Rayagada: On a day when the nation is celebrating 75 years of Independence, Gopalbadi, which was the epicentre of freedom struggle in southern Odisha, echoes hollowness of the state’s claims to the pride for its contribution to the movement.
Gopalbadi in Kalonara block of Rayagada district, which served as a secret meeting place of prominent freedom fighters of Odisha, is on the verge of turning into ruins in not so distant future. Sitting on sprawling area of 27 acre of land, the place had several houses which contributed to the independence movement and its leaders at the time.
Prominent leaders like Gopabandhu Das, Nabarkushna Choudhury, Jay Prakash Narayan, Nana Saheb Sahasrabhuj, Malati Devi, Rama Devi and Annapurna Maharana used to hold secret meetings in those rooms to chalk out the strategy of the movement against the British rule.
‘Koraputia Gandhi’ Biswanath Patnaik worked as the messenger between the local leaders and national leaders. He used to carry the messages regarding the strategy from Gopalbadi to other parts of the country.
Gopalbadi had the facility to produce khadi clothes by procuring cotton from nearby tribal areas which also played a prominent role in the struggle. ‘Koraputi Gandhi’ used to distribute those clothes among the people who participated in several movements on the call of Mahatma Gandhi.
Since it was surrounded by hills and deep forest in remote a corner of then undivided Koraput, the Britishers could not know about its existence which helped the leaders to carry out their plans.
In the later period, Gopalbadi turned into a major centre of Bhudan movement started by Vinoba Bhave. He also visited the place to spread the movement in Odisha. He had started a ‘Goshala’ (cattle farm) in the place. For a long time after Independence, the milk produced from this farm was supplied to nearby areas.
Now, the entire campus of Gopalbadi stands desolate and forlorn. The Utkal Khadi Mandal, which looks after its upkeep and maintenance, faces acute fund crisis to keep all the structures standing. While most of the houses with asbestos roof have collapsed, a few have somehow managed to stand the onslaught of nature.
Come Independence Day, Gopalbadi’s poignant history is recalled by people of all colours. But few visit the place or make any effort for preservation of the houses, rooms, verandahs and gardens where some great souls of the soil have left their footprints.
