda new cloth (in horizontal way) in front of thedeities.

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Pani Apata servitors collectively bringhundred pots of water from a well (near Lionsgate) and pour the same in a big brasscontainer (Handa) which is kept there on thechariot. The Mahasuara servitors mix milk,cheese, banana, spices etc. in the said water andprepare a special drink (pana). Pujapandaservitors offer the said drink to the deities. It issaid that after offering of “pana” to the deities onthe chariots, the servitors break the earthencontainers in honour of the side deities. As pertradition “Bada Odia Matha”, “ Raghava DasMatha” and Temple Administration supply thepots and ingredients for preparation of the saiddrink “Pana”.

Niladri Bije :

Niladri Bije is a special event i.e. the lastphase of Shree Gundicha Yatra. After the “AdharaPana” ritual the four deities return to the bejeweledplatform in a ceremonial procession on thethirteenth day of the bright fortnight of Aasadha.Appearance of the deities on the bejeweledplatform after the Bahuda Yatra is known as NiladriBije.

The journey of chariot from the citadel ofsplendorous divinity of Neelachala (ShreeMandira) to the citadel of sensuous sweetness,the Maharasa Vedi, said to be in Sundarachal orGupta Brundavana (Gundicha Temple) and backto Neelachala is reminiscent of Lord Krishna’smundane sport. He leaves Gopa and comes toBrundavana to initiate His Maharasa. GundichaJatra is therefore highly symbolic.

On the day of Niladri Bije after theSandhya Dhupa, charamalas are fixed to each ofthe three chariots. Mudiratha Sevakas give floraloffering (Puspanjali) to the deities on Taladhwaja,Nandighosha and Darpadalana respectively and

complete the “doralagi” ritual. Kahalia Sevaksblow a wind-instrument (bugle) and theceremonial procession (Pahandi) of the deitiesstarts. The proxy divinities such as Rama, Krushnafrom Taladhwaja and Madan Mohan fromNandighosh are taken in a Pahandi by Mahajanservitors to Dakshini Ghara inside the templepremises. Lord Sudarshana after completion ofcertain rituals is taken from Devidalana chariot.In a ceremonial procession He is taken to thebejeweled platform through Baisi Pahacha (twentytwo steps), Annanda Bazaar, Sata Pahacha(seven-steps) and Jagamohan. Similarly thePahandi of Shree Balabhadra and Devi Subhadratakes place. Finally the sovereign of the cosmosShree Jagannatha goes in a spectacular Pahandi.When Lord Jagannatha reaches on the chara ofNandighosha, Goddess Lakshmi appears on aDambaru ( a special musical instrument) which iskept on a holy bed. The Mahajana servitors installthe deity on the said Dambaru at Bheta Mandap.The Tahia (an ornamental headgear made up ofbamboo stick, sola flower etc.) given byRaghabdas Matha is tied on the fore-head of ShreeJagannatha. The Patimahapatra servitors offersandal paste, dhandi Prasad, Camphor Alati,Durbakshata, bandapana, Dahipati, Ghasa, Bidiato the deities. Bhitarachha Mahapatra offerssacred lamp to Goddess Lakshmi. But LakshmiWho is in a sulk gives direction for closing themain gate (Lions gate) of the temple. However,when Lord Jagannatha appears in front of theLions Gate, it gets opened.

Shree Jagannatha is brought toJagamohana through Baisi Pahacha, AnandaBazaar, Bhitara Bedha (inner courtyard) and SataPahacha. Goddess Lakshmi out of anger closesthe Jaya-Bijaya door. She becomes furiousbecause Lord Jagannatha did not allow Her to

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accompany Him on His chariot-ride. A tug of warbreaks out between the Devadasi (womenservitors) on behalf of Lakshmi and BadagrahiDaitas and other Daitapati on behalf of LordJagannatha. Lord Jagannatha assures GoddessLakshmi that in future this type of mistake /situation will never occur. Thereafter the Jaya-Bijay doors get opened. At last near thestorehouse Lord Jagannatha looks to the northand similarly Goddess Lakshmi looks to the south.In such a position both exchange their looks. TheBhittarchha servitors untie the nuptial knot andoffers Bandapana (lamp offering). In order topacify the Goddess, Rasagollas (a special typewet sweet made up of cheese, sugar, spices) areoffered. It is only on the day of Niladri BijeRasagollas are offered to the deities in ShreeMandira. The deities are enthroned on thebejeweled platform and the Daitas andPatimahapatra offer sandal paste to the deities.The Kothasuansia servitors remove charamala

from the bejeweled platform. In this way NiladriBije celebration comes to an end.

Car Festival in Puri is considered one ofworld’s largest religious festivals which is beingcelebrated since time immemorial. The HolyTrinity is considered as the friend, philosopher andguide of the people of the State. JagannathaTemple is one of the most revered temples of thecountry and Nabakalebara is the grandest of allfestivals of Lord Jagannatha. Multitude of pilgrimsfrom across the world throng to Puri to be a partof the world famous Gundicha Yatra and towitness the sportive art of the Lord of the cosmos.

Susanta Kumar Dash, Addl. Secretary to Govt., GA &PG Department, Govt. of Odisha.

Dr. Bhaskar Mishra, OSD (JTA), Law Department,stationed at Puri.

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Apart from being a dexterous epigraphist,Dr. S.N. Rajguru was a sedulous researcherwho had the distinction of authoring a numberof scholarly works on the history and cultureof Odisha. But a lesser known fact is that hehad also a flair for poetry. His poetic genius isreflected in ‘Manorama’ written in 1946. Thethematic substance centres round thepassionate love of Manorama, the princess ofVijay Nagar Kingdom (the daughter ofvictorious king Krushnadev Ray), towardsPrince Birabhadra, the son of the vanquishedruler Prataprudradev of Utkala. Though themarriage between them could not bematerialized, the meeting of the two passionatehearts could be made possible by the poetwhen the determined princess met the love ofher life, the imprisoned hero inside the prison.And there she took the momentous decision oftaking to poison in an anti climax. The lovestory met the tragic end.

The historical background has beenlucidly depicted by the poet. The political rivalrybetween the two rulers, marriage of Jaganmohini,the extremely beautiful daughter of Prataprudradev(in an unavoidable circumstance), the trivialincidents that occurred in the meantime, the scenicbeauty of nature of hilly regions of Utkal and Vijay

Nagar – all these have been narrated in a livelymanner. In the midst of violence, treachery howthe tender feeling of love could develop that makesone feel astonished. Written in a subtle manner,the love story does not at all seem as a travesty.A sensible reader would surely recognize thatRajguru was a poet of finer sensibility.

In 1947, he had written the bookNagavamsara Itihasa (The history of the Nagadynasty). Prior to his service in Odisha StateMuseum as Epigraphist, Dr. Rajguru was workingunder Pratap Kesari Dev, the Maharaja ofKalahandi. Maharaja was a great patron of historyand literature. He encouraged Satya Narayan topublish his findings on Naga Dynasty in the formof a book.

