Inspiring Biography of Dashrath Manjhi

Dashrath Manjhi famously known as Mountain Man single-handedly carved a path of 110 m long by splitting hills.

Introduction–

Dashrath Manjhi was born on 14 January 1929 in Gehlaur, Bihar into a poor family.

Gehlaur was a far flung village with no access to even basic facilities like drinking water and hospital services.

In case of medical emergencies, the villagers were left with only two choices.

The first one was to trek the steep Rajgir hills. Many people were getting injured while trekking.

And the second choice was to go around the hills to reach Wazirganj, the nearest town with medical facilities.

But people had to travel 55 km on this route.

The fateful day-

On a fateful day, Dashrath Manjhi was working on the other side of the mountain.

Falguni Devi (Phaguni Devi), his pregnant wife was trekking the hills to feed her husband lunch.

Unfortunately, she slipped on the hill and fell down.

Falguni Devi developed severe abdominal pains and Dashrath Manjhi came running after knowing her situation.

He began to climb the hills to take her to the hospital which was located on the other side.

But Dashrath Manjhi couldn’t take Falguni Devi to the hospital on time and unfortunately, she died.

Resolving to break the hills-

Initially, Dashrath Manjhi was very depressed but finally he resolved to split the hills and reduce the distance to reach the hospital, so that no one could lose their loved ones like him.

But he had no money to purchase a hammer and chisel, so he sold his cattle to purchase them.

Dashrath Manjhi immediately began to break the hills with the help of his hammer and chisel.

But people called him maniac and tried to demotivate him by saying that he can’t break the hills and make a road.

Nothing could distract Dashrath Manjhi from his goal and he was so focused that he continued working even in rains, cold and scorching sun.

He used to work as an agricultural laborer in the mornings and feed his children.

Later in the day, Dashrath Manjhi used to work to break the hills to carve a way.

Shifting near the hills-

Dashrath Manjhi shifted his hut near the mountain in order to save time travelling to the hills.

He used to burn dry firewood on the rocks and later cool them with water.

This made the rocks somewhat brittle, so Dashrath Manjhi could easily break them.

Eventually, he began to make progress and on seeing this, villagers came to help him.

They supported Dashrath Manjhi by feeding him and buying him the tools.

A vow-

Dashrath Manjhi vowed not to shave and cut his hair until he finished carving a path.

Finally, in 1982, he finished carving out a path.

Dashrath Manjhi started this task when he was 31 years old and by the time he finished this task, he was 53 years old.

Accomplishing his dream-

By this path, the distance between Atri and Wazirganj sectors of the Gaya district was reduced from 55 km to 15 km.

Dashrath Manjhi’s efforts were well recognized by the Bihar government, which constructed a cement road and named it after him.

Also the government constructed schools and hospitals in his village and named them after him.

Dashrath Manjhi was given land by the government, but he donated this land to the government for a hospital.

The Mountain Man-

Dashrath Manjhi’s success story was even made as a Bollywood film by the name Manjhi- The Mountain Man, which was starred  by Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte.

His name was also referred for Padma Shri in 2006 by the Bihar government.

Dashrath Manjhi was also featured in Aamir Khan’s Satyamev Jayate TV show.

Sadly, he passed away on 17 August 2007 due to gallbladder cancer in AIIMS hospital, New Delhi.

Feedback from readers is highly appreciated; it helps me to deliver better results to you.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)