Freedom fighters of Odisha who left British hopeless

Let’s remember 10 freedom fighters of Odisha who particularly made a mark and left the British power utterly hopeless, irritated, and distressed. People from all states of India came together to fight the War of Independence.

In 1817, the Paiks of Khurda and the people of some areas of Orissa raised their strong voices against the Britishers, which is known as the Paik rebellion. The rebellion of 1817, according to some scholars is the first war of independence. This became a source of inspiration for nationalist leaders.

This post is an essay on the famous Odia freedom fighter’s image with name.

Baji Rout

Baji Rout is the youngest martyr of India. This 12 yr old boat boy was shot dead by British police when he courageously denied to ferry them across the Brahmani River on the night of 11th October 1938 at Nilakanthapur Ghat, Bhuban, Dhenkanal district.

Baji Rout was the youngest son of a boatman on the Brahmani river. As an active member of the Banar Sena of Prajamandal (Party of People), He had volunteered to keep watch by the river at night. The British Police force ordered him to cross the river by his Boat which he denied. The police force became revengeful and fired Baji Rout along with Laxman Mallik and Fagu Sahoo.

Jayee Rajguru

Jayee Rajguru, who was born in 1739 in an eminent scholarly family in Bira Harekrushnapur village, near Puri, was killed by the Britishers in a gruesome manner on December 6, 1806. His legs were tied to two different branches of a banyan tree in Medinipur village and the branches were let off splitting his body into two parts.

Veer Surendra Sai

Surendra Sai sacrificed his life fighting against the British and died in obscurity. Surendra Sai and his associates resisted the British and successfully protected most parts of Western Odisha region for some time from the British rule. Most of them died unnoticed fighting for freedom from the British. Many of them were hanged by the British; a few died in the Cellular Jail in the Andamans. Surendra Sai himself died in Asirgarh Jail on 28 February 1884.

Laxman Nayak

Laxman Nayak, an Odia folk-hero of Koraput of southernmost part of Odisha and a cult-figure among its tribals, was born in Tentuliguma village of the Koraput district. Responding to the call of Mahatma Gandhi, Nayak led a procession on August 21, 1942 and demonstrated peacefully in front of Mathili Police Station. The police however fired at the demonstrators indiscriminately, which killed forty and injured more than two hundred people. The administration implicated Nayak in a case of murder and the death sentence was pronounced on him on November 13, 1942. He was hanged on March 29, 1943 in Berhampur Jail.

Dharanidhar Bhuyan

The famous freedom fighter Dharanidhar Bhuyan was born on May 5, 1864 in a Bhuinya family in a small village called Kusumita of Keonjhar District of Orissa. He fought against slavery for the Kondh, Kohla and Bhuinya communities. Dharanidhar led people against oppression and British dominance. He raised his voice against the Britisher in 1891 when he saw the unlawful activities towards his community. But at last he was arrested by the soldiers of Downson and was imprisoned for 7 years in Cuttack jail. He was released in 1897 and after that a great change was seen in his life. He led the life of a Sanyasi (saint) at Banki near to Puri beach.

Chakhi Khuntia

Chakhi Khuntia played a very crucial role by fomenting resentment among the Indian soldiers called “Sepoys” and organised a mutiny which subsequently took a violent shape. Khuntia was well known as the Panda of Sepoys or Hajuri Panda (religious guide of Indian soldiers). On account of his involvement in this first freedom struggle, Chakhi Khuntia was arrested many times and kept behind the bars. Chakhi Khuntia spent the last leg of his life at Puri. He was not allowed to go anywhere else. He devoted himself to the literary pursuits and religious rites relating to Lord Jagannath. He breathed his last in 1870 at Puri.

Raghu and Dibakar

Two spirited youngmen Dibakar Parida and Raghunath Mohanty played a significant role in the Ranapur Rebellion of 1938-39. The fiery words of these leaders awakened the consciousness of the masses. As a result the spirit of revolt spread even to the remotest parts of the country. People of the feudatory states like Dhenkanal, Talcher and Ranapur responded to the call of the leaders and joined the movement. It was the dawn of 4th April 1941 when the young patriots stood on the gallows of Bhagalpur jail.

