The British police fired on Baji Rout when he refused their order to help them cross the river on his boat (Photo Credit: Odishabytes)
Baji Rout stood against the oppressive rulers of Dhenkanal and the British and joined Prajamandal at a tender age.
Baji Rout was born on October 5, 1926, at Nilakanthapur village in the Dhenkanal district of Odisha. He joined the Banar Sena of Prajamandal at a very tender age. He had also lost his father at a very early age. His mother was surviving on the wages earned by rice husking in the neighbourhood.
He had watched how Dhenkanal King, Shankar Pratap Singhdeo, was mercilessly fleecing the poor villagers, including his mother's earnings by using armed forces. So, when Baishnav Charan Pattanayak of Dhenkanal town, famous as Veer Baisnav, raised a banner of revolt against the King and founded Prajamandal, Baji joined it despite his tender age. He stood against the oppressive rulers of Dhenkanal and the British.
As an active member of the Banar Sena of Prajamandal (Party of the People), he had volunteered to keep a watch by the river on the night of October 11, 1938, at Nilakanthapur Ghat, Bhuban, Odisha. The British Police force ordered him to help them cross the river on his boat, to which he refused. The police force then fired on him and Baji Rout lost his life to the bullet of a British soldier at the age of 12.
Eminent poet Sachi Rautroy's famous poem 'Baji Rout', which was translated into English by Harindranath Chattopadyaya, set the entire nation in an unprecedented motion for people's freedom from the Kings of the princely states. Sachi Rautroy took several days to regain his composure to finish his poem, Baji Rout. He had started it on the cremation ground itself in the light of the pyre.
A short film on Baji Rout, Baji the Immortal Boat Boy, directed by Chinmoy Das, was released in 2018.
Source- http://Odishabytes.com
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