According to the author, besides Aryasand Dravidas, there was another race whichconstituted the people of hilly regions. The originand spread of the Nagas in India and abroad hasbeen discussed thoroughly in this book. The firstKing of Naga dynasty was Phani Mukuta. Heestablished his kingdom in Chutiamba, which incourse of time became known as Chotnagpur.

The Nagas basically belonged tomegalithic culture. In India the Nagas ruled overKashmir, Assam, Mathura, Nagpur, Singhbhum,

Padmashree Satya Narayan Rajguru :the Poet and the Historian

Dr. Jayanti Rath

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Ranchi and other places. The Satabahana rulersof Andhra were originally Nagas. FamousBuddhist monk Nagarjuna had come in closecontact which the Naga rulers of Simhala. Hediscovered the text Prajna Paramita from Simhala.Naga dynasty, according to him established theirrule for a long period in the island.

The Bhanjas, the Bhaumakaras (ofOdisha), the Vakatakas ( of M.P.) had link withthe Nagas. Historian K.P. Jayswal could read outthe names of some of the Naga rulers from thecoins issued by them. We find the names of :

1. Bhima Naga , 2. Skanda Naga,3. Bruhaspati Naga, 4. Vyaghra Naga, 5. DevaNaga, 6. Ganapati Naga, 7. Haya Naga, 8. TrayaNaga, 9.Bahir Naga, 10.Bhabanaga,11.Rudrasena, 12.Kirtisena, 13. Nagasena - whoruled over Padmavati, Kantipuri and Mathurarespectively from 210 A.D. to 344 A.D.

Padmashree Satya Narayan Rajguru wasbasically a man of letters. He was loved andrespected by his contemporary scholars andhistorians. Born in the family of Rajgurus (Royalpreceptors) he served as a close companion ofMaharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati, the primearchitect of new Odisha province. His father-in-law Bhikari Mishra was a famous HeadMaster of Manjusha High School. His maternalgrand father Sashibhusan Rath was a veteranJournalist. Justice Abhimanyu Misra, Ex-ViceChancellor of Berhampur University was hisbrother- in-law. It is quite obvious that he wasgreatly influenced and inspired by them all.

He had his school education atMunicipal Primary School, Maharaja’s Boy’sHigh School, Paralakhemundi and passed ShastriExamination in Sanskrit. Although he did not acquireany educational degree from any University, he

proved that, for undertaking research work a degreeis not necessary rather a distinctive aptitude andscientific method is essential, one must also havedepth in the language of Sanskrit and Prakrit. Forthis purpose he was in search of a guide and finallyhe found that in Professor G. Rammurthy, a famoushistorian and retired Professor of History of Andhra.Under his guidance Rajguru learnt the study ofepigraphy and paleography. In his autobiographyRajaguru writes, “By the age of 20” I was welltrained in Epigraphy. This tempted to travel todifferent places of Odisha to discover anddecipher the Inscriptions and Copper PlateGrants.

During the beginning of his career as anEpigraphist Dr. Paramananda Acharya, offeredhim a book on Paleography written by G.S. Ojhathe most acclaimed paleographist of India. It wasa great help to Rajguru, as he was not able topurchase that book. By that time he was passingthrough financial difficulties.

Regarding the merit of his book Historyof the Gangas (2 vols) T.K. Venkatraman, RetiredProfessor of History, Madras University writes :-The author Sri Satyanarayan Rajguru may becongratulated for the laborious and scholarly workhe has done in writing this “History of the Gangas”in two parts. The idea of compiling acomprehensive history of the Gangas Kalinga onmodern lines appeared when Prof. R. Subba Raoof Rajahmundry wrote an account of the historyof the Eastern Gangas of Kalinga in the Journalof the Andhra Historical Research Society,Vols.V-VIII. Although he tried to correct somemistakes appearing in the history of the Gangaswritten by old scholars like Rajendra Lal Mitra,Sir WW. Hunter, M.M. Chakravarti and R.D.Banerjee who wrote on the history of Odisha andthat of the Gangas, he could not succeed much in

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correcting the defective readings of many GangaInscriptions found in the temples of Mukhalingam,Sri Kumaran, Simhachalam, Draksharam andNilakantheswar. The present work throws somenew light on the history of Odisha where theGangas have played an important role.

The most remarkable portion of this workis the second part, where the author has broughtto light some new facts relating to the Ganga Kingsof Khemundi in general and Paralakhemundi inparticular. He has also done well by ending thebook with a note on the life of the presentMaharaja of Paralakhemundi, who is solelyresponsible for the creation of the Odisha State,according to the author. The author has made ameritorious contribution to the history of theGangas.”

Dr. Rajaguru made original study onmedieval inscriptions of Odisha and several votiveinscriptions found at Simachalam and Puri. Hefinally decided the date of beginning of theBhauma era and the Ganga era. His anothersignificant work invocatory verses fromInscriptions (2 Vols) fetched for him the highestaward Padmashree which was presented by thethen President of India Sri V.V. Giri in 1974.

For his outstanding contributions to therealm of literature and history, BerhampurUniversity conferred on him the prestigious D.Litt.Degree in 1975. He also received the followinghonours and awards in his lifetime.

1. Utkal Sahitya Samaj Award in 1930.

2. Felicitated by the Andhra Pradesh HistoryCongress in 1950.

3. Felicitated by the Orissa History Congressin 1980.

4. Felicitated by Pragati Utkala Sangha ofRourkela in 1986.

5. “Sarala Puraskar” Award in 1996.

6. “Kendra Sahitya Academy Award" in1996.

7. “Utkala Ratna” by Utkala Sahitya SamajAward in 1996.

Another significant achievement ofDr. Rajguru was the discovery of Copper PlateGrant from Khorasanda village nearParalakhemundi. This discovery brought to lightthe historicity of Mathara dynasty which hepublished in Bihar and Orissa Research Journal.His epigraphic studies threw new light on manydynasties like the Nalas, Matharas, Vigrahas etc.who would otherwise have remained unknown.

He re-examined the Chidivalasa CopperPlate. He boldly asserted that the Brahmins ofChidivilasa village originally belonged to Kalinga.Prior to that Prof. G. Subarao stated that thebirth place of the Bhrahmins of that village wasBengal. Because of this discovery, the AndhraBrahmin Mahasabha honoured him with theaward of Bharati Bhusan.

By his tireless efforts he decided the dateof beginning of the Bhauma Era and the GangaEra. He also settled the controversy over theprevalence of Gupta rule in Kalinga.

It would not be an exaggeration to say thathis contribution to the history and culture of Odishais invaluable. His death in 1997 created a void thatcannot be filled up.

Dr. Jayanti Rath, Superintendent of Museum, Odisha,Bhubaneswar.

