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Odisha Honors Youngest Freedom Fighter Baji Rout on Birth Anniversary
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News18•05-10-2026, 19:30
Odisha Honors Youngest Freedom Fighter Baji Rout on Birth Anniversary
- •Odisha paid tributes to martyr Baji Rout, the country's youngest freedom fighter who sacrificed his life at age 12, on his birth anniversary.
- •Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi remembered his indomitable courage and supreme sacrifice against British colonialists.
- •The state government declared Rout's native village Nilakanthapur as a Model Village and is building a sports complex in Dhenkanal costing Rs 120 crore in his memory.
- •BJD president Naveen Patnaik also offered heartfelt tributes, highlighting Rout as an eternal source of courage and inspiration for the nation.
Key Questions Answered
Baji Rout was a 12-year-old boatman from Odisha's Dhenkanal district who sacrificed his life fighting against the British, earning recognition as the country's youngest freedom movement martyr.
Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi paid tribute to his statue and remembered his indomitable courage, noting that his village was declared a Model Village alongside the construction of a Rs 120 crore sports complex in Dhenkanal.
In his fight for justice, young Baji Rout joined the Banar Sena, which was the youth wing of the Prajamandal movement founded under the leadership of revolutionary Baishnav Charan Pattanayak.
