In 1903, there was a severe flood in coastal Odisha. Hundreds of villages were under water. Many people died of starvation and diseases like cholera. Heavy damage was done to property.

The news reached Gopabandhu Das, then a young man who had vowed to dedicate his life to the service of his countrymen. He felt restless. He wanted to proceed to the flood-affected areas to help the people. But he had a serious problem at home. His only son, six years old, was ailing. He had to attend to his son.

Gopabandhu finally told his friends, “Look, you please take care of my son. I must go to the flood-affected people. Hundreds of sons and daughters are waiting for me.” He left the son in the care of his friends and left for the flood-affected areas. He returned home after the flood subsided. But by then, his only son had died.

 Gopabandhu Das, popularly known as Utkalamani (the Jewel of Odisha), is a house-hold name in Odisha. As a freedom fighter, social worker, journalist, author and poet, his place is unique in Odisha. He is considered one of the founders of modern Odisha state.

Gopabandhu was born in 1877 in Suando, a village near Sakhigopal in Puri. He lost his mother when he was a child and was brought up by his aunt (father’s sister). His father, Daitari Das, was a muktar and wanted his son to have Western education. Gopabandhu studied in the village chatashali, and then in a vernacular school near his village. He studied at Puri Zilla School. While reading there, Gopabandhu came in contact with Ramachandra Das, a social worker, who influenced him greatly. Those days cholera was a common epidemic and many died of this disease. People believed that the disease was the curse of the Goddess and got panicky when the disease broke out. Gopabandhu, under the influence of Ramachandra Das, came forward to serve the cholera patients. This was indeed an act of great courage for a boy reading in a high school.

While at high school, Gopabandhu got married at the age of twelve. Those days marriage at an early age was the normal practice. His elder brother looked after the joint family and there was no difficulty for Gopabandhu to complete his school and college education. After obtaining B.A. degree, he went to Calcutta to study and got his L.L.B. degree. After returning to Odisha  he practised law for a few years. He was also appointed as the Government lawyer by the king of Mayurbhanj, a feudatory state of north Odisha. The king of Mayurbhanj was known for his efficient administration and humanitarian activities. Gopabandhu could have earned a lot if he stuck to the legal profession. But he resigned the post to devote his time to social service wholeheartedly. He decided to set up a school at Satyabadi (Sakhigopal) which would be a model of its kind in the state.

The school was set up in 1909. It became a full-fledged high school in 1912. Scholars like Neelakantha Das, Godavarish Mishra. Krupasindhu Mishra and Acharya Harihar Das joined the school as teachers, accepting a meagre salary. All of them were inspired by Gopabandhu to serve the country and the people. They were all highly educated, but refused lucrative jobs under the British Government. Later they joined the freedom movement of the country. Their contribution to literature and public life of Odisha is immense.

Satyabadhi School was a school with a difference. The students had their classes under the cool shade of trees, except in rainy seasons. Social service, physical work and gardening were encouraged. Teachers and students lived on the same campus and they ate together in the same dining hall. Casteism and all forms of ‘superstitions and discriminations were discouraged. Soon the school’s reputation spread far and wide. Mahatma Gandhi, Thakar Bapa, Madhusudan Das and other leaders of the time greatly appreciated the school.

But some orthodox people of the locality were annoyed at the progressive ideas spread by the school. They set fire to the school. The school was burnt down. But Gopabandhu with his colleagues and students soon rebuilt it with a new vigour.

Gopabandhu always identified himself with the poor and downtrodden in society. Whenever there was drought or flood - and they were frequent - he was there to help. He joined the Utkal Sammilani, which strove to bring all Odia-speaking areas under a single administrative unit (Odisha, then, was a part of Bihar), and fought for all-round development of the Odias.

Gopabandhu became a member of the Bihar Odisha Legislative Assembly in 1907. When there was a drought in Puri district, he strongly criticized the British Government. The Lieutenant Governor visited the drought-affected areas. He admitted that the Government had not done its duty to the people.

In the Bihar-Odisha Legislative Assembly, Gopabandhu Das always championed the cause of the upliftment of the Odias. He was largely responsible for creation of the separate Odisha state in 1936. He was of course not alive to see his dream coming true.

Gopabandhu joined the freedom movement at the call of Mahatma Gandhi. He joined the Congress and was elected the president of the state unit. He walked from village to village to spread the message of non-violence and non-cooperation of the Congress. He was a great orator and soon Odisha became a major centre of freedom struggle in the country.

When Gandhiji visited Odisha in 1921, Gopabandhu accompanied him. He translated his speeches into Odia.

In 1919 Gopabandhu started a weekly, the Samaj, to spread the message of freedom struggle as well as to ventilate the grievances of the poor and underprivileged. Soon it became the most ‘widely circulated daily in Odia. Its influence on modern Odia prose writing is obvious. Gopabandhu is one of the pioneers of journalism in Odisha. He had to suffer a great deal for writing against the British Government and the establishment. But he was not the stuff to submit to any form of coercion or threat.

It is amazing that in the midst of intense political and social activities, Gopabandhu found time to compose hundreds of poems and essays. Patriotism is the theme of most of his poems. His poems are lyrical, lucid and have a touch of melancholy. He is so popular as a poet that even villagers are found quoting a line or two from his work.

As the editor of the Samaj, Gopabandhu wrote editorials and articles on national and international issues. His clarity of thought and progressive outlook make his writings extremely relevant even today. National integration, female emancipation, eradication of poverty and disease are some of his major concerns. He is decidedly a master of modern Odia prose.

Gopabandhu’s eventful life came to a sudden end in 1928, when he died prematurely at the age of fifty one. The following lines, composed by him, indeed convey the essence of his life:

May my body merge with the

                         soil of my  country,

May my countrymen tread

                            on my back.

The pits on the path of

                  freedom of my  country,

May be filled with my

                          flesh and bone.