Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das Jayanti
By Er Arun Patanaik
Jajpur,Octo 9 : Every year we observed Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das Jayanti on 9th October.Utkalmani Gopabandhu was an excellent social reformer and harbinger of a replacement social order. His crusade against untouchability, advocacy of widow remarriage, campaign for literacy, a replacement model of education, stress on both rights and duties, emphasis on women education, particularly vocational education, and in particular a deep commitment and compassion for poor and destitute have immortalized him in Orissa.
Born on 9 October 1877 to Swarnamayee Devi and Shree Daitari Dash in Suando Village, near Puri, Odisha, Gopabandhu was a legend in the Indian culture. He served his people even at the cost of his family. At the age of twelve, he married Apti, but continued his education. After completion of primary education, he joined Puri Zilla School in 1893, where he met his teacher Mukhtiar Ramachandra Dash, who was not only a genius but also a nationalist.
It was at this school and with this teacher that Gopabandhu learned many nationalistic values. The inadequate response of authorities for the victims of cholera prompted him to start a voluntary corps Puri Seva Samiti. This movement later led to establishment of a separate hospital for cholera patients at Puri, and made Gopabandhu’s name in society. During his youth, the Oriya literary world was divided between the ancient, The Indradhanu and the modernists, The Bijuli. Gopabandhu realized that a nation as well as its literature live by their tradition.
He believed that a national superstructure of the present can endure only if it is based upon the solid foundations of the national heritage. His satirical poem in The Indradhanu led to an ugly incident and punishment meted out by the Inspector of schools. Gopabandhu refused to apologize for such writing in lieu of punishment.
The satire was on the ongoing controversy as to the greatness of Upendra Bhanja and Radhanath Rai in 1893, for which he was censured. He attended Ravenshaw College, Cuttack despite his father’s recent death. During this period, he started Kartavya Bodhini Samiti (Duty Awakening Society) to encourage his friends to do their duty as citizens and take on social, economic and political problems.
He was leading a team to aid flood victims, when he heard of his son’s serious illness but remained to serve the locals rather than return home to his son. His social services as a young man prevented this brilliant student from completing his undergraduate degree, although he later earned his BL, LLB with distinction at Calcutta University.
While pursuing his study in the Ravenshaw College, he along with his friends like Brajasunder Das and Acharya Harihar Das made a commitment to serve the poor and the destitutes. While his son was seriously ill, he got the report of flood in the interior area of the district.
He ignored the serious illness of his son and went to the flood affected people to provide them relief. During his absence, his son died. He said : “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.” Further, the day he got the news of his success in Law Examination, Calcutta, his wife died. In Kolkata, he started a labor union and set up night schools for Oriya laborers and cooks. He came in contact with the Vande Mataram group which infused him with the Swadeshi spirit.
His new mission was to reform society through improving the educational system. His wife died when he was only twenty-eight, and his three sons had already died. He left his daughters with his elder brother, and gave his brother his share of the family property in the village to support them. After coming back from Kolkata, he worked as a government lawyer in Mayurbhanj court.
Law did not interest him, so he gave up his practice and worked for the welfare of the people. He believed that only education can improve and develop society so in August 1909, he established a school in Satyabadi Bana Vidyalay, near Puri. Gopabandhu established his famous Satyavadi Vana Vidyalaya in the year 1909, at Sakshi Gopal, a place of pilgrimage near Puri, the world-famous abode of Lord Jagannath and the great centre of Hindu pilgrimage.
He started this institution getting inspiration from Shanti Niketan which was set up earlier by Kabindra Rabindranath. Gopabandhu was a great nationalist and considered education to be the potential instrument of national development. He wanted to prepare the youths of our country as citizens of tomorrow with sterling qualities of head, heart and hand.
These young citizenry should be self-dependent, self-willed, self-sacrificing and self-conscious of their country’s problems and potentialities. He fully well realized that the rest while system of English education would not serve these purpose at all as its objectives were narrow and limited to produce “servants” of an alien Government. Gopabandhu, therefore, desired to impart a kind of education with broader aims and lofty principles to build “good life” and bring about national revival.
His main objective was to inculcate nationalism and patriotism in young people through education. He felt that youths could not improve the society without a deep sense of pride and love for the country Education of his desire must be congenial and conductive to the creating of these desired qualities. The second aim of his education was to eradicate social evils and inertia.
Gopabandhu was aware of the then social maladies like casteism, superstitions, untouchability and lethargy. He strongly felt to remove these for making the society progressive and humanitarian. The third aim of Gopabandhu’s education was to develop vocational efficiency and promote dignity of labour in the young generation.
The English system of education was preparing them only for white-collar jobs in the Government. There was hatred for manual labour and love for easy life. Consequently, technical education was discouraged and general education was lop-sided. Gopabandhu wanted to inspire the educated youths with importance of physical labour and love for work as well as initiative which would enable them to face the world with self-dependence and confidence.
Fourthly, according to Gopabandhu education should aim at developing a deep love for Indian civilization in general and Odishan culture in particular. British system of education was developing a sense of hatred and aversion towards national life and culture on the one hand and a strong attraction for alien life and civilization.
He was instrumental in making Oriya journalism suitable for the common man. He published a monthly magazine called Satyabadi in 1914. Later on 4 October 1919, the auspicious day of Vijayadsahami he started the weekly newspaper The Samaj, which became the most popular daily news paper of Odisha. He served as editor “Samaj” continuously until his death, at which time he bequeathed it to Lok Sevak MandalGopabandhu fell ill while attending a fund raising ceremony in Lahore for the flood victims of Odisha, after which he never recovered. He died of prolonged illness on 17 June 1928
The national leaders like Gopabandhu realized that this tendency among the educated youths would be extremely harmful for the development of the country in all directions.
Therefore, they tried to revive Indian culture and develop love for the motherland and for her cultural values through education. Fifthly, as a corollary to above, Gopabandhu made an attempt to provide education in an open-air and natural surrounding without much physical luxury and comforts.
He was a supporter of the ancient Gurukul system of education with modern features of citizenship training, self-government and other curricular activities. He believed that only expensive equipment, buildings and teaching aids would not ensure good “quality” education. Gopabandhu, therefore, was in favour of an education system which is congenial to the ideal of “Plain living and high thinking”.
