Orissa Review * August - 2005

Rama Devi : The New Light Among the Women

Rama Devi was a resplendent socio-political father was Gopal Ballabh Das, the then Deputy-
leader among the women freedom fighters of Magistrate and mother was Basanti Manjari. Her
modern Orissa, who became a legend in her forefathers belonged to Madhipur near Khurdha
lifetime. She responded to the clarion call given who migrated to Satyabhamapur in the 17th
by Gandhiji to struggle for justice and not to century. She was highly influenced by the three
become submissive before injustice. She was the great ideals like, the Gandhian political ideology,
symbol of women's pride, met the challenges kindness towards the destitutes and the high
posed by the social rigidity and political instability. standard of leadership of Utkal Gaurab
For the growth and development of nationalism Madhusudan Das. The year 1921 was the turning
in the annals of the women rightists, her works point in the life of Rama Devi, when she joined
had been magnificant. For achieving all these, her husband Gopabandhu Choudhury in the
she never hesitated to retort to the remarks passed Khadi Movement 5 and became the staunch
by the British officials. Before her emergence in follower of Mahatma Gandhi. Practically she
the freedom movement, the political awakening came in contact of Mahatma Gandhi, when he
in the 19th century was confined to the higher visited Orissa to attend the Women's Sammilani
strata of the society and did not percolate down at the market complex of Binodbihari in Cuttack.
to the level of the common man. The National In 1928 on the bank of the river Alaka, an ashram
Society1 at Baleswar, Orissa Association2 (Utkal known as Alakashrama6 was set up to look after
Sabha) at Cuttack, and the Utkal Hitaisini the disease affected people under the leadership
Samaj3 at Paralakhemundi were some of the early of Rama Devi. Besides, she organised a brigade
socio-political organisations formed by the elites of young girls by cutting across the class rigidity
to discuss and disseminate political ideas among and distributed medicines among the poor masses.
the Oriyas. Raja Baikunthanath De, Madhusudan In 1930, at the Lahore Session, the Congress
Das and Shyamasundar Rajguru provided resolved to launch mass civil disobedience and
leadership to these elite associations which had to energise the people to fight for complete
tremendous impact on Rama Devi and changed independence of India. 26th January of 1931
the course of her life and made her the symbol of was decided to be celebrated as the 1st
"Universal Motherhood"4 among the Oriyas. Independence Day all over India. For the first
Rama Devi was born at Satyabhamapur in time the word "Purna Swaraj"7 was taken up as
Cuttack district on 3rd December 1899. Her a new slogan of our freedom struggle and it

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reverberated in different parts of Orissa. Mass by the arrest of Gopababu; Atal Bihari Acharya
public meetings were organized to observe the and Rama Devi at Cuttack. Undaunted by the
pledge of Independence under the leadership of arrest, several successive batches of Satyagrahis
Rama Devi, Gopabandhu Chaudhury and spread the movement to different parts of Orissa
Acharya Harihar Das. To commemorate 26th like Balasore, Basta, Bhadrak, Kujanga,
January as the 1st Independence Day of India, at Astaranga and the Chilka area. Led by Rama
Bhubaneswar in Orissa the national flag was even Devi, Malati Devi, Annapurna Devi, Laxmibai of
hoisted on the top of the Lingaraj Temple. As a Ganjam and others, Orissa was as if pulsated
result Rama Devi and some Congress men like with a new life during this historic phase of national
Acharya Harihar Das, Lingaraj Mishra, movement.
Krupasindhu Hota and Bholanath Saha were
Despite depression and gruelling torture by
arrested by the police. Rama Devi, Lingaraj
the police under the leadership of Rama Devi, a
Mishra and Gopabandhu Chaudhuri took over
batch of young girls belonging to the student
the charge of the movement and played a very
community plunged into the Civil Disobedience
dominant role in propagating the Congress views
Movement and boycotted the British goods and
and the news of the mass movement in Orissa.8
picketed in front of the offices, wine and opium
Towards the end of February, Gandhiji shops. The educational institutions at Jajpur,
decided to launch the Civil Disobedience Kendrapara, Patamundai, Mayurbhanj and
Movement by breaking the Salt Law at Dandi, Dharmasala, where most of the students gave up
which provided utmost enthusiasm to the their studies, took part in the freedom
Congress leaders of Orissa. Since time movement.11
immemorial the long sea coast of Orissa was able
Rama Devi rose in stature and popularity.
to produce fine salt but the British authorities had
Her capacity as an organiser, speaker,
stopped its production much to the dis-
indefatigable campaigner and inspirer of ordinary
appointment of the local people. No doubt it had
men and women was extraordinary. A veteran
caused misery to many poor people and the British
of the period of salt satyagraha she soon emerged
salt tax was considered "the most iniquitius of all
as a social worker and vehemently opposed
from the poor man's stand point. Hence Gandhi
untouchability12 and raised the slogan to treat the
had decided to break it, and for the people of
Harijans as own sons and daughters. She
Orissa it was a heaven-sent opportunity to re-
establish their traditional right to manufacture salt selected the Ashram at Bari in Cuttack district as
in the long coastal tract. Hence like Dandi on the her place of work. She urged upon the people to
west coast, Inchudi on the Balasore coast and take care of the Harijans as human beings. She
Kujanga in Cuttack was selected by the Utkal herself lived in their huts and colonies, washed
Provincial Congress Committee for breaking the their clothes and swept their floors and streets.
salt law. A batch of 21 volunteers proceeded She taught their children and looked after them.
from Swaraj Asram of Cuttack on foot to Inchudi Rama Devi worked hard to root out
with Acharya Harihara, Gopabandhu Chaudhuri, communalism, which often sparked off tensions
Rama Devi, Malati Devi and many others.10 among the Hindus and Muslims. She tried to
There was a great enthusiasm among the people re-unite them. Following the footsteps and ideals
whose zeal to defy the government was intensified of Utkalamani Gopabandhu Das Rama Devi too

