Nabarangpur, ODISHA :
Nabarangpur:
A devout follower of Mahatma Gandhi, he had actively taken part in the freedom struggle, and post-Independence lived only to realise the leader’s principles of serving humanity.
Now in his late 90’s, Mohammed Baji of Nabarangpur district is too frail to work. But, he still holds the Gandhian principles close to the heart. Influenced by Gandhi’s approach of non-violence in his schooldays, he had made up his mind to meet him. And his dream was fulfilled when he met Gandhi at the age of 21 in 1941 at Wardha Ashram. “We had no money. But, I had to meet Gandhi ji. So, I and one of my friends, Lakshman Sahu, cycled around 350km amid forests and hilly terrain to reach Raipur in Chhattisgarh. From there, we boarded a train for Wardha where I met Gandhiji,” said the 98-year-old freedom fighter.
“Gandhi ji asked me if I was a Satyagrahi. When I said I had pledged to be one, he asked me to face the British lathis and sacrifice my life for the nation,” he added.
Seven days later Baji returned to Nabarangpur with a changed mindset. He had performed individual Satyagraha in an anti-war protest outside the Nabarangpur masjid. He was sent to jail for six months in Koraput and fined Rs 50.
“Gandhi ji had asked me to take the slogan of non-violence among the masses. I, along with a group of about 30 people, walked to villages to spread Satyagraha and non-violence among the masses,” Baji said.
On August 25, 1942 during the Quit India movement, he was again jailed for 30 months. In 1945, he had been attacked and arrested at Soraguda during a peace march. Baji’s shoulder was badly damaged in the violence and he was shifted to Cuttack jail, where he was housed, along with Biju Patnaik. He was set free on August 12, 1947.
However, partition pained Baji. “I was against the partition of the country. We had fought for the Independence of a united India,” he said.
During the 1952 general elections, many of his colleagues, including the then chief minister, Sadashiv Tripathy, became MLAs. But, Baji believed in helping people in a different way. “Gandhi’s code was to serve the mankind and I don’t think we always need power and position for that,” said Baji, who remained a bachelor throughout the life.
Post-Independence, from 1955-67, he had been the adviser to the Koraput District Bhudan Board. He played a leading role to collect about four lakh acres and distribute among the landless. Though being a Muslim he had launched a movement against cow slaughtering. “I donated my 14 acres during the bhoodan movement,” Baji said. In 1968 he established an ashram at Bijapur to house the students of adivasi and harijan communities. It is now a high school for the tribal students, and each month Baji donates a certain percentage of his freedom fighter’s pension for school management.
“What hurts me is that people have forgotten Gandhi ji‘s principle. But, I still believe that the India that Gandhi had dreamt of will be realised one day,” he said.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph,Calcutta,India / Home> Odisha / by Priyadarshini Pattnaik / January 21st, 2018