Dashrath Manjhi

Dashrath Manjhi was born in 1934 in Gehlaur, a predominantly Musahar village in the Gaya district of Bihar, India. Traditionally landless agricultural laborers, the Musahars (literally “rat eaters”) are the most marginalized social group, even among the Dalits (previously known as “untouchables”), in India’s discriminatory caste system.

Socially and geographically isolated, Manjhi’s community lived in extreme material poverty. Gehlaur received virtually no assistance from the Bihar government, with no electricity, running water, schools or medical facilities. To find agricultural work or access basic services, villagers had to cross over a 90-meter-high mountain or else walk some 70 kilometers around it to reach Wazirganj, the nearest town.

In 1959 Manjhi’s wife Falguni Devi fell while attempting to cross the mountain; she subsequently died due to lack of access to lifesaving medical care. Possessed by grief, and enraged by the circumstances that had led to his wife’s death, Manjhi could no longer accept Gelhaur’s isolation. In exchange for a few goats his only assets in the world he acquired the rudimentary hand tools he needed to hew his way through the mountain rock. 

In the months and years that followed, Manjhi vigilantly chipped away at the mountain, undeterred by fatigue, injuries or the protestations of his family, neighbors and local authorities who thought his crusade was misguided and doomed to failure. As Manjhi persisted, however, various sympathizers began to contribute their help -- although none could match his steadfast commitment. 

Finally completed in 1982, Manjhi’s road is 110 meters long, 9 meters wide and nearly 8 meters high. It has reduced the travel distance from Gehlaur to Wazirganj nearly fourfold. 

Manjhi’s feat made him an Indian folk hero. In 2006 he was nominated for the Padma Shri Award, one of the country’s highest civilian honors. When he died a year later, the Bihar government gave him a state funeral. The Hindi-language biopic, Manjhi: The Mountain Man (2015) has broadened his fame, and tourists flock to the Manjhi memorial in Gaya.

In Bihar today, Musahar people still contend with extremely limited resources and the social exclusion imposed by India’s caste system. At the same time, Manjhi’s road offers a tangible source of agency and mobility for many village communities, as well as a symbolic reminder of one man’s refusal to believe that he was powerless to change his circumstances.

Contributors: Maha Tazi, Erin Brown