Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik paid tribute to Sahid Baji Rout affectionately known as Bajia, the youngest martyr of India’s freedom struggle, on his birth anniversary Monday.
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Taking to Twitter, Patnaik wrote in Odia which reads as, “I offer my heartfelt tributes to the youngest in the country and a valiant freedom fighter of Odisha – Sahid Baji Rout on the occasion of his birth anniversary. The sacrifice as well as valiance of this 12-year-old martyr for our freedom will be remembered for all times to come”.
Baji Rout was the youngest Indian martyr, having been killed at the age of twelve. He was the son of a boatman who was shot dead by the British police when he refused to ferry them across the Brahmani River on the unfortunate night of 11 October 1938 at Nilakanthapur ferry Ghat under Bhuban block in Dhenkanal district.
Baji Rout was an active member of the Banar Sena of Prajamandal.
PNN