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The impact of the national movement in Orissawas apparent. It fuelled, mobilised anddirected almost all the spheres of human life.The growth of national consciousness stirredthe minds of the people making comparativeanalysis of their Socio-Politicaland Cultural retrogation. It wasthe time of transition from the ageof darkness to that enlightenment.The impact of the nationalmovement was perhaps the mostimminent on the development ofeducation in Orissa. The titleclass could easily grasp theimportance of development ofthis field. Hence, the beginningof the twentieth century sawgradual attempt and demands forthe development of educationand amelioration of educationalconditions.1

It is significant that in the beginning ofthe 20th century when many organisations anda host of important individuals engagedthemselves in the task of redressing thepolitical and socio-economic ills of Orissa, asmall open air minor school which laterbecame a High School, and then converted toNational School with the name of Satyabadi

Vihar, was to play a vital role in shaping thehistory of the region. From 1866 onwards, theintegration of all scattered territorial units ofthe Oriya-speaking people became the mainfavourite dream and the only wish of the people

of Orissa and alongwith that thebetterment of national life wasdesired. The nucleus of thismission was the poet, patriotand priest Gopabandhu Das.2

The Satyabadi Schoolestablished on 12th Agust 19093

may be said to be the cradle ofthe National Movement in PuriDistrict. It was at Sakhigopal orSatyabadi, 11 miles north of Puriand in the midst of mango andbakul groves.4 There are variousreasons in justification of this

selection. The war against corruption, thereform movement and the educational policywhich Gopabandhu intended carrying throughhis Satyabadi School reflected the above spirit.On the suggestion of Madhusudan Rao,5 theplace Satyabadi was chosen as the ideal placefor the school. Its scenic beauty and thechuriana trees imparting charm and fragancemust have been quite refreshing to the youngboys who came to study there.6 The school was

Contribution of Satyabadi School toNational Movement

Dr. Janmejay Choudhury

Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das

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the product of lofty idealism of few youngintellectuals who were convinced that muchof the evil could be eradicated through properdevelopment and training. Along with theirstudies, they taught the essence of life whichwould make them complete human being;courageous, confident and ready to work forthe uplift and progress their brethren. Theseyoung intellectuals had before them the imagesof Eton, Harrow, Rugby and Furguson Collegeof Pune. Gopabandhu Das was the brain behindthe School.7 A band of selflessyoungmen namely Harihar Das,Nilakantha Das, KrupasindhuMishra, Godavarish Mishra whodistinguished themselves in laterlife as scholars and nationalleaders under the inspiringleadership of Pandit GopabandhuDas popularly known asUtkalmani which means theJewels of Orissa who managedthis institution and carried onsocial service as well as nationbuilding activities.8 PanditGopabandhu converted it into anAshram to carry on the social activities throughit.9

The British authorities hesitated torecognise the school in the first instancebecause of fabricated reports submitted bysome local officers against the school. Thatthe school was a revolutionary centre and theboys were being trained on that line was anotion which persisted in the minds of theauthorities for some time. The school came intofurther prominence when Gopabandhu becamea member of the Bihar and Orissa LegislativeCouncil in 1916. All of a sudden, it became anationalist institution with the beginning of theNon-Co-operation Movement in Orissa and

was known as Satyabadi Vihar. It finallycollapsed in 1926. Though Satyabadi Schoolexisted for a brief period, yet it brought flickerand enlightened many a young mind in theprovince and helped to mould nationalconsciousness to a great extent.10

Gopabandhu and his close associateswanted the school to remain free fromGovernment Control. Hence, it never acceptedany grant from authorities. The Satyabadi

School drew attention from allquarters of life and its credibilityas an educational institutionsoared up in public eyes with thegrowing reputation ofGopabandhu Das. Peoplethroughout Orissa admired thisventure and many sent their sonsto this school. Many boys fromoutlaying Oriya tracts came tostudy here. His fame grewoutside Orissa too.11

Gopabandhu realised that unlessa dedicated band of youngmencome forward to serve their

motherland, it would not be possible to raisethe people from their age-long slumber. In orderto remove lethargy, ignorance and poverty ofthe masses, Gopabandhu emphasised the needfor proper education of youngmen in theprovince. At that time, there were a number ofschools in Orissa, but those institutions wereprimarily designed to serve the needs of theGovernment. Therefore, Gopabandhu desiredto establish an ideal school which would imparteducation to the pupils not only in traditionalcourses, but also infuse in their young mindsthe ideals of patriotism, social service, honestyand such other human virtues. It was a schoolwith a different mission; the mission of makingmen who would serve their motherland.

