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Dashrath Manjhi – The Mountain Man

Dashrath Manjhi, who was popularly known as the Mountain Man, was one of the most inspirational persons India has even seen. A landless farmer from the country, Dashrath Manjhi created history after spending more than two decades chiseling away at a mountain with the help of rudimentary tools having the perseverance to create a road for his community, which the Government refused to do.

Dashrath Manjhi

Early Life

Dashrath was born into an underprivileged laborer family in the village of Gehlaur, which is nearby Gaya in Bihar. Growing up in the deprived family where there were no resources for education, Dashrath had too limited options right from his childhood and thus, spent his entire life working in the fields.

Working in the fields near a hill that rose on one side of his own village, he realized that people had to a narrow and perfidious path in order to cross the mountain. In the year 1967, his wife, Falguni Devi got injured and thus, required immediate medical attention.

Unluckily, the nearest town that he could reach in order to see a doctor was located 70 km away, since he had to pass through the Gehlaur mountain hills. Due to which, his wife died for not being able to get timely medical treatment.

Dashrath was completely taken aback after losing his beloved wife and thus, he realized that the people of his village would repeatedly face troubles crossing the minute distance between Atri and Wazirganj block of the Gaya town, because his village was located amid several rocky hills.

 After having pondered on the possible agonies of other villages, Dashrath decided to embark on a voyage of producing a shorter route manually.

The Evolution of the Mountain Man

Working on the pure humanitarian grounds for providing comfort to his people, Dashrath devoted himself fully in carving paths through a mountain in Gehlaur hills. He worked tirelessly day-in and day-out for 22 years from 1960 to 1982 to accomplish his goal.

Nonetheless, the ride of his pure hard work and tenacity was not at all an easy one. At first, the people of his own village ridiculed him, rather than helping him in the task that he was doing for the entire community. Also, they called him a maniac for having taken on such a colossal task.

dashrath manjhi mountain man

But, as they say, true hard work never goes vain. Dashrath, the unfazed farmer continued splitting the niggling hill in half to the point that he even began getting some help from the people. A few of them gave him food and helped him buy tools for the task. At present, all the people of the Gaya district have profound reverence for the “Mountain Man” who single-handedly presented them with better lives.

Achievements

For his accomplishment, the mountain man was given a state burial by the Government of Bihar, after he passed away on 17th August, 2007. Later, the Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar proposed to construct a 3 km metalled road between Gehlaur and Amethi, titling the project as Dashrath Manjhi Road. In addition, a hospital is also planned in his name to serve the villagers.

Contributions and Role in Popular Culture

In July 2012, prominent film director Manish Jha proclaimed a movie, Manjhi, to be made on the life of Dashrath Manjhi. The Mountain Man gave his nod and put his thumb impression on an agreement, while being on his deathbed in ICU, for making the movie. Furthermore, renowned film actor, Aamir Khan dedicated the first episode of season 2 of his TV show Satyamev Jayate to Dashrath Manjhi.

Watch that episode in this video:

 

Movie trailer: Manjhi – The Mountain Man [Releasing 21st August 2015]

The actor in fact visited the Mountain Man in the Gaya district to pay him homage for his invaluable contribution to the people of Gaya. The actor stated that he was utterly moved and inspired by Manjhi’s conviction and courage.

Surely, our country has produced legends who have won Nobel Prizes, Padma bhushan, and Padma Shree awards. But, it won’t out of the way to say that Dashrath Manjhi was probably the greatest of the great – just like the last one.

We salute the sheer passion, courage, diligence, and humanity of the Mountain Man. May god bless his soul 🙂 🙂

Source: Wikipedia

About the author

Atish Ranjan

Atish Ranjan is an established and independent voice dedicated to providing you with unique, well-researched and original information from the field of technology, SEO, social media, and blogging. He has in-depth knowledge of computers and tech as he pursued computer science.

20 Comments

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  • That’s an amazing feat, cutting down a mountain alone with 22 years of consistent hard work. Such work inspires us to achieve an impossible goal. I heard about this real story few years back but wasn’t aware that “Mountain Man” is no more.

  • Such a great person 🙂

    I didn’t hear even his name before, the enclosed details about Dashrath Manjhi are stunning to read.

    I would say that he is a great devotee who worked benevolent for 22 years. We all should learn from his gracious work.

    Thanks for sharing these amazing details for us Atish 🙂

  • He is a real hero. Cutting down a mountain without the help of others is very hard. He is a single man army. Hats off to you man. Thanks for sharing such an info about social reformer. Keep updating.

  • Wow!! Very great inspiration today i got from this post.
    That’s why i am daily reader of this blog. Atish bro, you are from near bihar and Dashrath manjhi also.

    Great 🙂

    • Thanks for your comment Sid! Yes I came to know while researching that he was from Bihar but that doesn’t matter where is he from. All that matter is his hard work and dedication towards humanity which is truly amazing. No comparison!

  • Hi Atish,

    That’s one great inspiring post Atish. It shows how perseverence can do. He stood his ground and got to work hard inspite of what others called him or thought of him. He believed in his WHY and in himself and accomplished his mission successfuly.

    India is known for producing great leaders and heros like Dashrath Manjhi, Mahatma Ghandi and Mother Tereza and many more whom I am sure I didn’t hear about like Dashrath manjhi, whom I just came to know his heroic act to serve his people and his community.

    Thanks Atish for sharing such an inspiring story. I only wished I could understand the video. I hope you are enjoying your weekend.

    Be Blessed,

    Neamat

    • Thanks Neamat,

      Yes he was a great man! Let me tell you about the video. There is seasonal TV show called “Satyamev Jayte” and the host is Mr. Amir Khan(Bollywood actor). In the show he put light over the social issues, corruption and many things. In the first episode of its second season, Amir described everything about Dashrath Manjhi. He explained about the hard work and perseverance, Manjhi showed during his life time.

      Thanks for sharing your thought here! Keep visiting.

  • No doubt, Dashrath manjhi is a real hero. Thanks Atish for sharing this story with us. He is a great inspiration for all of us.

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