Freedom Movement in Sambalpur 1827-1947

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"Freedom Movement in Sambalpur" is the first comprehensive study of a region which played a distinct role in the national perspective. In fact, Sambalpur is the first place where the Non- cooperation Movement began even before it was found in Bengal-the very citadel of National Movement. Further, this is the place which kept up the spirit of Indian war of Independence of 1857 as late as 1864. It was Surendra Sai, the undaunted freedom fighter of the region, who organised the tribal people and fought against the British relentlessly in a period when Nationalism was not even heard. He was a pioneer in leading the nationalist movement of Sambalpur though the term. "nationalism" came into vogue afterwards.

This book, apart from highlighting the struggle against the British by Surendra Sai, deals with the political consciousness and social transformation that arose out of it. Not only serious students of history but the general readers will also immensely benefit from the hair raising account of the freedom movement in Sambalpur.

Dr. Chittaranjan Mishra took his Master's degree in Ancient Indian History and Culture from Patna University in 1960. Subsequently, he specialised in Modern Orissan Studies, particularly in the regional history of Orissa. For his original piece of research on "Freedom Movement in Sambalpur" he was awarded the Degree of Philosophy in history by the Sambalpur University. He is a keen student of Numismatics and is a member of the Numismatics Society of India besides other prestigious bodies like the Indian History Congress and History Congress of Orissa. Currently, he is a Reader in the Post-Graduate Department of History in the Sambalpur University. He has several research papers and articles to his credit.

Sri C.R. Mishra, Lecturer in History, Post Graduate Department of Sambalpur University worked under my guidance and supervision for the last three years on the problem Freedom Movement in Sambalpur. His research ranged from 1827, the date of demise of the last of the line of Chauhan Rulers of Sambalpur upto 1947, the date of Independence. Resistance against the British authority in Sambalpur started right from 1827. So the date line chosen by the scholar to start his research is justified from the stand point of history. Sri Mishra has worked in important Archives of India including the National Archives, New Delhi and State Archives, Bhubaneswar and has collected a large mass of original records on the basis of which he has compiled this thesis. His dependence on the secondary materials is less than that on the original sources. He is a clear thinking scholar and the work is mostly the product of his own labour and painstaking research.

The spirit of nationalism which was gaining ground in India found a sudden expression in the form of resistance to foreign authority in the second half of 19th Century. There were riots and revolts to unfurl the banner of Independence and to herald a brighter tomorrow. Orissa had its quota of contribution to this national cause but it did not figure prominently in the national map until the resistance movement took a distinct shape in Sambalpur by the participation of the masses and the tribals. While there were sporadic outbursts of enthusiasm desisting the British Raj in other parts of Orissa, an organised attempt headed by the tribal chiefs in and around Sambalpur, took shape and caused uneasiness in the rank and file of British Administration. But till now no sincere work has been done by any scholar on this particular aspect of the history of Sambalpur. The attempts made by Sibaprasad Das (History of Sambalpur, 1969) Sapneswar Das (Chauhan Veera Surendra Sai, 1958), Anirudha Das (Life of Surendra Sai, 1963) Sankar Prasad Padhi and Sradhakar Supkar (Sambalpur are Bhasa Andolana, 1974), Sankar Prasad Padhi (Akshyaya Taraka Chandra Sekhar, 1974) have not placed in proper perspective the movement for freedom in Sambalpur. Even the distinguished publication of 'Freedom Movement in Orissa' (in five volumes) edited by the veteran freedom fighter Dr. H. K. Mahtab do not deal exhaustively with this aspect of the history of Sambalpur. It is worthwhile to mention that such study in regional basis is being now taken up by different scholars.

Therefore, an attempt has been made to bring to light the history of Peoples' Movement for freedom in Sambalpur with the help of mostly original and unpublished records available in Orissa State Archives, Bhubaneswar, Bihar State Archives, Patna, Madhya Pradesh State Archives, Bhopal, National Archives of India, New Delhi, Utkala Sahitya Samaj Library, Cuttack, Gopabandhu Library, Cuttack, National Library, Calcutta, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi, Central Secretariate Library, New Delhi, Nagpur Secretariate Record Room, Nagpur, and Record Room, Central Jail, Hazareebag. The thesis has been enriched by the first hand information on the period obtained through interview with the living freedom fighters of Orissa. No pains have been spared for field study wherever they were needed.

**Contents and Sample Pages**