On the occasion of 80th Independence Day, my greetings and best wishes to every Indian living in the state, in the country and abroad. Today, another golden chapter has been added to the glorious journey of independent India. The history of Indian freedom struggle is not just the story of a struggle, it was the first step towards nation building.
Under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, freedom fighters of different ideologies came together on one platform and united against the British government. Inspired by the mantras of ‘Satyagraha’ and ‘Ahimsa’, a long struggle was waged against the British government. At the same time, great revolutionaries like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Shaheed Bhagat Singh waged armed struggle. But, overall, the main basis of this freedom struggle was non-violence. As a result, 80 years ago, on this day, our country became independent.
Deepest tribute to the martyrs
I pay my deepest tribute to the great freedom fighters like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bir Sabarkar, Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Maulana Azad and millions of others who made sacrifices and sacrifices in this great struggle. Like other states of the country, the brave sons of our state Odisha also fought for the freedom of the country. The immense sacrifices and struggles of the leaders of Odisha in the freedom movement brought Odisha into the mainstream of the national movement. On this holy day, I pay my deepest tributes to the sacrifices of great men like Utkalmani Pandit Gopabandhu Das, Utkal Gaurav Madhusudan Das, Nabakrishna Chowdhury, Gopabandhu Chowdhury, Shaheed Laxman Nayak, Veer Surendra Sai, Shaheed Madho Singh, Chakra Bishoi, Rendo Majhi, Ma’ Rama Devi, Ma’ Malati Chowdhury, Dr. Harekrushna Mahatab, Biju Patnaik, Ma’ Parvati Giri and Pansana Devi.
You all know that the Paik Uprising started in Odisha in 1817, about 40 years before the Sepoy Uprising of 1857. I pay my respectful respect and tributes to the great patriots and brave soldiers like Mahanayak Bakshi Jagabandhu and Jai Rajguru who were the leaders of this uprising. Without the mass movement of Odisha, the story of the freedom struggle is unimaginable. The blood-spilling Iram, the Ghumusar Uprising, the Prajamandal Uprising, the Kandha Uprising, the Sambalpur Uprising, the Bhuyan Uprising of Keonjhar, the tribal Uprising of Koraput, etc. further sharpened the Indian freedom struggle.
The valor and sacrifice of all these tribal activists will forever be written in golden letters. I pay my deepest tribute to the brave soldiers of the defence forces and other security forces who maintained the security and integrity of this country after independence.
From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh, our national anthem ‘Vande Mataram’ and our national flag ‘Tricolor’ tied the freedom struggle with the thread of unity.