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The history of modern Odisha has witnessed agalaxy of freedom fighters like Madhusudan Das,Gopabandhu Das, Krushna Chandra Gajapati,Vikram Dev Barma, RamaDevi, Malati Devi, Sarala Devi,Annapurna Maharana, KuntalaKumari Sabat, BidyutpravaDevi, Kiranbala Sen and manyothers. They have got differenttitles such as “Madhusudan Daswas popularly known asMadhubabu or Madhu barrister,the pride of Odisha or UtkalGaurava). Gopabandhu Das gotthe title Utkalmani, (The Jewelof Odisha). Krushna ChandraGajapati Narayan Dev got thetitle Maharaja ofParalakhemundi in theZamindari estate of Ganjam. Hewas also known as the Muktidata or Liberator ofParalakhemundi. Vikramdev Burma, theMuktidata or Liberator of Jeypore in the Koraputdistrict of South Odisha. Rama Devi Choudhurywas popularity known as Maa or Mother by thepeople of Odisha, as Teresa was known as Maaor Mother Teresa, by the people of India. Leavingher family life, she took active part in the freedommovement and courted arrest for her anti-colonial

activities. She for the first time had put off her veilfrom the head and participated in Odisha politicsi.e. in the freedom movement in Odisha.

Family and Early Life

Ramadevi, the first andforemost woman freedom fighterof Odisha, had contributedsignificantly to the freedommovement in Odisha in the 20th

century. She was the daughter ofGopal Ballav Das and the nieceof Utkal Gourab MadhusudanDas. She was born on 3rd Dec.1899 at Cuttack in an aristocraticfamily. At the age of 15 Ramadevimarried to GopabandhuChoudhury, the then DeputyCollector. She had moved todifferent places while the

freedom movement was in an accelerating form.She agitated against the barbarian attitude of theBritish. Once she said, “I will have to do somethingfor my motherland Odisha, otherwise we humanbeings cannot prove ourselves to be better thananimals”

At that time “Imparting education towomen was considered as a sin. It did not thrive

Rama Devi :The First Woman Freedom Fighter of Odisha

Manas Chandra Behera

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in Odisha. Rama Devi could not get any scopefor education, but her mother Basant Kumari hada great influence on Rama Devi.

Rama Devi got married to GopabandhuChoudhury, the son of Gokulananda Choudhurywho was a prominent Zamindar of the villageKharas near Jagatsinghpur. However, themarriage was held in the year 1914.

In course of time she was the mother ofson Manmohan and daughter Annapurna. Boththe son and the daughter were immensely inspiredby Rama Devi for the cause of the country i.e. forthe 3 great movements or landmarks of this landsuch as Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22),Civil Disobedience Movement(1930-34),Quit India Movement (1942).

Rama Devi had joined the Indian freedomMovement in 1921, together with her husband.She was highly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi.She used to go from village to village, to encouragewomenfolk to join in the freedom movement inOdisha. Other nationalistic leaders who hadinfluenced Rama Devi were Jai Prakash Narayan,Vinoba Bhave and her uncle Madhusudan Das.

Rama Devi’s visit with Gandhi

In the year 1921, Rama Devi had her firstvisit with Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi came toOdisha in 1921 and held a meeting at Kathajori.In this meeting there was a large gathering ofwomen. Rama Devi with the permission of hermother-in-law, attended the meeting. At thatmeeting a decision was taken that men who servedunder the government of Odisha shouldimmediately resign from their jobs. GopabandhuChoudhury also resigned from his GovernmentService.

Rama Devi always believed in action(Karma) not in words. She believed in nationalismand patriotism. In 1921, Rama Devi met Gandhijitogether with her husband and joined the Non-Cooperation Movement. In the same year theyhad joined in the Indian National Congress. Theystarted wearing Khadi.

During the Non-Cooperation Movement,Gandhiji addressed the meeting at Cuttack andappealed to the womenfolk of Odisha to workfor the freedom of the country. Gandhiji alsorequested them to hand over all their ornamentsfor the cause of the country. Rama Devi acted onthe advice of Gandhi and donated total of herpersonal ornaments for the Satyagraha.

Jamunalal Bajaj Foundation

In the year 1921, Gopabandhu joined theJamunalal Bajaj Foundation. However the AlkaAshram was established through the enterpriseof Gopabandhu and Rama Devi. Rama Devi wasa constant inspiration to Gopabandhu Choudhury.

Gopabandhu was elected as thePresident of the Utkal Pradesh Congress. RamaDevi worked with her husband and took upnumerous national activities. After coming backfrom the Indian National Congress, Rama Devistayed in Alaka Ashram at Jagatsinghpur. She haddevoted herself to the social work and workingfor the sick, poor and downtrodden. Shecontinuously inspired the womenfolk to agitateagainst the aliens.

In the year 1922, Rama Devi along withher husband attended the Gaya Congress Sessionand subsequently became active member of the“All India Charakha Sangha”.

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Rama Devi and the Civil DisobedienceMovement in Odisha (1930-34)

Rama Devi had actively participated inthe Civil Disobedience Movement in Odisha. TheMovement was, however otherwise designatedas the “Salt Movement or “Labana Satyagrah”.It commenced in 1930. The then PradeshCongress President Pandit Lingaraj was arrestedduring the movement. Rama Devi took over thecharge of Pradesh Congress Presidentship but shewas arrested while she was addressing a meeting.

Salt Movement in Balasore

Rama Devi went to Inchudi in BalasoreDistrict and also to Srijang with other nationalactivists like Kiranbala Sen, Malati Devi, SaralaDevi, Pranakrushna Padhiari etc. But in themonth of November 1930, Rama Devi along withher colleagues were arrested and they wereplaced in different jails by the British. Rama Deviwas arrested several times viz. in 1921, 1930,1936 and in 1942 along with her other womenactivists like Sarala Devi and Malati Devi.

Rama Devi and the Karachi Session

In the year 1931 the Indian NationalCongress held its annual session at Karachi. RamaDevi attended the session and requested theleaders to hold the next session in Odisha.

Rama Devi and the Harijan Seva Sangha(1932)

In the year 1932 Rama Devi was releasedfrom the Hazaribagh Jail. She involved herselfatively in the Harijan Welfare activities. She hadstarted the Asprushyata Nibarana Samiti underthe instruction of Gandhiji for the eradication ofuntouchability. However the institutionAsprushyata Nibarana Samiti was later renamedas "Harijan Seva Sangha”.

Gandhiji had also visited Odisha twice in1932 and 1934. Rama Devi met Gandhiji duringhis two historic visits to Odisha. Rama Devi alsomet Kasturba, Sardar Patel, Dr. Rajendra Prasad,Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Pandit JawaharlalNehru and others.

Rama Devi joined the Kasturba MemorialTrust in 1944. She started an Ashram at Bari,which was named as” Sevaghara” by Gandhiji. Itwas only possible dur to the untiring effort of RamaDevi, other branches were also opened atSatyabhamapur, Narendrapur, Aurangapur andmany other places of Odisha.

During the Quit India Movement of 1942the members of Rama Devi's entire family includingher husband Gopabandhu Choudhury werearrested.

After the death of Kasturba Gandhi,Gandhiji assigned her work as the representativeof Odisha Chapter of the Kasturaba Trust.

Rama Devi had played a prominent andpioneering role for the spread of basic educationin Odisha. In the year 1938 she had established15 schools within a short span of time. These wereestablished on a modest scale. She organized theTeachers' Training Programme.

