Bhubaneswar: Odisha on Monday paid homage to martyr Baji Rout on his birth anniversary, with Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi recalling the exceptional courage of the 12-year-old freedom fighter who laid down his life resisting British rule in Dhenkanal.
Rout, regarded as the youngest martyr of India’s freedom struggle, was remembered for his bravery, patriotism and sacrifice in the fight against injustice and oppression.
Governor Kambhampati, in a social media post, said Rout’s fearlessness and sacrifice at the age of 12 had earned him an immortal place in history and would continue to inspire generations.
Majhi, after paying floral tribute to Rout’s statue, said the young freedom fighter had confronted British soldiers and sacrificed his life while protecting oppressed people and the motherland from a tyrannical ruler and colonial forces.
“Baji Rout’s supreme sacrifice inspired the entire nation to serve the motherland and struggle for independence,” the Chief Minister said.
He said Rout’s life remained a source of inspiration for the youth and students and highlighted his government’s initiatives to honour the state’s freedom fighters and illustrious personalities.
The Chief Minister said Rout’s birth anniversary was celebrated as a state-level event last year in his native village, Nilakanthapur. The village has since been declared a ‘Model Village’, while a sports complex is being constructed in Dhenkanal at an estimated cost of Rs 120 crore in his memory.
BJD president and former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik also paid tribute to Rout, describing him as an embodiment of courage and fearlessness whose bravery at the age of 12 remained an enduring inspiration.
Born on October 5, 1926, at Nilakanthapur in Dhenkanal district, Rout was the youngest son of Hari Rout and Rania Debi. He joined the Banar Sena, the youth wing of the Prajamandal movement, which was led by revolutionary Baishnav Charan Pattanayak, popularly known as Veer Baishnav.