Acharya Harihar

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Naturally it combined the two systems ofeducation, the old Gurukul system and thesystem of English education prevalent in thosedays.12 Besides education, the efforts weremade to build the character of the students inthe Satyabadi school. The students wereimparted training in different fields like villageindustry, cottage industry, agriculture, carpentryetc. in order to be self-reliant in future. Thecourses were now being offered to the studentsof basic educational centres. The method ofeducation was mainly based on the IndianGurukul tradition. However, it was influencedby the modern ideas of westerncountries. The students weretaught about the importance ofdiscipline, moral character, theduty for the nation etc. Physicaltraining was compulsory for allthe students. To remind thestudents of the glorious culturalheritage of the country and to raisetheir national consciousness,students alongwith some teachersvisited the historical places. Toppriority was given to social service from theinception of the school. It was the intention ofGopabandhu to infuse the sprit of sacrifice andsocial service in the mind of the Pupils. TheSatyabadi teachers and students challengedmany social odds and evils. The students ofdifferent castes stayed and lived together.13

Satyabadi school was converted into a'national school' by Gopabandhu after the callfor non co-operation was railed, PanditKrupasindhu Mishra was the then head of thisnational school.14 Then its branches wereestablished at many places to propagate thenationalistic ideas.15 It was the impact of thenational movement that turned the smooth, easygoing tide of the Satyabadi School which

merged into nationalistic activities with all itssincere efforts. The 'Pancha-Sakha' or fivecomrades contributed their best for the causeof national aspirations. They were equallydedicated to the blend of educational as wellas political uplift of Orissa. Satyabadi becamea national school with progressive and nationalideals. It stood as a 'reaction' against the thenleaders who nursed the cause of limited ideas.16

Gopabandhu subsequently became the distinctleader of the new generation. His politicalloyalty towards Gandhiji was total. AcharyaHarihar led the famous Inchudi salt Satyagraha

in Orissa. This Satyagrahaelevated Orissa's image in theeyes of the nation. Theconsequences of the politicalactivities of these five comradeswere rather harmful to theSatyabadi Movement. The schoolwas virtually orphaned and couldnot function in the earlier manner.The students were inspired byGopabandhu to plung into nationalstruggle. Gandhiji's visit to this

place in 1921 gave further impetus to the spiritof the students at Satyabadi. They now grewup their studies and became active membersof the Congress. Hence forth, Satyabadi becamean active centre of non Co-operation movementrather than a model educational institution. TheSatyabadi School was in the true spirit of anational school as its main objective was tobecome a honey-comb of India struggle offreedom. So far Orissa was concerned, it wasable to carve out a place of uncommonsignificance in view of the fact that thepioneering freedom fighters of Orissa wereassiduously associated with it. These leaderswere self-less dedications and hard workingwho left no stone unturned for the achievement

Pandit Nilakantha Das

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of freedom as well as for the amalgamation ofOriya-speaking tracts. The big five comradesof Satyabadi school were leaders of their owndistinction. It is true to say that these fiveleaders symbolised the history and culture ofOrissa as well as India. They had struggledhard without most dedication in order to bringOrissa into the national mainstream. Theirearnest desire was to alleviate Orissa frommisery and sufferings. Orissa had bitterexperience of being subjugated by externalpowers or different times. ThePancha Sakha not only fought forunification of Oriya-speakingtracts but also for the Indianstruggle for emancipation whichwas the crying need of the hour.They wanted to bring Orissa intothe mainstream of national life sothat Orissa would see her brighterdays. These leaders were notguided by narrow considerationin establishing Satyabadi Schoolwhich became the seat and centreof freedom movement in Orissa.The history of freedom movement would notbe complete without reference to these fivecomrades. Freedom movement in Orissa is aregional manifestation of the All IndiaCongress Movement of Indian NationalCongress. The National Movement wasconcerned not only with independence but alsowith social and economic reforms. Such reformmovements existed in Orissa much before theCongress came to the scene.17

The National Movement in India didnot allow Orissa to remain aloof and Orissacaught the spirit of nationalism. Gopabandhusaw the glorious future of Orissa in the nationalmovement and plunged into it.18 the Montfordscheme was not approved by the Indian

National Congress. Besides, the public werevery much excited due to the ill-famed RowlattAct19 and the massacre of Jallianwalabag inPunjab. Gandhiji founded a new weapon ofpeace namely the 'Satyagraha' to fight againstthe British rulers, with the philosophy ofSatyagrah a new struggle was started with thenon-violent, non co-operation movement towhich Gopabandhu alongwith his followersjoined.20 The chief contribution of GopabandhuDas to the freedom movement were the creation

of national leaders with politicaltraining in his Satyabadi School,propagation of the message andprogramme of the non co-operationthrough the newspapers 'Asha' and'Samaj' among the people andorganisation of the Congressmovement in making it a politicalforce.