Role of Rama Devi after Independence

After India attained her independence on15th Aug 1947 Rama Devi had no longer devotedherself in active politics. She had participated inthe “Bhoodan Movement” introduced by “VinobaBhabe”. In 1952, Rama Devi along with herhusband joined the Bhoodan Movement. RamaDevi dedicated herself to the cause of Bhoodanand Gramdan Movement of Acharya VinobaBhave. In 1952, Rama Devi along with herhusband travelled about 4,000 kilometers acrossthe state to propagate and enunciate the message

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of giving land and wealth to the landless, deprived,destitute, downtrodden and poor. From 1928,Rama Devi stayed in the Alaka Ashram atJagatsinghpur.

Rama Devi had established the UtkalKhadi Mandal and a Teacher’s Training Centreand Balwadi at Ramachandrapur, in the year1950. Rama Devi had established a “TribalWelfare Centre” at Dumburugeda. During famineof 1951, Rama Devi and Malati Devi workedtogether and provided relief in Koraput District.During the Indo-China war of 1962, Rama Deviprovided selfless service to the Indian soldiersaffected in the war.

In the year 1956, the Sarbodaya Melawas started in Assam, Rama Devi attended themela. She was also the president of the “All IndiaShanti Seva Mandal.” In the year 1959 a SevaShanti Mandal was formed at Haridaspur in theCuttack district. However Rama Devi was thegreatest source of inspiration for this Seva Samiti.

Rama Devi and the Students' unrest

In the year 1962, Rama Devi hadconducted her “Social Service” or Seva in Assam.At that time acute famine seemed to be evident inRourkela, Mayurbhanja, Balasore and Cuttack.As a matter of fact “Popular Unrest” took placeand Rama Devi popularized the public unrest orPeople’s Movement, which was the symbol of“Odia Nationalism”.

Rama Devi and the Partition of Bengal

In the year 1971, Rama Devi whole-heartedly supported the “Partition of Bengal”.Why in 1971-72 war broke out betweenBangladesh and west Pakistan, Rama Devi wentto west of Dulajpur District and spent sometimesin the hilly place with her volunteers. However,Rama Devi along with her team of volunteers

carried on their work in serving the sufferers, indistribution of food and drinking water.

Rama Devi and Acharya Harihar Das Trust

In the year 1977 “Acharya Harihar DasTrust” was established in Odisha. Rama Deviassociated herself in the trust and carried on thevoluntary activities. She was the President of the“Sarvodaya Sabha”. As the President of the “Sarvodaya Sabha” Rama Devi sacrificed her lifefor the social welfare of the people in Odisha.

Rama Devi and Emergency

During the period of emergency, RamaDevi vehemently protested against British, bybringing out her own newspaper along withHarekrushna Mahatab and Nilamani Routroy. TheGram Sevak Press was banned by thegovernment. Rama Devi was arrested along withother leaders from Odisha like NabakrushnaChoudhury, Hare Krushna Mahatab, ManmohanChoudhury, Annapurna Moharana, JayakrushnaMohanty and many others.

Rama Devi had established a PrimarySchool, Shishu Vihar and a cancer hospital atCuttack.

Rama Devi and the Padma Shree Award

Rama Devi was a renowned socialworker. The Government of India wanted to giveher the title of “Padma Shree”. The Governmentof Odisha wanted the views or opinion of RamaDevi. But Rama Devi, declined to receive thereward.

Rama Devi and other National Awards

In recognition of her services to thenation, Rama Devi was awarded the “JamunalalBajaj Award” on 4th Nov 1981 for her brilliantwork in social service. In the year 1984 she wasawarded the D.Litt. degree by the Utkal

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University but Rama Devi denounced suchrewards and continued to serve the poor and theneedy as a common volunteer.

Memorials or Memorable Institutions inthe name of Rama Devi

The Rama Devi Women's College wasestablished at Bhubaneswar to memorise RamaDevi, however it has been converted into aUniversity in later period. It is indeed the greatesttribute to her. Similarly, the school, “Shishu Viharstarted by her at Cuttack is now named “RamaDevi Shishu Vihar”.

Last Days of Rama Devi

On 22nd July 1985, Rama Devi breathedher last. The same year in Haladia Port the coastguardship was named after her. After her demise

in 1985, Odisha lost a devoted woman whoseentire life was dedicated for the welfare of thisland and its people.

In conclusion it may be ascertained that,Rama Devi was the first woman freedom fighterof Odisha, who sacrificed significanty to thefreedom movement as well as social service inOdisha, She had denounced many awards,rewards and remunerations. Really, she wasabove the titles, epithet and any sort of greediness.

Manas Chandra Behera, Lecturer inHistory, Neelamadhab Mahavidyalaya, Kantilo,Nayagarh-752078.

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“Mahatma Gandhi is the unquestioned 20thCentury Prophet of the world. His great concernfor all the oppressed and depressed made himcommitted to serve his motherland. His immediatetask was to release India from the foreign yokeand to safeguard the freedom thus won throughthe implementation of his constructiveprogrammes. He started a good number ofinstitutions to be managed by his chosen expertsto their fields and gave them the perennial messageof wiping every tear from every eye. He desiredto establish Sarvodaya Samaj through grantingpower to the people at the grassroots so that theycould enjoy Gram Swaraj for ever. He wantedevery individual to contribute to the total welfareof the community through practising his EkadasiVratas.

He sincerely felt that none in God’screation is a waste and if everybody realises thishe should act as a Trustee of the excess of hispossessions and special talents in him. Sometimesman may become headstrong and behave indevious ways. On these occasions non-violentSatyagraha will come to our rescue to help himunderstand his role and go hand in hand with allwithout the least animosity. He also initiated usfor peaceful co-existence in a world torn asunderin the name of petty political parties, castes,

religions, dynasties, etc. His method of approachis an eye opener for all to go deep into the root ofthe problem, negotiate with the contending partiesand settle the issues amicably without rancour andfavour. Thus he proved that he was a pragmaticphilospher par excellance, and an outstandingexample of Karma Yogi of this modern era.”

Mahatma Gandhi was born in a smalltown called Porbandar on the coastline ofKathiawar on october 2, 1869. His fatherKaramchand Gandhi was Dewan of theAhmedabad State and a great moralist. Hismother was a religious and devout Hindu ladywho left a very serious imprint on the life ofMahatma Gandhi. His character was built as aresult of the influence of his mother. At the age of13, he was married to Kasturba and at the age of18, he passed the Matriculation examination. AfterMatriculaion, he went to England to study Law.When he went to England he had become fatherbut his father had gone by now. His elder brotherwas responsible for education and upkeep afterthat. Gandhi who had become a man prematurelyhad to fight his way all alone. It was his misforturethat before he could come back to India, hismother was also gone and it was the rudest shockof his life.

Role of Gandhiji in theFreedom Movement

Rabindra Kumar Behuria

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When Gandhi was born the British rulehad already been established in India. The uprisingof 1857, known as the Sepoy Mutiny had merelyserved to consolidate the British adventure in toan empire. India had effectively passed underBritish tutelage, so effectively indeed, that insteadof resenting alien rule the generation of educatedIndians were eager to submit to the “civilisingmission” of their foreign masters. Politicalsubjugation had been reinforced by intellectualand moral servility. It seemed that the BritishEmpire in India was safe for centuries.

