Pandit Godabarish Mishra (26 October 1886 – 26 July 1956) was a poet and notable socialist from

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

, India. He is known for his contribution to

Odia literature Odia literature is literature written in the Odia language, mostly from the Indian state of Odisha. The modern Odia language is mostly formed from Tadbhava words with significant Sanskrit (Tatsama) influences, along with loanwoards from Desaj ...

Early life

Godabarish Mishra was born to Lingaraj Mishra & Apsara Devi in a

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

family in Srinibaspur Sasan, near Banapur, Khordha district. His primary education was from the village school and then received his higher education from the Puri District School in 1906 and enrolled in

Ravenshaw College Ravenshaw University, formerly known as Ravenshaw college, is a co-educational state university situated in Cuttack, Odisha on the eastern coast of India. Founded as Ravenshaw College in 1868, the institution became a university in 2006. The un ...

. He used to take tuition to cover the college fees. He received his B.A. in Philosophy in 1910. He obtained his M.A. in economics from

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

in 1912.

Work

In teaching

He was a teacher in the Satyabadi School from 1913 to 1919. Then, he became the headmaster of

Chakradharpur Chakradharpur is a city in West Singhbhum district in the state of Jharkhand, India. It is the railway divisional headquarters of Chakradharpur (CKP) division of the South Eastern Railway. The city stands at an elevation of 227 metres (745 fee ...

High School in the

Singhbhum district Singhbhum was a district of India during the British Raj, part of the Chota Nagpur Division of the Bengal Presidency. It was located in the present-day Indian state of Jharkhand. Chaibasa was the district headquarters. Located in the southern l ...

(Now in Jharkhand) from 1919 to 1921. He was sent there with the aim of preserving the

Odia language Odia (, ISO: , ; formerly rendered Oriya ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the official language in Odisha (formerly rendered Orissa), where native speakers make up 82% of the population, and it is also ...

in the district of Singhbhum by Pandit Gopabandhu Das. After taking part in the non-cooperation movement, he returned to his home village in 1922 and was involved in establishing new schools, small-scale industries, farms and social welfare organizations.

''The Samaja''

In 1928 he became the Editor of ''The Samaja'', an Orissa local newspaper, holding that position for approximately two years, after the founder died.

In Utkal Samilani

He was associated with

Utkal Sammilani Utkala Sammilani ( or, ଉତ୍କଳ ସମ୍ମିଳନୀ)is an Indian social and cultural organization. It was founded in Odisha in 1903 by Madhusudan Das and continues in present times. History Utkal Sammilani was founded by Madhusudan ...

from 1919 to 1955. He was the President of the ''Utkal Samilani Special Conference'' held at

Berhampur Brahmapur (; also known as Berhampur) is a city on the eastern coastline of Ganjam district of the Indian state of Odisha. Bramhapur is most famous for its street food, silk sarees or pato sarees, temples and many historical places. Bramhapur al ...

in 1955. He met Gopabandhu Das by chance while staying in a hostel. He was one of Gopabandhu's "Pancahsakha" (five friends).

Social reformer

Although he belonged to a conservative

family, Mishra was a socialist. He was against

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

discrimination. He didn't wear his

sacred thread ''Upanayana'' ( sa, उपनयनम्, lit=initiation, translit=Upanāyanam) is a Hindu educational sacrament, one of the traditional saṃskāras or rites of passage that marked the acceptance of a student by a preceptor, such as a ''guru'' ...

and also wore a moustache, which was against the Brahmin caste system.

Participation in the Non-cooperation Movement

He participated in the non-cooperation movement of 1921. He was the head of Singhbhum DCC and led the campaigns in Chakradharpur and adjacent areas.

Political life

Inspired by

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

and Pandit

Gopabandhu Das Gopabandhu Das (1877–1928), popularly known as ''Utkalamani'' (''Jewel of Utkal'' or Odisha), was a social worker, reformer, political activist, journalist, poet and essayist. Early life Gopabandhu Das was born on 9 October 1877 in Suando ...

, he joined the Congress party and was a member of the

Vidhan Sabha The State Legislative Assembly, or Vidhan Sabha, or also Saasana Sabha, is a legislative body in the states and union territories of India. In the 28 states and 3 union territories with a unicameral state legislature, it is the sole legislati ...

(Lower House) of the

Odisha Legislative Assembly The Odisha Legislative Assembly is the unicameral state legislature of Odisha state in India. The seat of the Legislative Assembly is at Bhubaneswar, the capital of the state. The Legislative Assembly comprises 147 Members of Legislative Ass ...

. He was the member of the district board from 1924 to 1933. He was a member of Odisha Vidhan Sabha from 1937 till his death, with the exception of a five-year break. During this time he did not hold a post in the Orissa congress, due to political differences. When the Orissa ministry of congress was created he was not included in the ministry. He became a Vidhan Sabha member in 1952 as an independent candidate. He served in the Vidhan Sabha as an eminent administrator and member of the opposition party. He left Congress in 1939 and joined the Forward Block. He served as finance and education minister in the ministry of the Maharaja of

Parlakhemundi Paralakhemundi shortly known as Parala is district Headquarter of Gajapati district and one of the oldest Municipality established in 1885, in the Indian state of Odisha. Majority of the people in the town speak Odia. The city and the Distri ...

from 1941 to 1944. During his stay as minister in 1943 he played an important role in the establishment of

Utkal University Utkal University (UU) is a Public university in Bhubaneswar, Khordha district, Khordha, Odisha, and is the oldest university in Odisha, the state, and the 17th-oldest university in India. It is a teaching-cum-affiliating university. The pre ...

, Cuttack High court and various colleges in

Puri Puri () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is als ...

, Baleshwar and

Sambalpur Sambalpur () is the fifth largest city in the Indian State of Odisha. It is located on the banks of river Mahanadi, with a population of 335,761 (as per 2011 census). Prehistoric settlements have been recorded there. It is the home of the Samb ...

Literary works

His work includes many essays, stories, novels, poems, biographies and translations. His poems played a crucial role in creating awareness towards that nation. His dramas ''Purushottama Deba'', ''Mukunda Deba'' and autobiographical work ''Ardha Shatabdi Ra Orissa O Tahin Re Mo Sthana'' are some of his significant contributions to the Oriya literature. He was also a competent editor. He published magazine ''Lokamukha'' from Banapur in 1924. He also used to write for the ''Eastcoast'' (An English paper) published by

Sashi Bhusan Rath Sashi Bhusan Rath (1885-1943) was a social reformer, industrialist, politician and founder-cum-editor of the Dainik ''ASHA'' newspaper (The first Odia daily), published from Brahmapur. He is famously known as Ganjam Byaghra which means The Tiger ...

. He was awarded a doctorate in literature from

. Some of his published works are as below * Purushottama Deba * Mukunda Deba * Ardha Shatabdi Ra Orissa O Tahin Re Mo Sthana * Godabarisa Parikrama * Pilanka Kahinki * Chatani * Atharasaha satara * Godabarisa Granthabali

References

External links

Khorda.nic.in
* https://ebahi.in

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mishra, Godabarish 1886 births 1956 deaths People from Puri district Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Odia Indian male poets Indian socialists 20th-century Indian poets Poets from Odisha 20th-century Indian male writers