Sagarmal Gopa, who
passed away on 4 April 1946, aged 45, was a freedom fighter and patriot
from Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India. His father Akhairaj gopa was a courtier
in Maharawal Jawahar Singh's court. Sagarmal Gopa had recorded the atrocities
of Jawahar Singh, the contemporary ruler of Jaisalmer, in his book
"Jaisalmer ka Gundaraj", after which the enmity between Jawahar Singh
and Sagarmal Gopa increased. He took active part in the Non-cooperation
movement in 1921. He opposed anti-people policies of then rulers of Jaisalmer.
He was expelled from Jaisalmer and Hyderabad. Even in exile he continued to
work for freedom movement. After his father's death in 1941, on his return to
Jaisalmer he was arrested on 25 May 1941. Sagermal gopa was tortured in prison
for years. He was burnt to death in the prison on 4 April 1946. "Gopal
Swaroop Pathak commission" was formed to investigate the murder of
Sagarmal Gopa, which under the influence of Jawahar Singh, declared this murder
as suicide. 3 books were written by gopa 1) aajadi ke diwane 2) jaisalmer ka
gundaraj 3) raghunath singh ka mukadma.
The Government of India issued a postage stamp in 1986 in
honour of Sagarmal Gopa. A branch of Indira Gandhi Canal is named after
him.
