Report by Ashok Palit, Bhubaneswar: Annapurna Maharana ,The great woman freedom fighter of Odisha passed away on 31st dec.2012. at the age of96. She was another prominent leader in the BHUDANA movement with Vinoba Bhabe.
Ms Annapurna Maharana, the niece of Utkalmani Paundit Gopabandhu Das, was born as the second child of Rama Devi and Gopabandhu Choudhur ian eminent freedom fighter of Odisha. She was not only a freedom fighter, but also a strong social activist, literary figure and has spent her entire life for the betterment and uplift women, children and the downtrodden people of the society. Ms Maharana had accompanied Mahatma Gandhi in the historic Harijan Pada Yatra from Puri to Bhadrakh in 1934.
She worked among the Harijans to uplift them and for this purpose she spent more than five years in Seva Ghar Ashram in Bari, Cuttack. During the Bhoodan Movement led by Acharya Vinoba Bhave, she had visited extensively in the Chambal Valley to change the hearts of the dacoits to bring them to the national mainstream. Ms Maharana has set up a school for the tribal children in a remote place at Gopalbadi in Rayagada district of Odisha.
She was first imprisoned at the age of 14 for her participation in the freedom struggle and also during the Quit India Movement. She has been honoured with many awards like the prestigious Sarala Puraskar, Utkal Ratna and Radhanath Rath Foundation Award. She has been felicitated by the President of India for her participation in Independence Movement.
The Central University of Odisha had confer the Degree of Honoris Causa in Literature on eminent freedom fighter and social activist Annapurna Maharana of Odisha at her residence in Cuttack Last year .