One of the youngest martyrs of freedom fight from Odisha, Baji Rout. Hope u know him. The story goes something like this. Baji Rout, a young boat boy from one village of Odisha. It was one evening in October, 1938 when British police arbitrarily arrested some people and took them to the Police station. Protesting against this injustice, villager’s gheraoed the police station, demanding immediate release of the arrested people. The British police instead opened fire at the agitators that killed two people. However after this incident the British police lost its heart and tried to flee the place. The opted to go through the shortest route via a river. On the wee hours they reached the river bank when it was raining. The thirteen year old Baji Rout was on guard of a boat at that time. He was ordered by the troop to ferry them across the river immediately. Baji who had had already heard details of the brutality of the troop understood that had resorted to villagers and had understood if the British troops were to be obstructed, then they needed to be stopped from going across to the other bank. He therefore refused to ferry them across. The troop threatened to kill him if he did not ferry them across immediately. Baji however rejected their orders again. One of the British soldiers hit Baji Rout head with his gun butt that fractured his skull severely. He collapsed, but he rose again gathering whatever little strength and courage was left with him, and raising his voice to the highest pitch beyond even his strength, warned the British troops not to ferry them till he is alive. A soldier pierced his bayonet into the soft skull of the brave boy even as another started firing ruthlessly. While one of the bullets hit Baji and he lay dead, his other friends were also killed.
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