Gopabandhu Das

Gopabandhu Das (1877–1928), popularly known as Utkalamani Gopabandhu Das (Jewel of Utkal
or Odisha),[1] was a social worker, reformer, political activist, journalist, poet and essayist.

Early life
Gopabandhu Das was born on 9 October 1877 in Suando village, near Puri, Odisha in a Brahmin
family.[2] His mother was Swarnamayee Devi, the third wife of Daitari Dash. His father was a
Mukhtiar and the family were reasonably well-off. Das married Apti at the age of twelve but
continued his education. He had basic schooling in the village before progressing to a middle
school nearby. Then, in 1893, by which time his mother had died, Das joined Puri Zilla School.
There he was influenced by Mukhtiar Ramchandra Das, a teacher who was both a nationalist and
a proponent of public service in aid of people in distress. Becoming organising his fellow
children in the spirit of co-operation, the inadequate response of authorities for the victims of an
outbreak of cholera prompted him to start a voluntary corps called Puri Sava Samiti. Its
members helped those suffering from the outbreak and also cremated the dead.[3]

Das, whose father by now had died, progressed to Ravenshaw College in Cuttack. He became a
regular contributor to local literary magazines called Indradhanu and Bijuli, where he argued that
any modern literary movement, just like any modern nation, could not be a clean break with the
old but rather had to acknowledge and base itself on its past. In one instance, he submitted a
satirical poem that so enraged the Inspector
of Schools that Das was punished when he
refused to apologise for it.[3] Gopabandhu
It was while at Ravenshaw that Das, along
with his friends, Brajasundar Das and Das
Lokanath Patnaik, started a discussion group,
called "Kartavya Bodhini Samiti" (Duty
Awakening Society),[4] in which they
considered social, economic and political
problems. It was also during this time, in
1903, that he attended a meeting of the Utkal
Sammilani (Utkal Union Conference), where he
disagreed with Madhusudan Das's suggestion
that Odia-speaking areas should be
amalgamated with Bengal Presidency. These
extra-curricular activities, which also included
helping the victims of flooding, impacted on
his academic studies such that he failed his
degree examination, although he gained his Born 9
BA at the second attempt. It was also while at
Ravenshaw that his new-born son died;[3] he October
explained his preference to deal with flood
victims on that occasion rather than be with 1877
his sick son as being because "There are so
many to look after my son. What more can I
Suando,
do? But there are so many people crying for Puri
help in the affected areas and it is my duty to
go there. Lord Jagannath is here to take care district,
of the boy".[5][a]
Orissa,
Das progressed to Calcutta University, where
he obtained an MA and LL.B while British
simultaneously devoting much of his energies
in attempts to improve the education of Oriya
India
people who were living in the city, for whom
he opened night schools. His desire to bring
about social reform and educational
improvements was influenced at this time by Died 17 June
the philosophy of the Swadeshi movement.[3]
His wife died on the day he heard that he had
1928
passed his law examinations.[5] Now aged 28, (aged 50),
all of his three sons had died and he chose to
give up care of his two daughters to an older
Occupation Poet,
brother, along with his share of property in
Suando.[3] philosop
social
Legal career activist
Nationality Indian
Das arrived at his first job as a teacher in
Nilagiri in Balasore district of ODISHA.[7] He
then became a lawyer, variously described as
Alma mater Puri Zill
being based in Puri and in Cuttack. In 1909,
Madhusudan Das appointed him to be State
School,
Pleader for the princely state of Ravensh
Mayurbhanj.[3][5]
College
Calcutta
Univers
Period 20th
century
Notable Bandira
works Atma Katha
Dharmapad
Education work

Sculpture of Gopabandhu Das at

State Museum, Bhubaneswar

Finding that law did not interest him, Das gave up his practice and worked for the welfare of the
people.[7]

In 1909, Das established a school at Sakhigopal, near Puri.[1] Popularly known as Satyabadi Bana
Bidyalaya (Now Satyabadi High School, Sakhigopal) but called the Universal Education League
by Das, it was inspired by the Deccan Education Society, operated in the gurukula tradition and
aimed to impart a liberal education on a non-sectarian basis, despite opposition from orthodox
Brahmins.[3] He believed education was necessary if people were to become aware of their both
of their innate freedom and their duty to their country.[5] He thought that education could help
the child to grow mentally, physically and spiritually. His system allowed children of all castes
and backgrounds to sit together, dine together and study together. The school had features like
residential schooling, teaching in a natural setting and cordial relationship between the teacher
and the taught. Das laid emphasis on co-curricular activities and wanted to generate
nationalistic feelings in students through education and teach them the value of service to
mankind.[7]

