Dashrath Manjhi

Dashrath Manjhi (c. 1934 – 17 August 2007), also known as Mountain Man, was a poor labourer in Gehlaur village, near Gaya in Bihar, India, who carved a path 110 m long (360 ft), 9.1 m (30 ft) wide and 7.6 m (25 ft) deep through a hillock using only ahammer and chisel. After 22 years of work, Dashrath shortened travel between the Atri and Wazirganj blocks of Gaya town from 55 km to 15 km.

Early life and work

Dashrath Manjhi ran away from his home at a young age and worked at Dhanbad's coal mines. He returned to his village and married Phalguni Devi. While crossing Gehlour hills to bring him lunch, she slipped and seriously injured herself, which eventually led to her death. Manjhi was deeply disturbed and that very night decided to carve a path through the Gehlour hills so that his village could have easier access to medical attention. He carved a path 360-feet-long (110 m), 25-feet-deep (7.7 m) in places and 30-feet-wide (9.1 m) to form a road^[7] through the rocks in Gehlour hill. He quoted that, "When I started hammering the hill, people called me a lunatic but that steeled my resolve."

He completed the work in 22 years (1960–1983). This path reduced the distance between the Atri and Wazirganj sectors of the Gaya district from 55 km to 15 km. Though mocked for his efforts, he has made life easier for people of Gehlour village. Later, Manjhi said, "Though most villagers taunted me at first, there were quite a few who lent me support later by giving me food and helping me buy my tools."

Dashrath Manjhi दशरथ मांझी
Dashrath Manjhi
Born	1934 Gehlaur, Bihar, India
Died	17 August 2007 (aged 72–73) New Delhi, India
Cause of death	Cancer
Nationality	Indian
Other names	The Mountain Man
Known for	Carving a mountain with only a hammer and a chisel, to make a path to the city from a rural village in Bihar.
Spouse(s)	Phaguni Devi

Death

Manjhi died on 17 Aug 2007 at the age of 73, while suffering from gall bladder cancer in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. He was given a state funeral by the Government of Bihar.

For his feat, Manjhi became popularly known as the 'Mountain Man'. The Bihar government also proposed his name for the Padma Shree award in 2006 in social service sector.

In popular culture

Films Division produced a documentary directed by Kumud Ranjan named The Man Who Moved the Mountain based on Manjhi's life in 2011. In August 2015, the Hindi movieManjhi - The Mountain Man got released and well received. The movie directed by Ketan Mehta and Nawazuddin Siddiqui played the role of Manjhi along with Radhika Apte as Phalguni Devi. The Manjhi's deeds are referred to in the 2011 Kannada movie Olave Mandara directed by Jayatheertha. A supporting character in the 1998 Kannada movie Bhoomi Thayiya Chochchala Maga was based on Manjhi.

The first episode of Season 2 of the Aamir Khan hosted TV Show Satyamev Jayate, aired in March 2014, was dedicated to Dashrath Manjjhi. Aamir Khan and Rajesh Ranjan also met Bhagirath Manjhi and Basanti Devi, son and daughter-in-law of Manjhi and promised to provide financial help. However, Basanti Devi died due to inability to afford medical care on April 1, 2014.