When Gandhi died it was India - a freenation that mourned his loss. The disinherited hadrecovered their heritage and the “dumb millions”had found their voice. The disarmed had won agreat battle and had in the process evolved a moralforce such as to compel the attention, and to somedegree, the administration of the world. The storyof this miracle is also the story of Gandhi’s life forhim, more than any other grateful countrymen callhim ‘Father of the Nation’.

And yet it would be an exaggeration tosay that Gandhi alone wrought this miracle. Nosingle individual, however great and powerful canbe the sole engineer of a historical process. Asuccession of remarkable predecessors and eldercontemporaries had quarried and broken thestories which helped Gandhi to pave the way forIndia’s Independence. They had sent in motionvarious trends in the intellectual, social and moralconsciousness of the people which the geniusGandhi mobilised and directed in a grand march.Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ram Krishna Paramhansa,Swami Vivekananda, Swami DayanandaSaraswati, Dadabhai Naoroji, Badruddin Tyabji,Sayed Ahmed Khan, Ranade, Gokhale, Tilak,Aurobinda Ghosh and Rabindranath Tagore, toname only a few. Each one of them had his own

field created consciousness of India’s destinyhelped to generate a spirit of sacrifice which inGandhiji’s hands became the instruments of vastpolitical-cum-moral upheaval. Had Gandhi beenborn hundred years ago he could hardly haveachieved what he did. Nevertheless it is true that,but for Gandhi, India’s political destiny would havebeen vastly different and her moral stature vastlyinferior.

Being of a Vaishnava Family, he waslargely influenced by Jainism. Among the sourceswhich moulded the Gandhian outlook “Gita” ranksthe foremost. “The book struck me an one of thepriceless worth. The impression has never sincebeen growing on me with the result that I regardit today the book par-excellence for theknowledge of Tuth. It has afforded me invaluablehelp in my moments of gloom.” It has often beensaid that Gandhiji borrowed the idea of“Satyagraha” from Henry David Thoreau’sfamous essay on Civil Disobedience. Gandhi alsocame in contact with” The light of Asia” by SirEdwin Arnold and Madame Blavatsky’s key toTheosophy. Besides all these, Ruskin’s “Un tothis last” had been one of the transforminginfluences which shaped Gandhian outlook. Thisbook was given to Gandhiji by Polak who at thattime was woking as the Asst. Editor of theTransvaal Critic. That book, he Said, marked theturning point in his life.

Gandhiji was again influenced by Tolstoy.He read Tolstoy’s “ The kingdom of God is withinyou” at a time when he was passing through acrisis of scepticism. He accepted this book as asort of creed in the solution of all problems in life.Tolstoy’s philosophy which is called ChristianAnarchism in the application of the teachings ofthe sermon on the mount. He advocated it as asolution of the modern social, economic and

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political problems. Besides, Tolstoy, the late RajaChandra also exercised a great spiritual influenceon the life of Gandhiji.

Beginning of Public Life

The first great period of his life coversthe years from 1893 to 1914. He got thepermission to go to South Africa for a year torepresent professionally an Indian firm which hadan important case pending in South AfricanRepublic. He arrived in Durban in 1893, havingno reason except other than good and decenttreatment. But in the course of his journey andduring his stay there he met several dignitaries.In South Africa he found that Indians had beensubjected to degrading and mortifyingdiscriminations. Indians had been going to Natalsince the sixties of the last century as indenturedlabourers. The treatment meted out to them andtheir descedents by the Whites was humiliating.Gandhi fought for the restoration of justice to hisfellow countrymen. The Natal Indian Congresswas formed in August 22, 1894 mainly at hissuggestion. Gandhi rose as a defender of libertyand equality and became the acknowledgedleader of the Indian community in the portractedSatyagraha movement from 1906 to 1914.

In 1915, Gandhiji came back to India,As soon as he came back to India, he wasrecognised as an important national leader. Hewas also invited by the leaders of the IndianNational Congress to join it and help thatorganisation and its movement for the freedom ofthe country. But he decided to tour India and seefor himself the condition of the people beforeplunging deep into politics. Before Gandhijidecided his course of action, the First World War(1914-19) broke out and on the appeals of therulers of England, Gandhiji decided to help themin their war efforts. He helped them in specific

understanding that when the war shall be wonIndia shall be granted freedom. Gandhi hadthought that rulers of India would keep theirwords but once the war had come to an end,they went back from their words. No doubt, inrecognition of his services to the war, Gandhijiwas given the title ‘ Kaiser-e-Hind’ but for a greatman like Gandhiji, such title was meaningless anduseless.

Personality and programme

At one time Jawaharlal Nehru remarkedthat he doubted the clarity of the Mahatma andalso his own association with him. Explaining thisparadox Nehru writes thus : “personality is anundefinable thing, a strange force that has powerover the soul of man and he possesses this in aremarkable measure...... He attracted people.....They did not agree with his philosophy of life oreven with many of his ideals.... and he went withhim although we did not accept his philosophy”.

What gave the enormous spell to thepersonality of Gandhiji ? He alone epitomized thetraditions of India. His emphasis was always onaction, an emphasis reminding one of the KarmaYoga in the Gita which has been the most popularscripture of the Hindus since the 6th Century A.D.Although he was simple in living and saintly inthinking, he permitted himself to be involved neck-deep in the freedom. “Defiance of law and orderwas non-co-operation with evil; hartal was amoral protest, satyagraha was the technique forthe realisation of truth that is God.”

Secondly, he openly asserted that theconcept of Truth (God) is almost unattainable,each one is endowed with a fraction of Truth, hasalmost the same meaning as the cardinal principleof the Upanishads that salvation lies in the mergingof the individul’s soul with the universal soul.

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Thirdly, his stress on simple living andabstemious habits of dietary cast a spell on themasses of India. Indeed he did skip over twostages of the four traditional ashramas knownfor two millennia in India. He became the appleof the eye of the common man because sainthoodhas always had a profound appeal to the Indianmasses reminding them for the various Acharyaslike Sankara and Mahadev and the saint - singersof bhakti movement. Althogh the middle class didnot like his hobnobbing with the Harijans, theycould not but admire him, for deed down in theirhearts they know that they were in the wrong,not the Mahatma. Besides, there was always asurreptitious veneration for meditation and fast,for they constitute a past of Hindu traditions. Andwith regard to the rich class, he adopted shrewdpolicy of admonition and expediency, he talkedon moral and material upliftment of all but wantedthe rich to hold all the property as the trustee ofthe community. Thus all classes of people weretaken in by the Mahatma. In the words of PercivalSpear, “He translated his moral into popular termsand so made the whole political movement seemmore of a pilgrimage than a war”.

While carrying the traditions of India inhis wake, Mahatma also succeeded inincorporating some of the dynamic values ofmodern times. Time and again he stated that hewas a great devotee of Nonviolence andSatyagraha as the only true means for achievingtruth, he included a great rumber of riders to hisfundamental beliefs which bring out the stamp hislegal and political knowledge of the modern times.Apart from his modernity, his personality andprogramme incorporated in a subtle manner thework of the previous makers of modern India.