Hugely motivated by the positive response he received, the school was converted into a high
school in the following year. It secured affiliation from Calcutta University and held its first
matriculation exam in 1914. The school further secured an affiliation from Patna University in
1917. It became a National School in 1921.[8] The school faced financial problems and ultimately
was closed in 1926. Das had not taught much at the school due to pressures on his time
elsewhere but he did act unofficially as its manager. He also attempted to raise funds for it,
guide its curriculum and attract pupils.[1]

Political career and

imprisonment
Madhusudan Das encouraged Gopabandhu Das to stand for election to the Legislative Council
that had been created in 1909 under the terms of the Morley-Minto Reforms. He eventually
overcame his reluctance, stood and was elected in 1917. There he concentrating his efforts on
four themes:

Administrative amalgamation into a

single entity of the Oriya-speaking
regions of Bengal Province, Central
Province, Madras Presidency and Bihar
and Orissa Province
Eradication of famine and flood in
Orissa
 Restoration of the region's right to
manufacture salt without incurring
excise duty
Expansion of education on a model
similar to that he had established at the
Satyabadi school[3]
Das ceased to be a member of the Legislative Council in 1919[1] or 1920.[5]

Prior to his Legislative Council role, Das had been involved in regional politics. He had been a
member of Utkal Sammilani from 1903[9] and was its president in 1919.[5] After its members
decided to join the Non-Cooperation movement, made at a conference on 31 December 1920,[10]
Das effectively became a member of the Indian National Congress. This was something he had
worked towards, having attended meetings of the All India Congress Committee at Calcutta and
Nagpur to persuade Mahatma Gandhi to adopt the Utkal Sammilani's primary goal of organising
states based on the language spoken.[3] He became the first president of Utkal Pradesh
Congress Committee in 1920, holding the post until 1928, and he welcomed Gandhi to the
province in 1921.[1][5]

Das was arrested in 1921 for reporting the alleged molestation of a woman by police but was
acquitted due to lack of evidence.[6] He was arrested again in 1922, when he received a two-year
prison sentence. He was released from Hazaribagh jail on 26 June 1924.[5]

Contribution to journalism
In 1913[1] or 1915,[6] Das launched and acted as editor for a short-lived monthly literary
magazine titled Satyabadi from the campus of his school. Through this he was able to indulge
his childhood aspirations to be a poet, while contributions also came from other members of the
school's staff, including Nilakantha Das and Godabarish Mishra.[1]

Das saw journalism as a means to educate the masses even though they were illiterate. He
initially accepted a role editing Asha, a newspaper published in Berhampur, but found it to be too
constraining.[6] Thus, in 1919, he started a weekly newspaper called The Samaja, based at the
school campus. This was more successful than the literary journal and became a daily
publication in 1927 and eventually a significant media presence for Indian nationalists.[1] The
writing style was intentionally simplistic.[6]

Das had been persuaded to join the Lok Sevak Mandal (Servants of the People Society) some
time after meeting Lala Lajpat Rai at a session of Congress in 1920 and the newspaper became
a means of promoting it, although operated independently.[3] He served as editor until his
death,[11] at which time he bequeathed it to the Society.[12]

Published literary works

Karakabita[13]
Bandira Atmakatha[13] Translated as The
prisoner's autobiography[14]
Das, Gopabandhu (1946). "Dhramapada"
(http://ddsnext.crl.edu/titles/31468) (in
Odia). OCLC 1126286052 (https://www.
worldcat.org/oclc/1126286052) .
Retrieved 26 February 2020.[15]
Das, Gopabandhu (1986). Abakasa-cinta
(in Odia). Satyabadi Presa.
OCLC 499633975 (https://www.worldca
t.org/oclc/499633975) .
Das, Gopabandhu (2013).
Correspondence of Pandit Gopabandhu =
Dāse āpaṇeṅka ciṭhipatra (in Latin). Pune
Bhubaneswar: Nilakantha Rath,
Distributor, Shikshasandhan. ISBN 978-
81-87982-77-7. OCLC 904902700 (http
s://www.worldcat.org/oclc/90490270
0) .
 Das, G. (1976). Gopabandhu racanābaḷī:
Śikshā, śikshaka, o chātra (https://books.
google.com/books?id=qJ4puQEACAA
J) . Gopabandhu racanābaḷī (in
Quechua). Gopabandhu Janma
Śatabārshikī Samiti. Retrieved
26 February 2020.

Death
Gopabandhu became All India Vice-president of the Lok Sevak Mandal in April 1928. He became
ill while attending a society meeting in Lahore and died on 17 June 1928.[3]

Brahmananda Satapathy, a professor of political science, has said of Das that "His crusade
against untouchability, advocacy of widow remarriage, campaign for literacy, new model of
education, stress on both rights and duties, emphasis on women education, particularly
vocational training and above all a deep commitment and compassion for poor and destitutes
have immortalised him in Orissa and India".[5]

References
Notes
 a. Notable occasions when Das was involved
in relief efforts included during the floods
that occurred in Orissa in 1907, 1927 and
1927, and during the 1920 famine.[6]
Citations

1. Acharya, Pritish; Krishan, Shri (18

December 2010). "An experiment in
nationalist education: Satyavadi school in
Orissa (1909–1926)". Economic & Political
Weekly. 45 (51): 71–78. JSTOR 25764244
(https://www.jstor.org/stable/25764244) .

