Participation of Oriya Leaders in Indian National Congress

Home , Gopabandhu Das, Nilakantha Das, Utkal Congress

Orissa Review * January - 2006

Dr. Janmejay Choudhury

The formation of the Indian National Congress into Indian Civil Service for which it was felt that on 28th December 1885, had it's own impact on the candidates should not be asked to go to the politically conscious people of Orissa. The England due to apprehension for the loss of caste. political consciousness of the people of Orissa To the second session of the Indian National had been sufficiently aroused by the last quarter Congress held in the last week of December 1886, of the 19th century. The 'Utkal the 'Utkal Sabha' sent its four Sabha' was soon regarded as the selected representatives. They most prominent political were Madhusudan Das, Golak organisation of the intelligentsia in Chandra Bose, Hariballabha Cuttack, the principal town of the Ghose and Kalipada Banerjee. Orissa Division which wielded Besides, the National Society of considerable influence in moulding Balasore also selected three Public opinion in the Province. delegates namely, Baikuntha Nath The political consciousness De, Bhagaban Chandra Das and of the people of Orissa was further Ramesh Chandra Mandal, for accentuated, as elsewhere in India, participation in the Congress during the last decade of the 19th Session. Thereafter delegates from century by their association with Orissa, nominated by these the Indian National Congress. No associations attended the delegate from Orissa attended the first session of Congress Sessions held at different places. Rev. the Indian National Congress. But immediate Shem Sahu, John Samson Raut, Munshi attention of the people was drawn to its activities, Mohammad Atahar, Bhagaban Chandra Das, and a public meeting was held in the town of Ramesh Chandra Mandal, Gouri Sankar Ray and Cuttack on 3rd March 1886 to discuss the Madhu Sudan Das took keen interest in the resolutions adopted by the Congress in its first activities of the Congress in its early years. session. All leading men attended the meeting and Especially the leaders of 'Utkal Sabha' like Madhu took part in its deliberations. Except the partial Sudan Das and Gouri Sankar Ray acted as the modification of one resolution, all other resolutions pioneers in bringing the message of Congress and were accepted in that meeting. The modified its liberal ideas to Orissa in the last two decades resolution related to the examination for entering of the 19th century. The 'Utkal Sabha' of Cuttack,

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the 'National Though Madhusudan Das had associated Association' of himself with the Congress in the early phase, Balasore and the subsequently he kept himself aloof from it, being 'Utkal Hitaishini unable to get support from the Congress leaders Sabha' of for the merger of Oriya tracts. He kept himself Paralakhemundi used pre-occupied with the Oriya movement. to send their Consequently, in 1920, when Gandhi started the delegates to the non-Co-operation movement, there was various sessions of practically no Congress Organisation in Orissa. the Indian National In 1920-21 Pandit Gopabandhu Das virtually Congress. On 29th started afresh the Congress movement in Orissa Pandit Gopabandhu Das January 1888 the at the clarion call of Gandhi. The Nagpur Session Utkal Sabha held a of the Indian National Congress, held in meeting at Cuttack, in which the delegates who December 1920, which finally passed the Non- had attended the Madras Session of the Congress Co-operation resolution was attended by a explained the objects of the Congress number of delegates from Orissa such as Pandit Organisation and exhorted the people to join it. Gopabandhu Das, Bhagirathi Mahapatra, Another meeting for the same purpose was held Jagabandhu Singh, Jadumani Mangaraj, at Cuttack on 16th February 1988. Deputed by Mukunda Prasad Das, Niranjan Patnaik and this meeting, Madhu Sudan Das went to Harekrushna Mahatab. This session of the Kendrapada and exhorted the people to join the Congress decided to form the Provincial Congress Indian National Congress. Committees on linguistic basis. As a result a Madhu Sudan Das was the pioneer in separate Provincial Congress Committee was spreading the Congress ideas in Orissa. There formed for Orissa even though Orissa had not were some other Oriya intellectuals such as Nanda yet became a separate province. Soon after the Kishore Bal, Gopal Chandra Praharaj, Biswanath Nagpur Congress session, the Utkal Union Kar, Madhu Sudan Rao, Gokulananda Conference was held at Chakradharpur under the Choudhury, Narendra Narayan Ray, Mahasay Presidentship of Jagabandhu Singh. In this Lokanath Samantaray and Md. Abdul Satar who Conference Gopabandhu Das suggested a associated themselves with the early sessions of modification in the the Congress. Like most of the early Congress outlook of the Utkal leaders, the early Oriya delegates who attended Union Conference. the Congress belonged to the English educated He held that though elite class and were moderates in their political the merger of all outlook. They laid the foundation of Constitutional Oriya-speaking Struggle of the people against the British areas was a vital Authorities. However, the energy and enthusiasm issue for Oriyas, yet of the leaders in Orissa was soon diverted to a Orissa should not different problem and that dissociated some of remain aloof from the mainstream of them from the national mainstream for about two Dr. Harekrushna Mahatab decades from the beginning of the 20th century. the national