The Mahatma’s contribution in thefreedom movement begins from the year Tilak

passed away. It was after his death that theCongress, adopted the policy of non-violence,non-cooperation under the guidance of theMahatma. In general Gandhiji applied histechniques three times within a span of little morethan 20 years, the first was in 1921, the secondin 1931, and the last in the Quit India Movementin 1942.

Role in the National Movement

Once Indian people had been deniedafter the war, the rightful claim of freedom, Ganhijidecided to non-cooperate with the BritishGoverament. He launched his Satyagrahamovement in order to carry out peaceful and non-violent struggle against British Goverment,Gandhiji called upon the people not only toboycott English goods but also stop paying rentsand non-cooperate with the British Governmentin all walks of life. He broke the salt law at Dandi,new technique of struggle against the mighty BritishEmpire. He was arrested for breaking the salt lawon various occasions. In the year 1920, he startedthe Non-Cooperation Movement which did notend till the country had achieved freedom. TheCivil Disobedience campaign of Chauri-Chaurain 1921 was abandoned because a few policemenwere burnt alive. The campaign of the thirties wasabandoned because of no definite reason,although his Dandi March created a sensation.After the Second World War, the Britishersstarted doing things that were not at all conducivefor India. After the Khilafat Movement waslaunched Gandhiji plunged deep into it. He wasimprisoned for six years but released on accountof his ill health. Prior to that the Britishers hadstarted their mischievous and crooked plan ofdividing Muslims and Hindus. In order to do awaywith the unity between Hindus and Muslims, theBritishers had hatched out several plans and

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communal riots had taken place. Gandhi in orderto bring about the unity between Hindus andMuslims, underwent a fast for 21 days.

These things strengthened the belief ofGandhiji that Britishers were not very clear in theirmind and they were not going to grant freedomto the country in an easy manner. He, therefore,launched “Civil Disobedience Movement”. Thenthe Britishers in order to enact reforms and solvethe problem convened the Round TableConference consisting of the representatives ofIndian people and that of the British Government.No body participated in the Round TableConference (1930) on behalf of the Congress.Then a pact was signed between MahatmaGandhi and Lord Irwin, the Viceroy in India. A aresult of this pact, representatives of Congressled by Gandhiji took part in the Second RoundTable Conference, but this conference also didnot yield any result.

In the year 1934, Mahatma Gandhidecided to take the constructive programme ofvillage reconstruction, Harijan welfare, removalof untouchability, development of cottageindustries, Khadi, etc. No doubt, he was not amember of the Congress but he was theuncrowned king who ruled as well as reigned overthe political life of the country.

As a result of the Government of IndiaAct, 1935, certain powers were transferred tothe states and the Congress formed itsGovernment in 9 states. But as soon as war brokeout and the British declared India as a belligerentnation against Germany, the Congress becameannoyed and the Congress Ministers in the statesresigned.

From about 33 years from 1915 to 1948Gandhiji worked in India for the sake of his

Country’s freedom. Non-violence and Satyagrahahe suggested as weapons for fighting againt Britishimperialism. He along with others, fought hard andbrought the liberation for the country. It isimmaterial whether he was in a minority or amajority of million, he said “I belong to the tribeof Columbus and Stevenson who hoped againsthope in the face of heaviest odds.”

During forties, the international situationwas becoming extremely serious. Japan hadalready declared war against England and hadobtained several resonating victories. Britishneeded a united war front against Japanese but itwas a difficult task as India had lost its trust inBritish sincerity. Realising the seriousness of thesituation, the British Government sent Sir StaffordCripps to India to resolve the deadlock and tomobilise all the forces of Indian’s life against theJapanese menace. Mr Cripps gave a draftdeclaration, according to which India was toenjoy a dominion status and the BritishGovernment was to retain the control of thedefence of India as part of their World War effortswith the cooperation of the Indian people. Theproposal was rejected by every single party andMahatma Gandhi characterised the pledge aboutthe future settlement of the Constitution as a “post-dated cheque on a bank that was obviouslyfailing”.

The negotiation thus broke down, thefuture of the Cripps Mission disheartened thepeople. The day Cripps left was Sunday. Mondaywas Gandhiji’s day of silence. He pondered overthe difficult situation as to what could be thesolution ? His inner voice spoke two words “QuitIndia.” The British should leave India to its fate.In his paper, Harijan, he wrote on April 26, 1942“Whatever the consequences therefore, to India,its real safety and Britain too lies in orderly andtimely British withdrawal from India.” He

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reiterated again on May 24, 1942 “Leave Indiain God’s hands, or in modern parlance toanarchy”.

The Congress Committee met atWardha. It continued its deliberations for manydays over Gandhiji’s new slogan to the nation onJuly 14, 1942, the Committee passed a longresolution known as the “Quit India” resolution.It demanded that the British Rule in India mustend immediately and power should be transferredto the Indians to enable them to defend theircountry as well as save the world from perils ofNazism, Fascism and militarism. If this just andreasonable demand was not accepted theCongress would be reluctantly compelled to starta non-violent agitation of direct action. A meetingof All India Congress Committee was accordinglyconvened at Bombay to endorse this resolution.

The Government paid no heed to theresolution of the working committee. The Viceroyrefused to meet Mirabehn whom the Congresshad sent for explaining the working committeeresolution. It was clear that the Government wouldnot yield to the All India Congress Committee byan overwhelming majority. A proposal starting anon-violence struggle under the leadership ofGandhiji was adopted. Addressing the delegateson the night of August 8, 1942, Gandhiji Said “Iwant freedom immediately that very night beforedawn if it can be had. Freedom cannot wait forthe realisation of communal unity. Congress mustwin freedom or be wiped out in the effort. Hereis the Mantra, short one that I give. You mayimprint it on your hearts and let every breath ofyours give expression to it. The Mantra is “Do orDie” we shall not live to see the perpetuation ofour slavery”.

Early in the morning on August 9, 1942,Gandhiji and other Congress leaders were

arrested. The All India Congress Committee andall the Provincial Congress Committees weredeclared unlawful. Thousands of Congressworkers were thrown into jails. The headquartersof the Congress at Allahabad was sealed andCongress funds confiscated. Gandiji was lodgedat Poona in Aga Khan Palace and the otherleaders were detained in Ahmedabad fort. Nextday Kasturba Gandhi got herself arrested byattempting to address a meeting at Bombay inwhich Gadhiji was scheduled to speak before hisarrest.

