Readings from the Fringes

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When Salihan Took on the Raj
P. Sainath
Author: P. Sainath

P. Sainath (born 1957) is a well-known Indian journalist, academic, and author. His major
interests are poverty, structural inequities, caste discrimination and farmers protests. He has
travelled and written extensively on rural India. He has received many awards.
However, Sainath has not accepted government awards including Padma Bhushan in 2009. He
said, “Journalism should not be judged by the government”. His book, Everybody Loves a Good
Drought, was declared a Penguin Classic in 2013. It contains his experiences from travelling
1,00,000 kms across India, comprising 5,000 kms on foot, and the rest by 16 modes of transport.
Translated into more than 10 languages, the book is considered as “the conscience of the Indian
nation”. The economist Amartya Sen called him "one of the world's great experts on famine
and hunger".

‘Salihan’

Demathi Dei Sabar, known popularly as 'Salihan', was an unusually valiant Adivasi woman
freedom fighter from Nuapada district of Orissa. Salihan got her name from the name of her
village, Saliha. She led a fierce revolt in 1930 against the British Raj. She chased away the
British officers who had shot her father (who was targeted for his anti-Raj activities) in front
of their home in Saliha village. Salihan was only 16 years old at that time. Armed with only
lathis, she and her friends attacked the armed British raiders and drove them away. Salihan
said, "They destroyed our homes, our crops. And they attacked my father. Of course, I would
have fought them".

Introduction

‘When Salihan Took on the Raj’ is an article published by P. Sainath on the website, ‘People’s
Archives of Rural India’.
Usually, men and women of the elite class are given prominence by our historians,
journalists and other media men. Newspaper pages and columns are filled with the stories of
such people. Television channels set apart their prime time for the stories of these people.
But freedom fighters belonging to Adivasis and other marginalised groups like Salihan
who displayed real courage and bravery in fighting the armed British police and soldiers are
usually forgotten by these journalists. History books, Newspapers, and TV Channels are silent
about these equally courageous and great people like Salihan.

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 This article was written after the author, Sainath visited Salihan in 2002. She was
nearing 90 at that time. A forgotten figure in history, Salihan lived in “degrading poverty”. The
article throws light on the little-known story of Salihan. Sainath also pays tribute to the bravery
of ‘Salihan’ through a poem.

SUMMARY

Demathi Dei Sabar, known popularly as Salihan, was a valiant Adivasi woman freedom fighter
from the Nuapada district of Odisha. With only a lathi in hand, she took on an armed British
officer. She never thought she did anything extraordinary. She said that she fought them
because they attacked her father and destroyed their homes, and crops.
It happened in 1930 when the British were crushing pro-Independence agitations.
Salihan was just 16, working in the fields along with the other Adivasi women. Then, a
youngster from their village came running and told them that the British were attacking the
village, torching their homes, and looting the grains. Her father was lying on the ground
bleeding, with a bullet in his leg.
On hearing the news, Salihan ran back and attacked the officer single handed with the
lathi used for defence against animals. She chased the man around the village and beat him.
The other young women attacked the rest of the soldiers. Salihan attended to her father who
was later arrested for organising anti-British agitation.
When the author met Salihan, 90 at that time, she still had that strength and beauty in
her face, but was very weak due to old age, illness, poverty, and partial blindness. But her long
arms were still strong.
No one remembered the bravery of this great woman. She was almost forgotten and left
to live in poverty, with no pension, or livelihood. Her only possession was a multi-coloured
bravery certificate. Her village, Saliha, now is dominated by rich feudal lords who once
supported the British Raj.
Finally, when the author left, Salihan waved with a smile. Later, she died.

Sainath concludes the article with a short poem that pays a fitting tribute to Salihan.
Journalists and media men won’t tell Salihan’s story on Page 3 and prime time because
their space and time are only for the painted faces of upper-class celebrities who kill and blame,
and then speak like a saint. The British burnt their houses, unleashed terror, and looted them.
Salihan’s father and kin lay wounded. But Salihan faced them single handed. Now she is old
and grey; however, the old spark is still there in her eyes. She lived and died poor and hungry.
The people in power today at her village served the British once. There is nothing to worry
about if the modern media men ignore her. Our children should certainly know about Salihan,
not sponsored by Pepsi and Coke. This author (Sainath) is there to talk and write about Salihan.

SHORT ANSWERS
I. Answer the following questions in one or two sentences.

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1. Why is Demathi Dei Sabar called `Salihan'?
Demathi Dei Sabar is called 'Salihan' after the village named ‘Saliha’ where she was
born in Nuapada district in Orissa (today’s Odisha).

2. What made Demathi Dei Sabar lose her temper?

Her father was lying on the ground bleeding; he had a bullet in his leg. She lost her
temper and attacked the British officer who had assaulted him.

3. Why did the women take lathis as they went to work in the fields or forest?
In those days, the women took lathis as they went to work in the fields to protect
themselves against wild animals.

4. What is Page 3 of a newspaper?

Page 3 of a tabloid newspaper contains news about high society partying, celebrities,
gossips about their personal life, and their semi-nude photos.

5. How did `Salihan' and the women come to know of the attack of British police on their
village?
A youngster from their village Saliha came running and told them that the British police
were attacking the village, torching their homes and attacking Salihan’s father.

6. "There's a spark in those eyes that's still you." Explain.

At the age of 90, Salihan was shrunk and grey. But still, in those eyes, there was the
spark that appeared at the age of 16 when she attacked the British officer who had assaulted
her father.

PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS
II. Answer the following questions in a paragraph.

1. What did 'Salihan' and the other Adivasi women do on hearing about the attack on their
village by the British police?
When 'Salihan' and the other Adivasi women heard about the attack on their village by
the British police, they raced to the village. In those days, the women took lathis as they went
to work in the fields to drive away wild animals. Salihan lost her temper and attacked that
officer. She beat and chased the man around the village. Salihan then picked up her father and
attended to him. Later, he was arrested and put in jail. As Salihan attacked the officer, the other
women turned their lathis on the other soldiers.

2. What was the condition of `Salihan' when the writer visited her years later?
Salihan was around 90 years old when the writer met her. There was still the strength
and beauty in her face. She was weak and fast losing her eyesight. The writer imagined that
she was probably beautiful, tall and strong when young. Her long arms still had the hidden

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strength. She was living in poverty, with no pension, or assistance from either the centre or the
state of Odisha. Her only possession was a multi coloured bravery certificate. She struggled to
remember about her father. Then she spoke with anger, with that spark in her eyes.

3. Why does the writer say that the "prime time" is not for her?
Sainath says that journalists and media men won’t tell Salihan’s story on Page 3 of their
newspaper and prime time of the TV channels. Their space and time are only for the painted
faces of upper-class celebrities who kill and blame, and then speak like a saint. The prime time
is normally set apart for news about upper class partying, celebrity shows, stories about their
personal life, and their glamour visuals. The writer says Salihan doesn’t need Pepsi and Coke
sponsored programmes to promote her story in the freedom struggle.

4. What is the theme of the poem "For Demathi Sabar `Salihan' "?
In the poem, Sainath pays a fitting tribute to Salihan. He says journalists and media
men won’t tell Salihan’s story on Page 3 and prime time because their space and time are only
for the painted faces of upper-class celebrities who kill and blame, and then speak like a saint.
When the British burnt their houses and looted them, when Salihan’s father lay wounded, she
faced the British soldiers single-handed. There is nothing to worry about if the modern media
men ignore her. Our children should certainly know about Salihan, not sponsored by Pepsi and
Coke. This author is there to talk and write about Salihan.

ESSAYS
III. Answer the following questions in about 300 words.

1. How does the writer portray the hollowness of our society that forgets fighters like Salihan
and focuses on celebrities?

P. Sainath is a well-known Indian journalist and author. In the article, ‘When Salihan Took on
the Raj’, he portrays the hollowness of our society that forgets freedom fighters like Salihan
and focuses on celebrities.
Salihan was a valiant Adivasi woman freedom fighter from the Nuapada district of
Odisha. With only a lathi in hand, she took on an armed British officer. It happened in 1930
when the British were crushing pro-Independence agitations. Salihan was just 16, working in
the fields along with 40 other Adivasi women.
Then, a youngster from their village told them that the British were torching their homes
and looting their grains. Salihan’s father was lying on the ground bleeding, with a bullet in his
leg. On hearing the news, Salihan ran back and attacked the officer single handed with her
lathi. She chased the man around the village and beat him. The other young women attacked
the rest of the soldiers.
Salihan was around 90 years old when the writer met her. There was still the strength
and beauty in her face. She was weak and fast losing her eyesight. She was living in poverty,

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with no pension, or assistance from either the centre or the state of Odisha. Her only possession
was a multi coloured bravery certificate.
Sainath says that journalists and media men won’t tell Salihan’s story on Page 3 of their
newspaper and prime time of TV channels. Page 3 of a newspaper is for news and gossips
about celebrities. TV prime time is for news about upper class partying and celebrity glamour
shows. Sainath says that there is nothing to worry about if the modern media men ignore
Salihan. Our children will learn about her not through the Pepsi and Coke sponsored
programmes. Committed writers like him will do that job.

2. Compare the past glory and the present dire condition of Salihan caused by the indifference
of the society.

P. Sainath is a well-known Indian journalist and author. In the article, ‘When Salihan Took on
the Raj’, he compares the past glory and the present dire condition of Salihan caused by the
indifference of the society.
Salihan was a valiant Adivasi woman freedom fighter from the Nuapada district of
Odisha. With only a lathi in hand, she took on an armed British officer. It happened in 1930
when the British were crushing pro-Independence agitations. Salihan was just 16, working in
the fields along with 40 other Adivasi women.
Then, a youngster from their village came running and told them that the British were
attacking their village, torching their homes and looting their grains. Salihan’s father was lying
on the ground bleeding, with a bullet in his leg. On hearing the news, Salihan ran back and
attacked the officer single handed with the lathi used for defence against animals. She chased
the man around the village and beat him. The other young women attacked the rest of the
soldiers. Salihan attended to her father who was later arrested for organising anti-British
agitation.
When the author met Salihan in 2002, Salihan was around 90 years old. There was still
the strength and beauty in her face. But she was very weak due to old age, illness, poverty, and
partial blindness. However, the old spark was still there in her eyes. But her long arms were
still strong.
No one remembered the bravery of this great woman. She was almost forgotten by
everyone. With no pension, or assistance from either the centre or the state of Odisha, she was
living in poverty. Her only possession was a multi-coloured bravery certificate. Her village,
Saliha, now is dominated by rich feudal lords who once supported the British Raj. Salihan lived
and died in poverty.

♣♣♣
Prepared by
Prof. Murukan Babu C.R.
Principal, Nirmala College of Arts & Science, Chalakudy
(Formerly, Associate Prof. of English, P.M. Govt. College, Chalakudy)

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