P. Sainath

medium_02-Salihan_1002-PS-When_Salihan_took_on_the_Raj.jpg

small_02-Salihan_1002-PS-When_Salihan_took_on_the_Raj.jpg

thumbnail_02-Salihan_1002-PS-When_Salihan_took_on_the_Raj.jpg

02-Salihan_1002-PS-When_Salihan_took_on_the_Raj.jpg

She was working in
the fields along with the other Adivasi women when a youngster from their
village Saliha came racing to them, yelling: “They’re attacking the village,
they have assaulted your father. They are torching our homes.”
 “They” were armed
British police who had cracked down on a village seen as defiant of the Raj. Many
other villages were razed, burned down, their grain looted. The rebels were
being shown their place.
 
 Demathi Dei Sabar, an
Adivasi of the Sabar tribe, raced back to Saliha with 40 other young women. “My
father was lying on the ground bleeding,” says the aging freedom fighter. “He
had a bullet in his leg.”
 
 That memory brings
alive a mind otherwise fading. “I lost my temper and attacked that officer with
the gun. In those days, we all took
 
 lathis
 
 as we went to work in the fields or forest.
You had to have something with you in case wild animals showed up.”
 
 As she attacked the
officer, the 40 other women with her turned their
 
 lathis
 
 on the rest of the raiding
force. “I chased the scoundrel down the street,” she says, angry but also
chuckling, “raining blows on him. He was too surprised to do anything else. He
ran, he ran.” She beat and chased the
man around the village. She then picked up her father and took him away from
the spot. He was arrested later, though, while leading yet another agitation. Kartik
Sabar was a key organiser of anti-British meetings in the area.

Demathi Dei Sabar is known as ‘Salihan’ after the village in Nuapada district where she was born. A freedom fighter of Odisha celebrated for having taken on an armed British officer with a lathi. There is a fearlessness about her, still. She does not believe, though, that she did anything extraordinary. She doesn’t dwell on it anyway. “They destroyed our homes, our crops. And they attacked my father. Of course I would have fought them.”The year was 1930 and she was around 16 years old. The Raj was cracking down on pro-Independence meetings being held in the rebellious region. Demathi’s charge against the British and their police was a feature of what came to be known as the Saliha Uprising and firing.

Demathi was closing in on 90 when I met her. There is still strength and beauty in her face. Emaciated and fast losing her sight now, but probably beautiful, tall and strong when young. Her long arms, which still hint of hidden vigour, must have wielded a mean lathi. That officer must have had a rough time. He certainly had the right idea in running. Her incredible courage unrewarded and – outside her village – largely forgotten, ‘Salihan’, when I saw her, was living in degrading poverty in Bargarh district. A multi-coloured official certificate authenticating her heroism was her only possession. That too spoke more of her father than of her, and did not record the counter-attack she led. She had no pension, no assistance from either the centre or the state of Odisha. She struggled to remember – the one thing sparking her mind was the story of her father Kartik Sabar being shot. When I brought that up, she spoke with an anger that had not abated, like it was happening right in front of her. It also rekindled other memories.

“My elder sister Bhan Dei and Ganga Talen and Sakha Toren (two other women of the tribe) – they too were arrested. They’re all gone now. Father spent two years in Raipur jail.”Her region today is dominated by feudals who were collaborators of the Raj. They have benefitted more from the freedom that Salihan and her kind fought for. Islands of wealth dot the ocean of deprivation here.She gives us a great smile, many great smiles, but she is tiring. She struggles to recall the names of her three sons Brishnu Bhoi, Ankur Bhoi and Akura Bhoi. She waves at us as we say goodbye and leave. Demathi Dei Sabar ‘Salihan’ is still smiling. ‘Salihan’ died a little over a year after our meeting in 2002.For Demathi Sabar ‘Salihan’ They won’t tell your story, Salihan And I can’t see you making Page 3 That’s for the painted whatnot, the liposuctioned lot, the rest’s for the Captains of Industry Prime Time’s not for you, Salihan It is, and this isn’t funny, for those who murder and maim who burn and who blame And speak saintly then, of Harmony The Brits torched your village, Salihan So many men carrying guns They came by the train bringing terror and pain Till sanity itself was undone They burned all there was, Salihan after looting the cash and the grain Brutes of the Raj they led a violent charge But you faced them with total disdain You strode down the street towards him you faced that man with the gun In Saliha they still tell the story of the battle you fought and you won Your kin lay bleeding around you your father, a bullet in his leg Still you stood tall, Drove those Brits to the wall For you went there to fight, not to beg You struck that officer, Salihan And thrashed him before he could move When he finally did he limped and he hid seeking refuge from 16-year-old you Forty girls against the Raj, Salihan And strong and beautiful, too Now you’re shrunk and you’re grey, your body withers away But there’s a spark in those eyes that’s still you Those who toadied the Raj, Salihan, they rule your poor village today And build temples of stone but they’ll never atone For bartering our freedoms away You die as you lived, Salihan Hungry, with little to eat In history’s shades your memory, it fades, like Raipur jail’s roster sheet Had I but your heart, Salihan What success would I then not see Though that battle itself was not for yourself But that others might also be free Our children should know you, Salihan But what is your claim to fame? No ramp did you glide No crown wear with pride Nor lend Pepsi and Coke your name Do speak to me, Salihan For endless an hour as you please This hack, when we part, wants to write of your heart Not romance India’s Captains of Sleaze

