Ganjan Singh Korku

Ganjan Singh Korku, hailing from the Betul district in present-day Madhya Pradesh, left his mark on Indian history through his illustrious contributions to the freedom struggle. The people of Madhya Pradesh welcomed the declaration of the civil disobedience movement by Gandhiji wholeheartedly. One of the most important forms of protest adopted in the region was the ‘forest satyagraha,’ which involved defying the unjust forest laws which served only the economic interests of the Raj and curtailed the means of livelihood of the tribal population. Ganjan Singh Korku was one of the prominent leaders of this forest satyagraha. On 22nd August 1930, Ganjan Singh led a crowd of hundreds of Gond and Korku people armed with axes and lathis to the reserved forests. They broke the law by entering the forest. The police immediately attempted to arrest Ganjan Singh, but the people did not allow them to touch their leader. In the ensuing clash one person died due to police firing, but Ganjan Singh managed to evade capture. For a while, all the efforts made by the authorities to catch him went in vain. But a month later, Ganjan Singh was arrested by the Pachmarhi police and was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment. Ganjan Singh Korku’s story truly shows how the British Raj was despised by all and sheds light on how he left an indelible impact on the struggle for independence.