After watching Nawazuddin Siddiqui in ‘Manjhi: The Mountain Man’ people got a brief introduction about the life of Dashrath Manjhi. Born in 1934, Manjhi grew up as a poor labourer in Gehlaur village, near Gaya in Bihar, India. The ordinary man lived an ordinary life till he lost his wife. The anger and grief of losing his wife made him carve a path in the mountain, giving him the name ‘The Mountain Man’. Manjhi, who passed away in 2007 at All India Institute of Medical Sciences have left behind an inspiration for many.
On his 12th death anniversary, let’s remember the great man through his great deeds and achievements.
1. Dashrath Manjhi was married to Phaguni Devi and was in love with her. However, while crossing a hillock to bring him his lunch, she slipped and seriously injured herself. The lack of medical facilities due to the distance led to her death. Manjhi, who was deeply disturbed by her death, decided to carve a path through the Gehlour hills.
2. He carved a path between Atri and Wazirgang through a 360 ft long, 30 ft wide and 25 ft high hillock, using only a hammer and chisel.
3. He achieved this great deed after working continuously for 22 years, from 1960 to 1982, shortening the travel distance between the Atri and Wazirganj blocks of Gaya town from 55km to 15km.
4. Manjhi ran from his house at a very young age and worked in Dhanbad coal mines for several years. He later discovered cancer in his gall bladder, leading to his death in 2007 at AIIMS- Delhi.
5. The Bihar Government also proposed his name for the Padma Shree award in 2006 in the social service sector. In fact, there is a hospital in Gehlour village named after him.
6. Nitish Kumar, the then Chief Minister of Bihar, proposed to build a 3-kilometre long metal road from Gahlaur named after Dashrath Manjhi.
7. On his death, he was given a state funeral by the Government of Bihar.
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