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 Orissa Review * August - 2005

visited the flood-affected people of Cuttack, helpless destitutes and suffering millions. Her
Balasore, Ganjam, Puri, and went round the the involvement in freedom movement, Bhoodan
famine affected areas like Rayagada. Movement and work against untouchability has
Vinobaji, known as the Pitamaha Visma (of rightly made her the new light among the women
the epic Mahabharata), was the pioneer of freedom fighters of modern Orissa.
'Bhoodan movement' which cast a spell on Rama References :
Devi. It added a new dimension to her social 1. N.K. Sahoo, P.K. Mishra, J.K. Sahoo : History of
activities. Accompanied by Gopabandhu Orissa, Cuttack, 1980, p. 458.
Choudhuri and Vinobaji, Rama Devi took up a 2. Ibid.
foot - March, Padajatra at Khandasahi in
3. The Samaja, Cuttack, January 26, 1930.
Cuttack district. It took 4 months 22 days to be
completed which is known as the historic 4. R.M. Senapati, Satabdira Shresta Oriya Byaktitwa,
Cuttack, 2001, pp. 178 - 80.
Bhoodan Yatra. 13 In Orissa, Rama Devi
organised a number of meetings and in her 5. Ibid.
speeches she told the landlords that the Harijans 6. Gopinath, Mohanty., The History of Indian
and the landless poor were to be treated as their National Congress, Bombay, 1944, vol. I, pp. 363 -
sons.14 Immediately gifts of lands came flowing 64.
in. She went on foot from village to village and 7. K. M. Patra, Orissa State Legislature & Freedom
collected lands for the poor, some times she got Struggle : 1912 - 47, New Delhi, 1978, pp. 71 - 73.
a whole village and once or twice a whole district 8. Ibid.
which were distributed among the landless. 9. Gopinath Mohanty., Dhulimatira Santha, Cuttack,
Rama Devi was very fond of children and 1985, pp. 598 - 606.
she spent time with them also. She delivered 10. R. Chaudhuri, Jeevan Pathe, Cuttack 1984, p.33 - 36
speeches and inspired them in educational 11. G. Mohanty, op.cit., p. 607.
institutions. She gave utmost emphasis to 12. C. Rath, R. Tripathy, My English Reader,
education, emancipation and empowerment of Bhubaneswar, 2001, p. 203.
women. She emphasised on the ideals of Janani 13. Ibid.
Janma Bhumischa Swargadapi Gariyasi.15 It
14. Ibid.
is the key to our nation's socio-economic
progress. A women's college is name as Rama 15. Atal Behari Vajpayee, Orissa Review, Vol. LVII, No.
Devi Women's College which has been 10, Empowerment of Women : A Beginning,
Bhubaneswar, May 2001, p.1.
established at Bhubaneswar and dedicated to her
sweet memory. She was a good writer also.
'Jeevan Pathe' the autobiography of Rama Devi
happens to be a masterpiece of all times.
Rama Devi is remembered among the
Oriyas as a mother, Maa, for her multifarious
socio-political activities and variously accepted
as a lady of lamp, for her transparent character, Pareswar Sahoo is a Ph.D. Scholar in the P.G. Dept. of
selfless sacrifice and soft corner towards the History, Utkal University, Vani Vihar, Bhubaneswar

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