Photos: P. Sainath &nbsp;More in <a id="1022" linktype="page">this series </a>here:&nbsp; &nbsp;<a id="87" linktype="page" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/panimara-foot-soldiers-of-freedom-1/">Panimara's foot soldiers of freedom - 1&nbsp;</a><a id="93" linktype="page" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/panimara-foot-soldiers-of-freedom-2/">Panimara's foot soldiers of freedom - 2&nbsp;</a><a id="503" linktype="page" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/the-last-battle-of-laxmi-panda-footsoldiers-of-freedom/">The last battle of Laxmi Panda&nbsp;</a><a id="121" linktype="page" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/nine-decades-of-non-violence/">Nine decades of non-violence&nbsp;</a><a id="1040" linktype="page" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/sherpur-big-sacrifice-short-memory/">Sherpur: big sacrifice, short memory&nbsp;</a><a id="1030" linktype="page" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/godavari-and-the-police-still-await-an-attack/">Godavari: and the police still await an attack&nbsp;</a><a id="1038" linktype="page" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/sonakhan:-when-veer-narayan-died-twice/">Sonakhan: when Veer Narayan Singh died twice&nbsp;</a><a id="1024" linktype="page" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/kalliasseri-in-search-of-sumukan/">Kalliasseri: in search of Sumukan&nbsp;</a><a id="1026" linktype="page" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/kalliasseri-still-fighting-at-50/">Kalliasseri: still fighting at 50&nbsp;</a>

When ‘Salihan’ took on the Raj

जब 'सालिहान' ह अंगरेज मन ले मचाईस रार

જયારે ‘સલિહાને’ લલકાર્યું રાજને

ʼಸಾಲಿಹಾನ್ʼ ಬ್ರಿಟಿಷರ ಮೇಲೆರಗಿದ ಕತೆ

‘സാലിഹാന്‍’ ബ്രിട്ടീഷ് ഭരണത്തെ നേരിട്ടപ്പോള്‍

సాలిహాన్ రాజు మీద ఎదురుదాడి చేయగా

ਜਦੋਂ 'ਸਾਲਿਹਾਨ' ਨੇ ਬ੍ਰਿਟਿਸ਼ ਰਾਜ ਦਾ ਟਾਕਰਾ ਕੀਤਾ

‘ସାଲିହାନ’ ଯେତେବେଳେ ବ୍ରିଟିଶଙ୍କୁ ପରାସ୍ତ କଲେ

সালিহান যখন ব্রিটিশরাজের বিরুদ্ধে দাঁড়ালেন

যেতিয়া 'চালিহান'য়ে ইংৰাজৰ বিৰুদ্ধে যুঁজ দিছিল

इंग्रज सरकारला शिंगावर घेणारी ‘सलिहान’

ஆங்கிலேயரை அசைத்துப் பார்த்த சாலிஹான்

جب ’سالیہان‘ نے انگریزی حکومت سے لوہا لیا

जब 'सालिहान' ने ब्रिटिश-राज से लोहा लिया

Saliha

At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.PARI exists to change that.We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.&nbsp;

Donate FAQs


Let’s get you acquainted

Welcome to PARI

All our content is, and will forever be free to consume. If you enjoy our work, you can support us by becoming a volunteer or by donating to help fund our work.

Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

When ‘Salihan’ took on the Raj

TEN TALES OF FREEDOM – 1: Demathi Dei Sabar and her friends took on gun-toting British officers with lathis in Nuapada, Odisha

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit