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Freedom fighter Manmohan Chowdhury died in Cuttack today of a prolonged heart ailment. The 88-year-old Gandhian is survived by his wife Sumitra Devi and daughter Madhavi Das.
Born into a family of freedom fighters at Kheras village in Jagatsinghpur district, Chowdhury had a turbulent childhood, deprived of a proper education because his father Gopabandhu was busy with Gandhiji's civil disobedience movement.
Undeterred, young Manmohan taught himself Hindi, English and Bengali. He later wrote many books in Oriya, Hindi and English.
Chowdhury also went to jail several times, first during the Raj and then again during the Emergency.
He headed the Sarvodaya movement in Orissa and was one of the four members of the Sarva Seva Sangh that Jayaprakash Narayan formed to spearhead his Sampoorna Kranti movement in 1973.
He also formed several co-operative and voluntary organisations in the state in the areas of cottage tanneries, textiles, and minor forest produce.
Till recently, despite his advanced age and ill health, Chowdhury continued to raise issues relating to the dalits and the poor.
Thousands of people from the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar visited his home for a last glimpse of the leader.
"Orissa has lost a great son," Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who attended Chowdhury's funeral in the afternoon, said.