The news of arrest of the nationalistleaders caused a wave of indignation among thepeople. There were demonstrations, meetings,hartals all over the country. National songs andslogans demanding the release of the leaders filledthe air. In the beginning the crowd were peaceful,but when the police tried to control them by forcethey became violent. In Delhi alone the policeopened fire forty seven times upon peacefuldemonstrators in which 76 persons were killedand 114 were injured during the two days i.e.August 11 and 12, 1942. Similar incident tookplace in other cities like Bombay, Ahmedabad andPoona. The workers and students organisedstrikes in factories, colleges and schools. At placesthe mobs destroyed the police posts, post officesand railway stations, considered to be the symbolsof foreign rule. The revolutionary groups alsoattempted to cut telephone wires and damagerailway tracks. In rural areas the peasant refusedto pay taxes to government. At many places theywere able to paralyse the local administrativemachinery completely and set their ownGovernments. Prominet among these were Balliain U.P., Midnapur in Bengal and Satara inMaharashtra. At Ballia, the people opened thejail. One of the prisoners installed himself as“Swaraj Tahasildar” and set up the Panchayati

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Raj. At Tamluk in Midnapur District, a nationalGovernment was established. At Satara, thepeople set up a parallel Government known asthe “Patri Sarkar”. In the then Madras Presidency,the railway line between Ranigunta and Bezwada(know as Vijaywada) was uprooted. In manyother areas, the peasantry resorted to the guerillaresistance to the British rule which continued fora long time. The leaders of the undergroundmovement were Jayaprakash Narayan and RamManohar Lohia. The Government arrested 60000people, detained 18000 without trial, resorted tofiring at about 538 places, thus killingapproximately 1000 people and injured 1600people thereby claimed to have suppressed themovement within a month.

No doubt, Britain tried to combat thegrowing discontentment and sent Cripps Mission.Gandhi also launched an individual Stayagraha in1941 and launch a movement in 1942, knownas “Quit India Movement.” Gandhiji and the othermembers of the Congress Committee werearrested before anything could happen. In 1944,he was released, then came Shimla Conferenceand the movement of the Muslim League for thevivisection of the country. In 1946, the Muslimslaunched Direct Action which resulted incommunal riots on a large scale. Gandhiji wasvery much pained by all these. However, thissituation became intolerable and in 1947, thecountry was divided into two parts viz., India andPakistan. Gandhi did not agree with it, but he knewthat the situation had reached to such an extentthat no way was left. India got Independence on15th August, 1947. After freedom of the country,he again took the constructive programme andstarted touring the places of communal riots. Healso wanted to defend the minorities. Many

people misunderstood him and the result wasthat on 30th January, 1948 he was killed by ayoung man named Nathuram Godse.

Conclusion

In this manner, the contribution ofMahatma Gandhi was indeed immense, providedwe keep in view that he was the perfectembodiment of the traditions of India and alsothe heritage of all who walked before him in thefreedom struggle of our country. It is undisputablethat it was under the guidance of Mahatma Gandhithat the Congress became a mass movementpicking up the tradition from Tilak. This is whythe concluding sentence of Dr. R.C Majumdar isthe following : “While Gandhi will live in the historyas one of the greatest apostles of peace and non-violence in a war-stricken world, the credit nowgiven to him for his political acumen which led theIndians to the final victory, cannot commandimmediate assent and needs a great deal ofobjctive thinking”.

He rose like a phoenix to lead ournational movement for independence and astaunch follower of the doctrine of Gita. Hequoted Swami Vivekananda’s speech from theholy book “Whosoever comes to Me, throughwhatsoever form, I reach him; all men arestruggling through paths which in the end, lead toMe.”

A man of high principles, he lived and diedfor them, without the thought of earning riches forhimself or his family. He has been criticised forseveral of him policies and there were stalwartslike Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, BipinChandra Pal, Subhas Chandra Bose and otherswho differed from him in the path of achievingIndependence. But the fact remained that, inspiteof severe difference in opinion he was always a

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respected leader for his integrity andunimpeachable morality.

He spent the major part of his life inpractising his beliefs. We need once again leaderof his stature and principles, one who could setstandards for the pygmies, who are leaders today,to follow.

The biggest weapon of Mahatma washunger strike and he forced himelf into several ofthem, when he found others deviating fromprinciples. Even the British rulers were afraid ofhis passive weapon which drew worldwideattention and reaction whenever he was forcedto go for this potent move.

Gandhiji tried to fight against these veryevil practices. He has shown the way to the peopleby his work when he was in South Africa. Hewanted to fight against the alien Government,against the discrimination shown towards theblack people. Then he adopted some methodsof truth and non-violence. He found the weaponof “Satyagraha” during those days. When hecame to India, being head of the Congress Party,he has again used “Satyagraha” as an effectiveweapon against the British Government.Thousands of Satyagrahis fought non-violentlyand fell before the British guns. The greatexperiment opened the eyes of the people of manycountries in the world and everyone applaudedGandhiji. He has succeeded in driving away theBritish people from this country without takingweapons and fighting them violently. This hasbecome a model for others for fighting theiraggressive governments and other forces. EvenAmerican leader of the Negroes Martin LutherKing adopted the method of Gandhiji andsucceeded in forcing their Government to look totheir grievances. This type of struggle has been

adopted in many countries successfully. Gandhijihimself told that “Satyagraha” is not the weaponof the weak but of the courage of the spirit”.

The power of non-violence becomes amighty power through mass movement as shownby Gandhiji during the freedom struggle. People’spower is manifested when they adopt nonviolencemeans. It is for all those who have faith inGandhian idealogy to awaken the inner power ofthe people, to make them realise the greatestpower on earth is people's power. If they act,they can make and unmake any thing. In thepresent atmosphere of despondency, frustrationand cynicism, it is more necessary that individualsand small groups work together to create a massmovement for fighting all the social evils. Last butnot the least, he died but his principles of Truth,Non-violence and peaceful Non-Co-operationagainst all types of injustice inspired all the fightersto fight against social and other types of injustices.

References :

1. Behuria, RK., Odisha Review. Aug-Sept, 2013.P.10-3

2. Gupta, RC. Great Political Thinkers. Agra, EdnPublisher, 2006.

3. Gupta, SC. 151 Essays

4. Paul, PK. Brilliant Advanced Essays.P. 215

5. Singh, K. History of Social Thought. Lucknow,2001

6. Singh, S. History of Political Thought. Vol-ll,Meerut, Rastogi, 3rd ed, 1994

7. Souvenir: All India Gandhian ConstructiveWorker’s Conference, Tirupati, 2-3 Sept. 94[pubhished by Akhil Bharat Rachanatmak Samaj,New Delhi].

Rabindra Kumar Behuria, Retired Lecturer, ChandbaliCollege, Chandbali, Bhadrak, Odisha -756133.

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The word Nauli, a synonym for Lauliki, isgenerally used in Yoga. The technique of Naulidescribed here is inadequate from the practicalpoint of view. This has been adequately explainedby Swami Kuvalayananda as“Isolation and rollingmanipulation of the abdominalrecti”. Before one starts with therolling, one has to roll theabdomen during Uddiyanaposition. This is known as NauliMadhyama. When only onemuscle is isolated (on the leftside), it is called Vama Nauliand when the muscle is isolatedon the right side it is calledDakshina Nauli[1]. Whendifferent practices of VamaNauli, Madhya Nauli,Dakshina Nauli are undergonein a sequence it gives a rotatormovement called NauliChalana. This is done in aclock - wise and also in an anti-clock-wise direction.

