Bhubaneswar: People from all walks of life Monday paid their tributes to Odisha’s legendary freedom fighter Gopabandhu Das on his birth anniversary.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took it to ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “I am paying my tributes to the symbol of human service, sacrifice and great freedom fighter Gopabandhu Das. He has always been a source of inspiration for leading towards a more educated society by establishing Satyabadi Bana Bidyalaya in Suando and for his lifelong dedication to the service of people and their prosperity.”
Statues of Gopabandhu Das, who is popularly known as ‘Utkalmani’ (Gem of Odisha), located in different parts of the state were garlanded today.
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Notably, Gopabandhu Das was born October 9, 1877, in a Brahmin family in Suando village located on the banks of Bhargabhi River in Puri district. His father’s name was Daitari Dash and Swarnamayee Devi was his mother.
Das completed his BA from Ravenshaw College in 1904 and later obtained an MA and LLB degree from Calcutta University in 1906. He was known for his selfless service to the poor and downtrodden people of Odisha. He had contributed immensely to the national struggle towards achieving freedom.
Later, Das served as a member of Vidhan Sabha of Bihar and Odisha from 1917 to 1921.
As an administrator, he took several initiatives for the upliftment of the people of Odisha suffering from recurrent natural calamities such as floods, cyclones and famines as well as social evils such as illiteracy, poverty and disease. Pandit Gopabandhu Das also started Odia newspaper ‘Samaja’ which began publication October 04, 1919.
PNN