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consciousness Co-operation movement. Gopabandhu represented by the Choudhury resigned from the post of Deputy Congress. He Collector. Bhagirathi Mahapatra a promising resolved that 'Swaraj young lawyer, gave up legal practice. Surendra Prapti', not 'Desha Nath Das, an S.I. of Police and Mahammod Mishran' should be Hanif, an Excise S.I. resigned from their services. the goal of the Utkal Mahendranath Verma and Achyutananda Purohit, Union Conference. the two lawyers of Sambalpur gave up their legal This was accepted practice to join the Non-Co-operation by the Conference, Movement. Soon after the First World War, the even though quite a Muslims of India had started the Khilafat agitation Acharya Harihar Das number of people against the British Government, because in the including the President of the Conference war Britain was fighting against the Ottoman abstained from voting in it as a mark of dissent. Empire, the head of which was the Caliph, the On his return from Chakradharpur, Gopabandhu religious head of the Islamic World. The Muslims Das held a public meeting at Cuttack on 24th of Orissa also started the Khilafat agitation. They January 1925 and exhorted the students to join formed a Khilafat Committee at Cuttack under the Non-Co-operation movement. Mahatma the Presidentship of Dr. Ekram Rusool. Gandhi come to Orissa in March 1921 and in his addresses to the people of Cuttack, Puri, Bhadrak In the middle of 1921, Gopabandhu went and Berhampur he appealed to them to join the to Calcutta to enlist the volunteers from among Non-Co-operation movement. The Utkal the Oriya labour population at Calcutta. Pradesh Congress Committee was formed in Gopabandhu's inspiring speech to the Oriya March 1921 with Gopabandhu Das as the workers in Calcutta produced the desired result. President, and Bhagirathi Mahapatra as the Most of the Congress leaders of Orissa, closely Secretary. The Utkal Pradesh Congress associated with the Non-Co-operation movement Committee deputed the following twelve were arrested and imprisoned. members to represent Orissa at All India The Lahore Congress Committe. They were Gopabandhu Session of the Indian Das, Jagabandhu Singh, Nilakantha Das, National Congress, Gopabandhu Choudhury, Niranjan Pattanaik, held in December Harekrushna Mahatab, Bhagirathi Mahapatra, 1929, marked the Dharanidhar Mishra Banaprastha, Nilakantha Das beginning of a new Choudhury, Atal Bihari Acharya, Brajamohan phase in the freedom Panda and Jamini Kanta Biswas. struggle. In this Gandhi's appeal produced nationwide session, the response. In Orissa a number of brilliant Congress declared youngmen left schools, colleges and government complete service. Harekrushna Mahatab, N. Kanungo, Independence as its Nabakrushna Choudhury and R.K. Bose left the goal to be achieved colleges at the call of Gandhiji and joined the Non- by Civil Annapurna Maharana

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Disobedience. The Civil Disobedience Movement of 1930. On 26th Congress decided April 1930, Harekrushna Mahatab and not to take part in Gopabandhu Choudhury, the President and the proposed Secretary of Utkal Pradesh Congress Committee Round Table were sentenced to eighteen months rigorous Conference imprisonment after conviction. The following discussions. The leaders were also imprisoned for participation in party made the Civil Disobedience Movement : Krushna preparations for Prasad Mohanty, Harihar Das, Jibaram Kalyanji, civil disobedience. Golaknath Das, Raj Krushna Bose, Gobinda To take part in the Mishra, Jadumani Mangaraj, Gunanidhi Mohanty, Malati Choudhury Civil Disobedience Mathura Mohan Behera, Murari Tripathy, Kishori Nilakantha Das, Lingaraj Mishra, Godabarish Mohan Joardar, Purna Chandra Bose, Ram Mishra, Nanda Kishore Das and Narayan Prasad Singh, Krushna Chandra Pradhan and Birabar Samanta resigned from the Legislatures. Krupasindhu Hota. As a result of the Gandhi- On 26th January 1930, the Orissa Congress Irwin Pact of 5 March, 1931, the Civil Party observed the Independence Day at Cuttack. Disobedience Movement was discontinued. On that day the National Flag was hoisted at By the middle of 1942, the Congress Lokasevashram and a meeting was held at the strategy changed. The All India Congress residence of Gopabandhu Choudhury. Gandhi Committee passed the Quit India Resolution on was in the meantime planning to launch the Civil 8th August 1942 at Bombay. The next day all the Disobedience by violating the Salt Laws. H.K. Congress leaders from various parts of India who Mahatab, the President of the Utkal Congress had assembled at Bombay were arrested. The Committee at that time, was specially interested following prominent Congress leaders of Orissa in the agitation for the violation of Salt Laws. The had attended the All India Congress Committee Utkal Pradesh Congress Committee decided to held at Bombay and were arrested - Harekrushna send twenty-one Volunteers in the first batch to Mahatab, Radhakrushna Biswas Ray, Malati manufacture Salt in violation of the Salt Laws. Choudhury, Sardar Surendra Das and Surendra The following were the Volunteers : Acharya Nath Dwivedy. At the same time, in Orissa, the Harihar Das, Murari Tripathy, Gunanidhi Government by Gazette Notification declared all Mohanty, Madhabananda Das, Durga Prasad Congress institutions in the province as illegal. All Guru, Sadhu Charan Padhi, Gokulananda the Congress offices in the Province were seized Mohanty, Gouranga Charan Mohanty, Ram by the Police by 10th August 1942. All the district Prasad Sahu, Govinda Chandra Mohanty, Siba level prominent Congress workers were arrested Prasad Bhagat, Sudhanshu Sekhar Gupta, by the Police. Biswanath Hota, Raghunath Mishra, Udayanath Mohanty, A.M. Mahapatra, Kalipada Das, Sridhar Maharana, Balaram Das, Golaknath De, Purna Chandra Bose. Women leaders like Rama Devi, Malati Choudhury, Sarala Devi and Dr. Janmejay Choudhury is a Lecturer in History in Annapurna Devi played a conspicious role in the Sri Jagannath College, Kaipadar, Khurda.