The crusader for widows’ proper to reside with dignity

By Express News Service

PARADIP: Widowhood has since time immemorial meant discrimination for girls. But on the ashram of Baba Balia in Arilo beneath Tirtol block of Jagatsinghpur, widows are given a excessive pedestal, a place of dignity and respect.

The empowerment of widows and bringing social change to accord dignity and rights to them has been his life’s mission. The religious chief was moved by the plight of widows, who proceed to face discrimination and are pressured to reside in exile by their households as they’re thought-about ‘inauspicious’ regardless of existence of many legal guidelines.

He determined to begin an initiative to finish the stigma connected to widowhood and commenced encouraging such girls to take part in all spiritual festivals together with Sabitri Puja. Inspired by Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the founding father of Brahmo Samaj, Baba Balia started organising a one-day widow convention at his Sishu Ananta ashram.

What began as a small initiative has right this moment unfold to all of the districts of the State. Widows from all of the districts attend the convention yearly to share their issues, experiences and in addition be taught to claim their rights and create consciousness on the difficulty of their native locations. Most importantly, he has been in a position to deliver a few constructive change in individuals’s perspective in direction of widows.

“This was not easy in the beginning. Although people were open to social reforms, they still discriminated against widows. They failed to understand the ordeal of women who lost their husbands but were blamed for their deaths and considered inauspicious,” stated 68-year-old Baba Balia who was this 12 months chosen to obtain the third highest civilian award Padma Shri. 

He has began a ‘Bou Utsav’, additionally known as ‘Shefali Utsav’, that’s organised yearly to create consciousness in opposition to widow discrimination. “Widows have every right to live with dignity and death of their husbands cannot change that. We have been trying to make people realise this through our initiatives like allowing them in religious functions including Sabitri Puja and the widow conference which is one of its kind in the country,” he stated. 

Thanking each the State and Central governments for recognising his efforts, he stated work on this path has simply began and would proceed for a very long time. Apart from working for widows, he has additionally been educating kids from poor socio-economic backgrounds. His ashram is dwelling to a Sanskrit college and faculty the place he supplies free schooling to no less than 5,000 underprivileged kids now.​