Dashrath Manjhi
was a poor, illiterate, landless labourer in Gahlore, a backward village in
Bihar. In his village there was a hill which blocked the village from the rest
of the outside world. The people had to walk along a perilous path over this
hill to connect to the rest of the world. One day his wife while passing
through this hazardous path tripped and fell on the way and broke her leg.
Dashrath was so upset that he sold his goat and purchased a chisel, a hammer
and a rope. With these simple tools he began to dig a tunnel, determined to
change the face of his village nestled in the rocky hills of Gaya. After 22
years of hard work he completed the passage which is 360 feet long, 25 feet
high and 16 feet wide. As a result of this accomplishment a lot of development
began to take place in their village as the travel distance had been reduced to
eight kilometres from fifty kilometres. The state government rewarded his
achievement by allotting him five acres of land. Now Dashrath wanted to build a
hospital in those fi ve acres of land because his village lacked medical
facilities.
This simple
illiterate man from Gaya achieved this feat by his sheer will power,
perseverance and faith strong enough to move mountains. Like Gandhiji, Mother Teresa
of Kolkata, and many others, the lliterate Dashrath has shown us the way. He is
an inspiration for all us.
Soon we will be
celebrating Diwali, the festival of lights. Though a Hindu festival, it is
celebrated by people of all faiths and all across the nation with much gaiety,
enthusiasm and merry making. As the tradition goes, it is the celebration of
victory of good over evil, of light over darkness and of knowledge over
ignorance. Let this Diwali then, become for us an occasion to light a lamp, a ray
of hope in the life of our fellow countrymen.
Dashrath in
accomplishing this unique feat through his selfless service and sacrifice has
embodied the true spirit of Diwali and become a beacon of hope to the people of
his village. Like Dashrath, all of us can become agents of change and
transformation and ambassadors of goodwill, by igniting the minds and
enlightening the lives of others for which we don’t have to be rich or
powerful. Like a lamp or a diya which burns itself out to eliminate the
darkness, be a diya and let your light shine!
