Sarangadhar Das
A commemorative postage stamp on ‘Garjat Gandhi‘ Sarangadhar Das, a leader of Prajamandal Movement in various Princely States of Odisha :
Issued by India
Issued on Feb 23, 2024
Issued for : Department of Posts is delighted to issue a Commemorative Postage Stamp on Sarangadhar Das known as Gadjat Gandhi and appreciates his contribution to social reformist ideas and value his important role in political world as well as in evolution of industries.
Credits :
Stamp/FDC/Brochure/Cancellation Cachet : Smt. Neenu Gupta
Type : Stamp, Mint Condition
Colour : Multi Colour
Denomination : 500 Paise
Stamps Printed : 201600
Printing Process : Wet Offset
Printer : Security Printing Press, Hyderabad
Name : Sarangadhar Das
Born on 17 Oct, 1826 at Harekrushnapur, Dhenkanal [then princely state], British India [now in Odisha, India]
Died on 18 Sep, 1957 at Cuttack, Odisha, India
About :
- Sarangadhar Das, was a revolutionary, a scientist par excellence, a Parliamentarian and a prolific writer. He was popularly known as ‘Gadjat Gandhi’ for his role in the Prajamandal Movement in various Princely States of Odisha.
- Born on 17th October 1886 at Harekrushnapur, Dhenkanal, Odisha, he did his matriculation from Dhenkanal Garh High School and B.Sc. from Ravenshaw College, Cuttack. For higher studies, he studied Chemistry at Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan. He also studied Sugar Technology at the University of California, Berkeley. He left for heavenly abode on 18th September 1957.
- Sarangadhar struggled hard after his father’s death when he was 11. However, his mother encouraged him to pursue his studies. The aim of Sarangadhar was not to join in Government Service but to establish Industry. He had a dream, to make India an industrially developed country.
- After completing his study, he planned to set up a sugar industry in Dhenkanal. But, the then king of Dhenkanal, Shankar Pratap wanted to exterminate the sugar factory, created all obstacles, and destroyed the factory. Sarangadhar’s mission failed and he realized that it was impossible to develop industry in Dhenkanal without the abolition of the king’s rule. So, he thought of a revolution and that was translated into the Gadjat Movement.
- He established an institution, ‘Praja Samilani’ and encouraged the local leaders to form the Prajamandal committee and to revolt against the king. The Movement spread in the nook and corner of the entire Dhenkanal Gadjat as well as in other parts of Odisha. Subsequently, he became one of the Vice Presidents of the All India Prajamandal Committee.
- He had an active political career. In 1946, he was elected to the Provincial Legislative Council of Odisha (1946-1949) from Tirtol–Erasama constituency and India’s Provincial Parliament where he presented strong arguments in favour of the merger of all Princely States with Odisha and demanded a responsible Government in all Princely States.
- After independence, he resigned from the Congress Party to join the Socialist Party and was an active participant in the All-Orissa State’s People’s Movement. He was also the Chairman of the Socialist Party (Utkal, 1951-1952) as well as the Deputy Leader of the Praja Socialist Party (1952-1953). In the year 1951, he was elected Member of Parliament to Lok Sabha from Dhenkanal-west-Cuttack Joint Parliamentary Constituency.
- He worked tirelessly for the upliftment of tribal groups and lower caste communities. He also served as a member of the Standing Committee of the All-India State’s People’s Conference (1939-1943) and a member of the All-India Congress Committee (1939-1945). He was elected President of Orissa and Central Provinces States Regional Council (1946-1947).
- Sarangadhar Das regularly wrote about various struggles of the masses in the journal ‘Krushak’. Two of his published Works include ‘The Development of Sugar Industry in India’ and ‘Bikaner – A Political & Economic Survey’.
- Text : Referenced from content provided by Proponent.