The Satyabadi leaders werepioneers in the field of freedommovement in India. The IndianNational Movement was

concerned not only with Independence but alsowith social and economic reforms. The centresof such movement was none other than theSatyabadi School. The Satyabadi leaders alsoattended some sessions of the Indian NationalCongress until they brought Congress to Orissa.From 1920, the Congress organisation was ledby the Satyabadi group. The non-cooperationmovement spread like wild fire due to theefforts of Gopabandhu and his associates. Thestudents and teachers took active part in thenon-coopeation movement in spreading theCongress message in different parts of Orissa.Even after the death of Gopabandhu hisassociates entered into the whirpool of hecticpolitics.21 The tremendous influence of thisinstitution had weilded was too deep to be

Pandit Godabarish Mishra

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blotted out of memory. Inits own unique waySatyabadi hascontributed a great dealto the cause ofnationalism andeducation. Conjectureslike what would havehappened if it had notbecome a national

school and so on would hardly serve anypurpose. Though Satyabadi was an educationalinstitution, it was also the thought and idea ofGopabandhu metamorphosed into an institution.It was therefore, only to be expected that whenGopabandhu after much thought decided toinvite the wave of nationalism to Orissa, hisinstitution would jump into it. It was only sadthat others could not come to the rescue of theschool and therefore its distinctive mark gotobliterated.22 The Satyabadi leaders also tookpart in the Civil Disobedience Movement.

The Satyabadi school had anindigenous character while striving for thefusion of the old with the new. It strove torestore the old Ashram school withoutemphasis on a sound mind in a sound body andplain living and high thinking. It was a factoryto build up the personality of man. The mostoutstanding contribution of the Satyabadischool was the sense of nationalism andpatriotism that it infused in the youth preparingthem for the freedom struggle. The chiefcontribution of Pandit Gopabandhu Das wasto raise political consciousness to amalgamateOriya speaking tracts, and to achieve nationalindependence.23

Reference :1. Mohanty, Nivedita, Oriya Nationalism: Quest for

United Orissa, New Delhi, 1982 p.85.

2. Mansingh, Mayadhara, Odiya Sahityara Itihas(Oriya) Grantha Mandir, Cuttack 1985, p.329. andReport on the Administration of Territoriesincluded in the Province of Bihar and Orissa,1911-12.

3. Mahatab, H.K., Dasabarshra Odisa (Oriya)Cuttack, 1964 p.13.

4. Mansingh, Mayadhara, op.cit., p.329.5. Mohanty, Nivedita., op.cit., pp.86-87.6. The Samaj, 1st Jan.2000.7. Das, Nilakantha., Nilakantha Granthavali (Oriya)

Vol.1, Cuttack Students Store, Cuttack, 1963, p.59.8. Proceedings of the Legislative Council of

Lieutenant Governor of Bihar and Orissa, 1913,pp.104-105.

9. Bulletin, Post-Graduate Department of History,Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, 1988, p.9-10.

10. Patra, K.M. and Devi, Bandita. An advancedHistory of Orissa (Modern Period), Bhubaneswar,1983, pp.200-201.

11. Utkal Dipika. 9th Jan. 1922.12. Patra, K.M. and Devi, Bandita op.cit., p.198.13. The Orissa Historical Research Journal-Vol.xxxv,

No.3 and 4, 1989, p.59.14. Satyabadi. 1st part, 1st issue, 1915, Gopabandhu

Rachanabali (Oriya), 1st part, p.23.15. Mahatab, H.K., op.cit., p.14.16. Bailey, F.G. Politics and Social Change, Orissa

in 1959, California, 1963, p.167.17. Patanaik, L.M., Resurrected Orissa, Cuttack,

1941, p.11 and Das, S.C., Pandit Gopabandhu; ABiography, Cuttack, 1977, p.59.

18. Patra, K.M. and Devi, Bandita;, op.cit;, p.221.19. Ibid., p.222.20. Mansingh, Mayadhara, op.cit., p.330.21. The Samaj, 17 June 1928.22. Mohanty, Nivedita, op.cit., p.93.23. Mohapatra, Satyanarayan, Utkalamani

Gopabandhu (Oriya) Berhampur, 1977, p.36 andAcharya, Brundaban, Satyabadi Yuga (Oriya),Cuttack, 1966, p.6.

Dr. Janmejay Choudhury is the Lecturer in History inthe Sri Jagannath College, Kaipadar, Khurda.

Pandit Krupasindhu Mishra