‘Will always inspire’, Rahul Gandhi pays tribute to Mountain Man Dashrath Manjhi

Ahead of his 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' from Bihar's Sasaram on Sunday, 17 August, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi paid tribute to 'Mountain Man' Dashrath Manjhi on his death anniversary and said that the latter will "always continue to inspire us all".

In a post on the social media platform X in Hindi, he said that Manjhi's "struggle reminds us that if intentions are strong, no obstacle is too big".

"His determination and passion to accomplish what he set out to do will always inspire us all," Rahul Gandhi said.

Notably, Manjhi was known as 'Mountain Man' for single-handedly carving a path through a hill in Gehlaur village to connect it with Wajirganj block in Bihar's Gaya district.

Dashrath Manjhi, a native of Gehlaur village, cut a mountain to make a road between his village and Wazirganj. It took him 22 years to work every day with a hammer and a chisel.

When his wife died in 1959 after being injured from falling from the mountain, and the same mountain blocked easy access to a nearby hospital in time, he decided to carve a path.

With this feat done single-handedly, he is revered by the Manjhi community.

Noting his contribution, a stamp featuring Dashrath Manjhi was released by India Post in the "Personalities of Bihar" series on 26 December 2016.

A Hindi movie, 'Manjhi – The Mountain Man', was released and well-received.

Dashrath Manjhi has a larger-than-life image among the Musahar community.

The Bihar government has built a statue and memorial of Dashrath Manjhi. Gehlaur is one of the tourist attractions in the district.

A large number of Buddhists come to Bodh Gaya every year, and the majority of them also visit the memorial of the Mountain Man.

Majhi's son, Bhagirath Manjhi, is a Congress leader and was inducted into the grand old party days after participating in the 'Samvidhaan Suraksha Sammelan' in Patna.

Dashrath Manjhi's son-in-law, Mithun Manjhi, is in the JD(U).