Sashibhusan Rath

Sashi Bhusan Rath
Born	(1885-01-01)1 January 1885 Surada, Ganjam district, Madras Presidency, British Raj
Died	19 March 1943(1943-03-19) (aged 58) Berhampur, Orissa Province, British Raj
Nationality	Indian
Education	Matric
Alma mater	Higher Secondary School, Paralakhemundi
Occupation(s)	Social reformer, public representative, industrialist
Spouse	Arnapurna Rath
Children	Ashalata Mishra
Parent(s)	Lambodara Mahapatra (father), Digambara Rath (adopted father)
Awards	O.B.E. (Order of British Empire)

Sashi Bhusan Rath was a social reformer, industrialist, politician and editor/co-founder of the Dainik Asha newspaper (The 1st Odia daily), published from Brahmapur. Among the Odia people he was known as Ganjam Byaghra, which means The Tiger of Ganjam.

Early life

He was born in Surada. Rath was the second son of Lambodara Mahapatra. By order of his grandfather Nilakantha Mahapatra, Sashi was adopted by his uncle Digambara Rath. So, from his childhood, he used Rath as his surname. Many educational institutions have been named after him, such as Sashi Bhusan Government High School in Surada and Sashi Bhusan Rath (Auto.) Women's College in Brahmapur.

Career

He was elected Vice-chairman of the former Berhampur Municipality and later elected as Public Representative from the Ganjam district to Madras Assembly Council during the British Raj. He briefly worked as a manager of Utkal Tannery, which was established by Madhusudan Das.