5th Pass Man Wins 843 Cases without Formal Law Education, Watch

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Cuttack: He has no law degree. No certificate. No office.

He failed in 6th standard. And yet, he gives a tough fight to big lawyers in court. He files his own cases, argues his own points, and wins justice for the poor.

Meet Brundaban Das Azad from Cuttack — the man everyone calls ‘Basti Manisha’ — The Man of the Slums.

For the last 40 years, Azad has been fighting a lonely battle for the rights of slum dwellers in Cuttack.

Born in Behera Sahi of Chhatra Bazar, his father worked in the Army and Police. But after an incident, his family fell into severe financial crisis. His studies stopped at Class 5. Books were replaced by the stick of life’s struggle. He worked as a daily wage labourer, pulled a rickshaw, took the entire burden of his family on his young shoulders. But he did not lock himself in his own sorrow. He made the sorrow of the basti his own.

When protests and petitions failed, Azad found a new weapon — the Permanent Lok Adalat.

And here is the most surprising part — he is not a lawyer. Yet he files petitions himself, presents his own arguments, and fights for justice.

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Since 2017 till now, he has filed 946 cases. Out of which, 843 have already been decided. And according to him, he has been successful in most of them.

He says, “I did not get a chance to study much, but my hunger for knowledge never ended.

“He writes poems. He writes articles for newspapers. He can speak almost 10 languages including Odia, English and Hindi.

He has no house of his own, no attachment to family. But for thousands of slum residents, he is the ray of hope. Because of his efforts, thousands of people have received government benefits, say the locals.

Report: Bibhuti Sahu, Cuttack

Watch the video here:

Also read: Subarnapur: The Leaves That Tell the Story of Nuakhai

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