Mahatma Gandhi started
Salt Satyagraha in 1930.
Inchudi in Odisha was epicenter of the movement in Odia speaking regions. Srijang was equally active in another area – the movement against payment of Tax for Chowkidari. Nabababu was the frontline leader in this movement, for which he was jailed for four months. He used the prison time in studies and in organising games and gymnastics for his fellow prisoners. In 1931 a son was born to him and Malati Devi. By that time his brother and his family were jailed as well. All of them were transferred to Hazaribag Jail. Naba babu got the opportunity of meeting fellow freedom fighters
Minoo Masani,
Ashok Mehta,
Yusuf Mehrali and
Jayaprakash Narayan . He came back to Tarikund after being released from Hazaribag Jail. He created a small group within the Congress and began editing and publishing a journal named ‘Sarathi’. For meeting the recurring costs of ‘Sarathi’, Malati Devi sold her jewelry . ‘Sarathi’ was the mouthpiece of small farmers and labourers. When the socialist caucus
Congress Socialist Party was formed in India with
Ram Manohar Lohia,
Acharya Narendra Dev and
Jayaprakash Narayan as its founders, Naba babu's group was merged in this forming
Utkal Congress Samyabadi Sangha (Utkal Congress Socialist Party) . In 1935
Bhagabati Charan Panigrahi in collaboration with Ananta Patnaik set up
Nabajuga Sahitya Sansad to create progressive literature in Odisha. At the inaugural session of Nabajuga Sahitya Sansad, Malati Choudhury sang "Nabeena Jugara Taruna Jagare" written by Ananta Patnaik. This society functioned as the cultural wing of the UCSP .
Entry into politics Odisha became a separate linguistic province on the first of April 1936. In 1937, elections to the Odisha provincial Legislative Assembly were held for the first time. Naba babu stood for election against
Rai Bahadur Chintamani Acharya from the Tirtal-Ersama constituency. He won the election with an overwhelming majority and this marked his entry into active politics. As an MLA, he was always sensitive to, and concerned about, the interests of the poor and downtrodden in Odisha. All the farmers of Odisha united themselves to fight against the landlords who were exploiting them. His published journal ‘Sarathi’ had closed down by then. established another journal titled ‘Krusak’ about news and features on the problems of the farmers, laborer and those of the
Praja Andolan movement in the princely States.
Praja Mandal Movement There were had 26 Odia speaking
Princely States. The Ruling Chiefs of these states were directly responsible for their respective States according their own whims and fancies, by paying a royalty to the British. The Congress Party and Mahatma Gandhi specifically had a policy of non-interference in the internal matters of the princely States. However a section of congress did not agree with this. Choudhuri was one such figure and he disobeyed this policy directive. Malati Devi,
Harmohan Patnaik,
Gouranga Charan Das and
Sarangadhar Das joined him in mobilizing resistance against the princely States in the hill tracts of Odisha. At their instance there was a stiff resistance against the princely State of Nilgiri. He was joined by Harmohan Patnaik, the President of Dhenkanal Prajamandal, the first Praja Mandal in India to fight against rulers of Princely States,
Gouranga Charan Das,
Ananta Patnaik,
Baidyanath Rath,
Sachi Routray,
Manmohan Mishra,
Surendranath Dwivedy etc. They went from door to door in the villages around Dhenkanal raising awareness about the oppressive regimes. In 1938, he was again imprisoned for his involvement in the
Praja Mandal Movement. One of the turning point of the Prajamandal movement was the sacrifice of 12-year-old Baji Raut along with Hurushi, Nata, Raghu, Guri and Lakshman succumbed to the bullets of Dhenkanal forces. After this atrocity Nabababu further accelerated the movement from their base at Angul. During these troubled times they had their third child, a daughter named Krishna in January 1939. In 1940, at the insistence of Gandhiji, Naba babu was jailed for six months as an individual Satyagrahi.
Quit India Movement On 8 August 1942, Gandhiji launched the
Quit India Movement. There were mass arrests of important leaders of the movement before the next morning. Nabakrushna had already prepared a blueprint for sustaining the fight before going to prison. He was kept in succession at Cuttack,
Angul and
Puri Jails where he was mingling with all the fellow prisoners, and was organizing them against the misdeeds of the jail employees. In November,1941 some non-Congress members and a dissident group of Congressmen in the Orissa Assembly, headed by
Godavaris Misra, formed a coalition ministry. And before the budget session, on 12 February 1942, some prominent Congressmen including Nabakrushna Chaudhuri and Mohan Das were arrested to avoid a no-confidence vote. This arrest of Choudhuri during Quit india Movement was condemned by national leaders like Nehru and was largely considered as an unpopular move amongst the public of Odisha leading ultimately to the collapse of coalition government in 1946 and the emergence of Hare Krushna Mahtab as the provinces third Prime Minister. He was sent to Berhampur Jail from Puri Jail. On 26 January 1944, some young prisoners hoisted the National Flag. The iail and police personnel tried their best to bring down the Flag, but it was a futile effort. Eventually the matter was reported to a District British Executive, who came to the Jail for inspection, and at his orders the prisoners were mercilessly beaten resulting in injuries. Even then they resisted the efforts to dehoist the Flag. The District Executive gave firing orders. On hearing such orders, he appeared at the scene and stood still facing the gun. The British officer was afraid of him, and withdrew the firing orders. By the end of 1945, Naba babu was released from Berhampur Jail. Following his release from prison he again made an incindiary speech against the British Government on 24 November 1945 at Cuttack where he extolled the people to rise up against the
trial of INA soldiers in 'armed revolution and force without mental reservations of any kind.' He argued the point that whereas
Gandhi sought emancipation of India from inside India,
Subhas Chandra Bose with his
Indian National Army sought it from the outside.
Congress Government In the
1946 Indian provincial elections Naba babu won the
Kendrapara Constituency, and became a
Cabinet Minister in the
Harekrushna Mahatab led
Indian National Congress Government having the Revenue, Supplies and Forest Departments portfolio. ==Post Independence ==