Gopabandhu Das | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1877-10-09)9 October 1877 |
| Died | 17 June 1928(1928-06-17) (aged 50), |
| Occupation | Poet, philosopher, social activist |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma mater | Puri Zilla School,Ravenshaw College,Calcutta University |
| Period | 20th century |
| Notable works | Bandira Atma Katha, Dharmapada |
Gopabandhu Das (1877–1928), popularly known as Pandit Utkalamani Gopabandhu Das (Jewel of Utkal orOdisha),[1] was a social worker, reformer, political activist, journalist, poet and essayist.
Gopabandhu Das was born on 9 October 1877 in Suando village, nearPuri, Odisha in aBrahmin family.[2] His mother was Swarnamayee Devi, the third wife of Daitari Dash. His father was aMukhtiar 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 joinedPuri 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 ofcholera 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 toRavenshaw College inCuttack. He became a regular contributor to local literary magazines calledIndradhanu andBijuli, 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]
It was while at Ravenshaw that Das, along with his friends,Braja Sundar Das and 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 theUtkal Sammilani (Utkal Union Conference), where he disagreed withMadhusudan Das's suggestion thatOdia-speaking areas should be amalgamated withBengal 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 BA at the second attempt. It was also while at Ravenshaw that his new-born son died;[3] he explained his preference to deal with flood victims on that occasion rather than be with his sick son as being because "There are so many to look after my son. What more can I do? But there are so many people crying for help in the affected areas and it is my duty to go there. Lord Jagannath is here to take care of the boy".[5][a]
Das progressed toCalcutta University, where he obtained an MA and LL.B while simultaneously devoting much of his energies in attempts to improve the education ofOriya people who were living in the city, for whom he openednight schools. His desire to bring about social reform and educational improvements was influenced at this time by the philosophy of theSwadeshi movement.[3] His wife died on the day he heard that he had passed his law examinations.[5] Now aged 28, all of his three sons had died and he chose to give up care of his two daughters to an older brother, along with his share of property in Suando.[3]
Das arrived at his first job as a teacher inNilagiri inBalasore district of Odisha.[7] He then became a lawyer, variously described as being based in Puri and in Cuttack. In 1909,Madhusudan Das appointed him to be State Pleader for theprincely state ofMayurbhanj.[3][5]
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 atSakhigopal, near Puri.[1] Popularly known asSatyabadi Bana Bidyalaya (Now Satyabadi High School, Sakhigopal) but called the Universal Education League by Das, it was inspired by theDeccan Education Society, operated in thegurukula tradition and aimed to impart aliberal education on a non-sectarian basis, despite opposition from orthodoxBrahmins.[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 fromPatna 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]
Madhusudan Das encouraged Gopabandhu Das to stand for election to the Legislative Council that had been created in 1909 under the terms of theMorley-Minto Reforms. He eventually overcame his reluctance, stood and was elected in 1917. There he concentrating his efforts on four themes:
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 theNon-Cooperation movement, made at a conference on 31 December 1920,[10] Das effectively became a member of theIndian National Congress. This was something he had worked towards, having attended meetings of theAll India Congress Committee at Calcutta andNagpur to persuadeMahatma Gandhi to adopt the Utkal Sammilani's primary goal of organising states based on the language spoken.[3] He became the first president ofUtkal 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 fromHazaribagh jail on 26 June 1924.[5]
In 1913[1] or 1915,[6] Das launched and acted as editor for a short-lived monthly literary magazine titledSatyabadi 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, includingNilakantha Das andGodabarish Mishra.[1]
Das saw journalism as a means to educate the masses even though they were illiterate. He initially accepted a role editingAsha, a newspaper published inBerhampur, but found it to be too constraining.[6] Thus, in 1919, he started a weekly newspaper calledThe 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 forIndian 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 meetingLala 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]
Gopabandhu became All India Vice-president of the Lok Sevak Mandal in April 1928. He became ill while attending a society meeting inLahore 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 widowremarriage, 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]
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