Some say that theSanskrit word NAULI means “to churn”. B.K.S.Iyengar says that “nau” means “boat” and “li”

means “ to cling to, lie on, or cover.” He notesthat the “pitching of a boat on a stormy sea conveyssome idea of the process of Nauli.”

The physiological effect ofLauliki (Nauli)-

The meaning of Nauliis abdominal massaging. Thus,practice involves isolating therectus abdominis muscles.When we isolate this muscle atthe right side is calledDakshina Nauli, at the left isVâma, and at the centre iscalled Madhyama. Thisparticular practice strengthensthe secretions of gastric juiceincluding endocrine andexocrine functions of thepancreas. Nauli helps inimproving the blood supply tothe peripheral part of thestomach as it increases thenegative pressure withinabdominal cavity.

The earliest knownreference to Nauli is in The

Hatha Yoga Pradipika, a 15th century yoga text

Lauliki :A Shatkarma of Gheranda Samhita

Santamati Dash

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written by an Indian yogi named Swatmarama [2].The book directs the yogi to:

“Lower the shoulders. Revolve thestomach left and right with the speed of astrong whirlpool. This is called Nauli by themasters. This Nauli is the crown of Hathapractices. It kindles a weak gastric fire, restoresthe digestion, always brings happiness, anddries up all defects and diseases.” (translatedfrom the original Sanskrit)

The Gheranda Samhita, a (probably)18th century Sanskrit work, provides a shorterdescription of the technique [4].:

“Rapidly move the stomach on bothsides. This gets rid of all diseases and increasesthe bodily fire.” (translated from the originalSanskrit).

The Benefits of Nauli Kriya

1) Strengthens and tones the abdominal muscles.

2) Boosts the immune system

3) Eases menstrual problems.

4) Improves the functioning of the reproductivesystem.

5) Regulates and stimulates digestion.

6) Purifies the liver.

7).Reduces heartburn.

8) Detoxifies the body

9) Controls Bata,Pitta & Kapha

10) Prepares you for advanced Pranayama

Nauli is described or mentioned in many modern(20th Century) yoga texts, as well as variousjournals and magazines.

Here is an annotated list of some references: (inno particular order)

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Translated by BrianDana Akers. 2002. ISBN: 0971646619.

The Gheranda Samhita. Translated by JamesMallinson. 2004. ISBN: 0971646635.

Light On Yoga. B.K.S. Iyengar. Published bySchocken Books, revised edition, 1995.

ISBN: 0805210318. Perhaps the definitivemodern asana reference. Iyengar describesuddiyana bandha and nauli in the section “Bandhaand Kriya,” pages 425-428.

Hathatatvakaumudi. Translated by Dr. M.L.Gharote. Published by The Lonavla Yoga Institute,2007. ISBN: 819016175X. A treatise on hathayoga written by an Ayurvedic practitioner namedSundaradeva, probably in the 1700’s.Hathatatvakaumudi means “light on theprinciples of hatha yoga”. Nauli is describedon pages 106-108.

Hatharatnavali. Translated by Dr. M.L.Gharote. Published by The Lonavla Yoga Institute,2002. ISBN: 8190117696. Yet another treatiseon Hatha yoga written by a scholar namedSrinivasa, probably in the late 1600’s. Two typesof nauli are mentioned (internal and external)though it’s not clear what the difference is betweenthe two. Page 16.

Satkarmasangrahah. Translated by Dr. R.G.Harshe. Published by Yoga-Mimamsa Prakasana,Kaivalyadhama, 1970. ASIN:B0006CNQF8.

Written by Cidghananandanatha, this short textmentions three types of nauli: Bahya nauli,Nalanauli, and Antranauli. Pages 39-40.

Shadow Yoga, Chaya Yoga. Shandor Remete.Published by Shadow Yoga, 2006. ISBN:0977539008. [Also, revised edition, 2010.ISBN: 1556438761].

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Remete offers a short chapter on nauli which hecalls “…the bridging point between asana andpranayama…”

Advanced Yoga Practices: Easy Lessons forEcstatic Living. Yogani. AYP Publishing, 2004.One of the better modern texts that teachesuddiyana and nauli. Nauli is discussed on pages208-211.

Hatha Yoga. Theos Bernard. Publisher: Essenceof Health, South Africa, 2001. ISBN:0958446016.

Originally written as his Ph.D dissertation forColumbia University in 1943, this classic workdiscusses Uddiyana bandha and Nauli withnumerous footnotes.

Heaven Lies Within Us. TheosBernard. Publisher : Essence of Health, SouthAfrica, 2002. ISBN: 0958446113.

Bernard’s autobiographical account of learningyoga. Originally published in 1939. He describeslearning nauli as well as other yogic techniques.

The Yoga Tradition. Georg Feuerstein. HohmPress, 2008, 3rd edition. ISBN : 1890772186

Feuerstein offers barely 1/5 of a page to nauli,but he provides hundreds of pages of history andbackground material on the various cultures thatspawned the yogic sciences.

Yoga in modern India: the body betweenscience and philosophy. Joseph S.Alter. Princeton University Press, 2004. ISBN:0691118744. This book looks at, among otherthings, some of the medical research about Naulifrom the early to mid-20th century.

Bibliography-1. S. Muktibodhananda Hatha yoga pradipika.

Shatkarma and pranayama: chapter 2, verse 22(4th ed.), Yoga Publications Trust, Bihar (2014)

2. R. Bahadur, S. Chandra Vasu The gherandasamhita. The training of the physical body:chapter 1, verse 51 ,(1st ed.), ChaukhambaSanskrit Pratishthan, Varanasi (2003),

3. K. Uma, H.R. Nagendra, R. Nagarathna, S. Vaidehi, R. Seethalakshmi The integratedapproach of yoga: a therapeutic tool for mentallyretarded children: a one-year controlled study,J Ment Defic Res, 33 (Pt 5) (1989)

4. S. Satyananda Saraswati Shatkarma. Asanapranayama mudra bandha (4th ed.), YogaPublications Trust, Bihar (2014)

5. S. Satyananda Saraswati , Asana PranayamaMudra Bandha, Yoga Publication, Trust Munger,Bihar India

6. Stress and its management by yoga By K.N.Udupa Published by Motilal Banarasidaspublication Pvt. Ltd. Delhi, 1985.

7. Sharma, Shailendra, Hatha Yoga Pradipika ofSwatmarama: A Manual of Kriya Yoga

8. Dr Sastri Ambika Dutta, Sushrut Samhita.Choukhambha Sanskrit Sansthan Publication,Varanasi, 2005, Part-I.

9. N. Achilles, R. Mösges Nasal saline irrigationsfor the symptoms of acute and chronicrhinosinusitis Curr Allergy AsthmaRep, 13 (2013)

10. P.L. Dhingra, S. Dhingra Vasomotor and otherforms of non allergic rhinitis. Dis. Ear, Nose,Throat (5th ed.), Elsevier, a division of ReedElsevier India Private Limited, New Delhi (2011).

Endnote:

1. Gheranda Samhita, 1/50

2. Writer of HYP

3. Ibid.1/51

Santamati Dash, Ph.D Research Scholar (Yoga),Utkal University, Vani Vihar, Bhubaneswar.

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