Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi had set foot in Odisha for the first time on 23 March 1921, which happened to be the day of Dola Purnima.
He visited Odisha eight times between 1921 and 1946.
On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, here’s a glimpse into the days of freedom struggle that brought the Mahatma to Odisha and inspired thousands:
First visit: March 23-29, 1921
Gandhi arrived in Cuttack on March 23, 1921 and conducted his first meeting at Qadam-e-Rasool in Cuttack on March 24 to propagate his ideas of the Noncooperation Movement. He also addressed women at Binod Bihari in the city and later a huge crowd on the riverbed of Kathajodi in the evening.
On March 25, Gandhi addressed a meeting at Gandhi Padia in Bhadrak. He then visited the Satyabadi Bana Vidyalaya of Pandit Gopabandhu Das before leaving for Puri, where he addressed a public meeting on freedom struggle on March 27.
On March 29, he visited Brahmapur with Pandit Gopabandhu and addressed a huge gathering at the Brahmapur Stadium.
Second visit: August 19 and 20, 1925
Gandhi visited Utkal Tannery, a factory producing shoes and other leather products, established by Madhusudan Das in Cuttack. He also visited other places of Cuttack before leaving for Kolkata on August 20 evening.
Third visit: December 4-21, 1927
Gandhi visited Odisha to promote Khadi. He went to several Khadi production centres at different places, including Brahmapur. He also met people of flood-affected areas in Bhadrak district. Due to the extensive tours, he fell ill and stayed indoors. He attended a public meeting at Cuttack on December 20 and left the city next day.
Fourth visit: December 22, 1928
During this one-day visit, Gandhi alighted at Jharsuguda while going to Kolkata to attend a Congress session. He addressed a meeting there before travelling to Sambalpur. In a meeting on the riverside of Mahanadi in Sambalpur, people apprised him about various issues faced by them.
Fifth visit: May 5-May 16, 1934
This visit was important because Gandhi conducted a Padyatra for welfare of Dalits. On May 5, Gandhi addressed people in Jharsuguda and Sambalpur and appealed to people to eradicate untouchability. Next day, he went to Angul by car and addressed people there. He reached Puri on May 7.
On May 8, he unveiled statue of Pandit Gopabandhu Das in Puri and started a Padyatra from Puri to Cuttack. He stayed at several places including Kadua Ashram, Satyabhamapur and Balianta while attending the Padyatra. He left for Patna on May 16.
Sixth visit: May 21-June 7, 1934
Gandhi resumed his Harijan Padyatra on May 21 from Byree in Jajpur district to Bhadrak. He covered rural areas of Cuttack, Kendrapada, Bari, Kabirpur in Jajpur and Bhadrak districts. It continued till June 7.
Seventh visit: March 25-31, 1938
Gandhi attended a week-long conference of Gandhi Seva Sangh and an agro and village enterprise exhibition at Beraboi in the Delang area of Puri district. Renowned freedom fighters like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Rajendra Prasad attended the expo.
Eighth and last visit: January 20, 1946
Gandhi met his supporters at Baleswar, Bhadrak, Cuttack and Brahmapur while going towards Chennai by train on January 20, 1946. Huge turnouts had been reported at the stations.
