Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das: A Biography

    Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das (1877-1928) was a social worker, reformer, political activist, journalist, poet and essayist from Odisha, India. He is also known as the Gandhi of Odisha for his contribution to the freedom struggle and social upliftment of the people of Odisha. He founded the influential Odia newspaper Samaja and the Satyabadi school. He also played a key role in the formation of Odisha as a separate linguistic state in 1936.

    Early Life and Education

    Gopabandhu Das was born on 9 October 1877 in Suando village, near Puri, Odisha in a Brahmin family. 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.




Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das.pdf