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The Republic of India

Dashrath Manjhi


My country is completing 75 years of its being a republic. I’ve been asked to deliver a short speech in the morning assembly of my school on the occasion. How to speak to young students on a political topic? I expressed my concern to a colleague who then asked me what being a republic actually means. Isn’t independence enough? That was enough for me to get the stuff for my speech.

Independence or freedom is dangerous without duties and responsibilities. The Constitution brings us those duties and responsibilities while also guaranteeing us the security we require as citizens. Liberty, fraternity, equality, justice, freedom to worship whichever god you like…

No, I can’t speak on those things to school students. So, I contemplated a while… and remembered Dashrath Manjhi.

In 1959, a poor young woman died in a remote village in Bihar. She had had a fall on the mountainside where she lived with her husband, Dashrath Manjhi, a poor tribesman. Dashrath wanted to save his young wife. But the hospital was far away. With the help of some villagers he carried his wife to the hospital trekking through the rugged mountain. She died before they could reach the hospital.

Dashrath’s life took an entirely different course after the death of his wife. He decided to construct a road that will cut through the mountain. Armed with nothing more than a hammer and a chisel, Dashrath embarked on a mission. His fellow villagers called him a lunatic. They thought he was driven insane by the death of this wife. Dashrath was just 25 years old. Young. Loving. Longing. Romantic. And then his love departed.

Dashrath sat down with a hammer and a chisel in the ridge of the mountain that separated the city from his village. Twenty-two years of chiselling. And then the road was completed. 110 metres long, 8 metres deep. That’s what Dashrath Manjhi’s hammer and chisel carved out of a mountain in 22 years. With no help from the government. No help from anyone.

This simple tribesman is going to be the hero of my speech on Monday. People like Dashrath Manjhi make their country a genuine republic. Dashrath Manjhi didn’t need any political rhetoric to do what he thought was the right thing to do. Dashrath Manjhi is a republic. I will chisel my cynicism, of course, while telling the story of this man to young students. 

Dashrath Manjhi

Z

Comments

  1. Yamini MacLeanJanuary 25, 2025 at 10:31 PM

    Hari OM
    Ah, the man who moved a mountain... excellent choice! YAM xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJanuary 26, 2025 at 12:56 PM

      The Mountain Man, yes, that's how he came to be known as.

      Delete
  2. Jose D. MaliekalJanuary 26, 2025 at 4:52 PM

    Republic is by Etymology is Res+ Publica = The Thing of the Public

    ReplyDelete
  3. magiceyeJanuary 26, 2025 at 5:26 PM

    Love makes life worth living. Hate destroys it. Manjhi is a great example.

    ReplyDelete
  4. sathishJanuary 26, 2025 at 7:17 PM

    I think he is somebody and something he did needs to be made viral and taken to the young lads.
    It is 'what you did to the country vs what the country did to you' !!

    I remember my father telling me stories about how people gather to clean the lakes and ponds in his days! The situation is different now, people gather only in social media to comment and make something useless viral!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJanuary 26, 2025 at 8:34 PM

      Indeed, trivia becomes great now. The ridiculous goes viral. Culture of the superficial.

      Delete
  5. Liz A.January 27, 2025 at 4:49 AM

    As long as you have a good story, you can make a speech about anything and have a rapt audience. Good luck.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJanuary 27, 2025 at 5:48 AM

      Thank you. Children love stories. And characters linger...

      Delete
  6. marietta pereiraJanuary 27, 2025 at 5:36 PM

    It's wonderful that you have highlighted this man's spirit and determination on this significant day. May his tribe increase.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Murthy K v v sJanuary 27, 2025 at 9:23 PM

    Today, most of the people want instant results. Manjhi is the perfect example of how great things were happened. My respect to the indomitable spirit of the man.

    ReplyDelete

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