October’s Call to Conscience: Baji Rout, JP and the Awakening of Youth

As the nation witnesses extraordinary youth-led movements this October, today marks the martyrdom anniversary of one and the birth anniversary of another of two individuals who richly deserve to be remembered.

The first is Baji Rout.

Born in Nilakanthapur in the Dhenkanal district of Odisha, Baji Rout holds the distinction of being the youngest martyr of the Indian freedom struggle. A courageous boy of just twelve, he embraced death rather than obey an order from the British army.

His “offence” was a steadfast refusal to ferry British troops across the river, troops who had come to arrest freedom fighters. Unyielding in the face of threats and police brutality, he eventually collapsed under a bayonet blow. Even as he fell, he struck back at the policeman with the knife he carried. Amid the confrontation, young Baji raised an alarm that gathered a crowd and enabled the freedom fighters to escape.

His mortal remains were cremated in the presence of thousands. The incident occurred on 11 October 1938. Standing beside Baji Rout’s funeral pyre, the renowned Odia poet Sachidananda Routray sang:

“Nuhen bandhu, Nuhen ye chita;
 ye desa timira tale, ye aaliba mutkti salila”

(No, friend, this is no mere funeral pyre; Amidst the nation’s darkness, this is the beacon of liberation—the flame of our freedom.)

The second one is Jayaprakash Narayan.

“जयप्रकाश का बिगुल बजा तो जाग उठी तरुणाई है,

तिलक लगाने तुम्हे जवानों क्रान्ति द्वार पर आई है।”

(When Jayaprakash sounded the bugle, the youth awakened;
 O young people, revolution has arrived at your doorstep to anoint your foreheads.)

………..
 ………..

“आओ कृषक, श्रमिक, नागरिक, इंकलाब का नारा दो
 कविजन, शिक्षक, बुद्धिजीवियों अनुभव भरा सहारा दो।
 फ़िर देखें हम सत्ता कितनी बर्बर है, बौराई है।
 तिलक लगाने तुम्हे जवानों क्रान्ति द्वार पर आई है।”

(Come, farmers, workers and citizens, raise the slogan of revolution;
 Poets, teachers and intellectuals, lend your support, enriched by experience. Then let us see just how brutal and frenzied those in power can be. O young people, revolution has arrived at your doorstep to anoint your foreheads.)

Half a century ago, these lines echoed across India and inspired the nation’s youth to rise in defence of democratic rights.

Today also marks the 124th birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan, a man who sought to confront a comparable crisis through the power of youth at a time when the ruling establishment has discarded even the pretence of democracy and is deploying the army and police against the people, driven by authoritarianism and the arrogance of wealth.