New Delhi/Ranchi
October 29, 2024 will mark the centenary of veteran tribal leader Kartik Oroan and the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh-affiliate Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (ABVKA) president Ramchandra Kharadi has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to celebrate Oraon’s 100th birth anniversary nationally as a “day of remembrance and tribute to his remarkable life and services”.
The ABVKA maintained that it would not only be a fitting recognition of Oraon’s legacy and the values he stood for but also be helpful in mitigating a sense of alienation and unrest among a section of Scheduled Tribes (STs), particularly the youths.
“His (Kartik Oraon’s) life and contributions are a source of inspiration not only for Janjatis (tribals) but for all the people across India. His legacy extends beyond political achievements and encapsulates a commitment to the welfare and empowerment of marginalised communities, particularly Janjatis,” Kharadi’s letter to the PM read.
Recently, Prime Minister Narmdra Modi had released a commemorative coin and a stamp in honour of Gondwana queen Rani Durgawati. He also laid the foundation stone for a grand memorial to the erstwhile queen.
Kartik Oraon – A Brief Profile
Popularly known as Baba Kartik Saheb, he was born to Jaira and Birsi Oraon at Karounda Littatoli in Gumla district of the erstwhile State of Bihar (now Jharkhand). He was named Kartik as he was born in the month by that name.
He was a studious person right from childhood and read a lot of spiritual and religious books including Ramayan. In fact, word has it that he used to climb a tree to study.
The three-time MP, two-time MLA, and two-time Union Minister in the Cabinet of Indira Gandhi even mortgaged his books to help those tribals whose land had been usurped or looted.
Education & Political Life
Kartik Oraon was one of the most educated tribals. After finishing his engineering, he went to the UK and the US for higher studies, returned and worked as Superintending Construction Engineer and then Deputy Chief Engineer with the PSU Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC).
It was in 1961 that on the insistence of Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru he quit his job and joined politics. The technocrat-turned-politician started his electoral journey with a loss but went on to register victories thereafter. He also became the Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Communication.
He founded the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad.
Kartik’s wife Sumati Oraon too got into politics and represented the Lohardaga Lok Sabha constituency while his daughter Geetashree Oraon became the State’s HRD Minister.
While his family has overall been in Congress, his son-in-law Arun Oraon, who took VRS as an IPS officer to join the Congress, later switched over to the BJP. Son of an IPS officer Bandi Oraon, who too was an MLA and a State Minister, Arun, however, runs over 100 night schools for village children in remote areas. The schools are named after Kartik Oraon. “It’s a small tribute to the legend,” he tells The Indian Tribal.
Kartik Oraon passed away on December 8, 1981.
ENDNOTE
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will visit tribal icon Birsa Munda’s birthplace Ulihatu on his anniversary on November 15, he might release the commemorative coin and stamp in honour of Kartik Oraon. For its part, the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram will kick-off year-long birth centenary celebrations of Kartik Oraon.
