Saswat TV’s Devotional Tribute on the Birth Anniversary of “Dase Apane”
“Let my body merge into the soil of this land,
Let countrymen tread over my back,
And wherever the path of Swarajya deepens,
Let my flesh and bones fall there.”
– Utkalmani Pandit Gopabandhu Das
On the occasion of the 144th birth anniversary of Utkalmani Pandit Gopabandhu Das, heartfelt wishes and respectful homage from Shashwat TV. A true patriot, poet, writer, and visionary—Pandit Gopabandhu Das was the founder of the daily newspaper Samaja and the Satyabadi journal.
His birthplace, Suaando village in Puri district, lies 6.5 kilometers left from Patanaikia Chhak on the Bhubaneswar–Puri National Highway. Gopabandhu Das was born there on October 9, 1877, to Daitari Das and Swarnamayee Devi.
After his mother’s demise, he enrolled in Puri District School in 1893. There, he met his mentor Ramachandra Das, from whom he learned the value of serving the nation. During a cholera outbreak, he founded the Puri Seva Samiti and selflessly served the afflicted, maintaining sanitation and performing last rites despite personal risk.
At the age of 12, he married Apatee Devi, yet continued his education. After matriculating in Puri, he joined Ravenshaw College in Cuttack. During this period, he lost his father. While studying, he opposed the conspiracy to eliminate the Odia language and formed the Kartavya Bodhini Samiti to fight against it. He declared:
“A person’s and a nation’s identity lies in its language. Language is the soul of a nation.”
He, along with Ramachandra Das, organized the first session of Utkal Sammilani at Rambha. In 1903, under the call of Utkal Gourav Madhusudan Das, Gopabandhu actively participated in the Sammilani. Around this time, he lost his first child.
Despite personal tragedies, he completed his B.A. in 1904 from Ravenshaw and pursued law studies (B.L.) in Kolkata. Deeply affected by the struggles of Odia migrants, he established the Odia Shramik Sangha and a night school there. Sadly, he lost his second child, and on the day he received news of passing his law exam, he also learned of his wife’s death.
Yet, none of this shook his resolve. His role in the formation of a separate Odisha state was unparalleled. Alongside Acharya Harihar Das, Pandit Godabarish Mishra, Pandit Krupasindhu Mishra, and Pandit Nilakantha Das—known as the Pancha Sakha—he vowed on the banks of the Bhargavi River at Maa Tarini temple to dedicate their lives to Odisha’s upliftment.
They walked barefoot to the Bakula forest in Satyabadi, where they established the famous Satyabadi Bana Vidyalaya—a “man-making” institution. This school became a center for India’s national independence movement.
Between 1918 and 1920, natural calamities like floods, droughts, and famines devastated Odisha. Gopabandhu tirelessly distributed food and relief materials to the affected.
On the encouragement of Madhusudan Das, he served as a member of the Bihar–Odisha Legislative Council (1917–1921). In 1921, he became the first President of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee. Under the Pancha Sakha’s efforts, the permanent structure of Satyabadi School was established, preserving its original thatched-roof legacy even today.
When Mahatma Gandhi visited Puri, Gopabandhu’s memory inspired the founding of the Gopabandhu Daridra Narayan Seva Sangha on November 24, 1929, near Kaduwa Chhak in Satyabadi. The center trained students in vocational skills like spinning khadi thread and weaving.
Gopabandhu Das, the jewel of Odisha and servant of the people, passed away on June 17, 1928, in the campus of Satyabadi Vidyalaya, his place of service. His final rites were performed in the Bakula forest, and by consensus of the Pancha Sakha, all five were later memorialized with the creation of the Pancha Sakha Smruti Pitha.
Though he departed this world, Gopabandhu Das’s ideals of service and sacrifice continue to guide generations. His four companions affectionately addressed him as “Dase Apane,” a title by which he remains eternally revered in the hearts of the people.