2. Sahu, Bhagirathi (2002). New Educational

Philosophy (https://books.google.com/boo
ks?id=kQl8j9vBz5QC&dq=gopabandhu+das
+brahmin&pg=PA182) . Sarup & Sons.
ISBN 978-81-7625-317-8.
3. Misra, Surya Narayan (September 2006).
"Utkalmani Gopabandhu – The Pride of
Orissa" (http://magazines.odisha.gov.in/Ori
ssareview/sept-oct2006/sept-octreview.ht
m) . Orissa Review: 25–28.

4. "About-page – Ravenshaw University" (http

s://ravenshawuniversity.ac.in/?page_id=722
7) . Retrieved 28 March 2024.

5. Satapathy, Brahmananda (September

2007). "Gopabandhu Das : A Multi-faceted
Personality" (http://magazines.odisha.gov.i
n/Orissareview/sept-oct2006/sept-octrevie
w.htm) . Orissa Review: 68–69.
6. Bahinipati, Priyadarshi (April 2012).
"Gopabandhu Das : The Lode Star of
Idealistic Journalism" (https://web.archive.
org/web/20131004212820/http://orissa.go
v.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2012/April/e
ngpdf/20-24.pdf) (PDF). Orissa Review.
Archived from the original (http://orissa.go
v.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2012/April/e
ngpdf/20-24.pdf) (PDF) on 4 October 2013.

7. Sahu, B. (2002). New Educational

Philosophy (https://books.google.com/boo
ks?id=kQl8j9vBz5QC&pg=PA182) . Sarup &
Sons. p. 182. ISBN 978-81-7625-317-8.
Retrieved 3 July 2019.
8. Dash, Gitirani (26 October 2016). "A study
on Satyabadi epoch in the History of
modern Orissa". hdl:10603/118972 (https://
hdl.handle.net/10603%2F118972) .
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires
|journal= (help)
9. Mohanty, G.; Patnaik, J.K.; Ratha, S.K.
(2003). Cultural heritage of Orissa (https://b
ooks.google.com/books?id=kYhKAQAAIAA
J) . Cultural Heritage of Orissa. State Level
Vyasakabi Fakir Mohan Smruti Samsad.
p. 519. ISBN 978-81-902761-3-9. Retrieved
3 July 2019.
10. Mahapatra, Harihar (2011). My Life, My
Work (https://books.google.com/books?id=
oZ_cWeqBj9YC&pg=PA220) . Translated by
Mohanty, Ashok K. Allied Publishers. p. 220.
ISBN 978-81-8424-640-7.

11. Bureau, Odisha Sun Times. "10 things to

know about Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das" (h
ttps://odishasuntimes.com/10-things-to-kn
ow-about-utkalmani-gopabandhu-das/) .
OdishaSunTimes.com. Retrieved 3 July
2019.
12. Pradhan, Monali (27 January 2017). "The
satyabadi age and a search for oriya
identity a critical analysis of a forgotten
chapter of the political history of Orissa".
hdl:10603/129681 (https://hdl.handle.net/1
0603%2F129681) . {{cite journal}}:
Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

13. George, K.M.; Sahitya Akademi (1992).

Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology:
Surveys and poems (https://books.google.c
om/books?id=m1R2Pa3f7r0C&pg=PA305) .
Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology.
Sahitya Akademi. p. 305. ISBN 978-81-
7201-324-0. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
14. Das, Gopabandhu; Das, Snehaprava (2017).
Gopabandhu Das, the prisoner's
autobiography. OCLC 990802829 (https://w
ww.worldcat.org/oclc/990802829) .

15. Das, G. ଧର୍ମପଦ - Dharmapada: Legend of the

Konark Sun temple (https://books.google.c
om/books?id=tsxVDwAAQBAJ) . Oriya
classics (in Latin). Sannidhyananda.
Retrieved 26 February 2020.

Further reading

Barik, Radhakanta (May 1978).

"Gopabandhu and the National
Movement in Orissa". Social Scientist. 6
(10): 40–52. doi:10.2307/3516577 (http
s://doi.org/10.2307%2F3516577) .
 JSTOR 3516577 (https://www.jstor.org/
stable/3516577) .

External links

The Samaja (http://ww Wikime

dia
w.thesamaja.com/)
Commo
Gopabandhu Das ns has
media
Poems (https://darkodi related
sha.in/gopabandhu-da to
Gopaba
s-poems-in-odia/) ndhu
Das.

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