Buxi Jagabandhu

In order to fight against injustice and wrong of the British rulers Buxi Jagabandhu united the Paiks, Daleis, Dalabeheras and Paik Sardars of Khurda, who were also deprived of their “Niskar Jagirs” (Rent-free landed properties given to them by the king of Khurda). On 25th May 1825, Buxi Jagabandhu surrendered himself before the British rulers and stayed at Cuttack alongwith his family members. On 24th January, 1829 Buxi Jagabandhu left the mortal world for the heavenly abode.

Rindo Majhi

Rindo Majhi was a freedom fighter who was a leader of the Kandha revolution in Kalahandi region in Orissa against the British in India. In 1853 Lt. Macniell arrested Rindo Majhi and the Kondhas chief was imprisoned in Rasalkanda jail without trial. The fire of revolution grew much and worse among the Kondhas by the arrest of Rindo Majhi. On 10 December the Kondhas attacked the residence of Lt. Macneill at Urladani. But the British had guns and powers. Hundreds of people died. Lt. Macneill escaped narrowly because the Tahasildar of Kandhamal Dinabandhu Pattanaik came and rescued him and his people. The British hanged Rindo Majhi.

Laxmi Indira Panda

Laxmi Panda was one of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army’s youngest members. She was possibly the only Odia woman to enlist with the INA and join its camp in what was then Burma. To avoid confusion with the far more famous (Captain) Lakshmi Sehgal at the time, Bose personally gave her the new name Indira.

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She fought the British for India’s independence. Laxmi and her younger brother were orphaned after their parents were killed in a British air raid in 1943. She joined the INA because she was resolved to revenge his parents’ deaths. Janki Thevar, Gowri, Shah Nawaz Khan, Lakshmi Sehgal, and Dhillon are some of the prominent INA fighters with whom Laxmi has worked.

Sarala Devi

During the Indian freedom struggle in 1921, Sarala Devi joined the non-cooperation movement as a freedom fighter. She was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and worked tirelessly to improve societal problems and elevate women’s positions.

She was the first woman elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly as part of independent India. Sarala Devi was also elected as the first female speaker of the Legislative Assembly and the first Odia woman to be elected as an Indian National Congress delegate.

Rama Devi

Rama Devi Choudhury was the first woman freedom fighter of Odisha. She was born in the little village of Satyabhamapur, near Cuttack, in 1899. She received no formal schooling and married Gopabandhu Chowdhury at the age of 15.

In 1921, she and her husband joined the Indian independence movement. Mahatma Gandhi had a strong influence on her, and she used to travel from village to village encouraging women to join the freedom cause. Jai Prakash Narayan, Vinoba Bhave, and her uncle Madhusudan Das were also influential.

She met Gandhiji in 1921 and joined the Non-Cooperation Movement with her husband. They joined the Indian National Congress and began wearing khadi the same year. She was an important participant in the Salt Satyagraha movement in Odisha in 1930.

In November 1930, she and her comrades were seized and imprisoned by the British. She was jailed multiple times together with other women’s liberation advocates such as Sarala Devi and Malati Choudhury. She became actively concerned about Harijan’s care. During the Quit India Movement of 1942, Rama Devi’s entire family, including her husband Gopabandhu Choudhury, was jailed.

Following Kasturba Gandhi’s death, Gandhiji appointed her as the representative of the Kasturba Trust of Orissa Chapter. She died on July 22, 1985.

Malati Choudhury

Malati Devi Choudhury is originally from Kamarakhanda in Bikrampur, Dhaka. She had, however, settled in a small village in Odisha. In 1927, she married Nabakrushna Choudhury.

She joined Mahatma Gandhi on his famous padayatra in Odisha in 1934, and in 1946, she established the Bajiraut Chhatravas at Angul, followed by the Utkal Navajeevan Mandal in 1948.

Bajiraut Chhatravas was established to provide education to children of independence warriors, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes, and underprivileged elements of society.

Malati Choudhury was elected to the Indian Constituent Assembly in 1946. During the Bhoodan Movement, she joined Acharya Vinoba Bhave.