Biju Patanaik - The pride of Odisha

Biju Patnaik - The pride of Odisha

Name - Bijayananda Pattanaik (Biju Pattanaik)

D.O.B-5 March 1916

Born place - Aska,odisha

Died-17 April 1996(81 Age) At New delhi

Perhaps no other leader occupied the imagination of the people of Orissa like Biju Patnaik; freedom fighter, pilot, industrialist, politician, and philanthropist. He was Orissa’s restless son and became a legendary hero. His ability to create confidence among people and inspire them was phenomenal. He had a remarkable capacity to transmit his cheerful strength to others. Biju was basically a secular man and was an instinctively nationalist as his hero Napoleon. Like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, he navigated by the four immutably fixed stars of his convictions – national unity, democracy, secularism and the end of imperialism. Sir Julian Huxley, UNESCO’S First Director-General and also a Kalinga Prize Winner, had described Biju Patnaik as a “remarkable Indian whose adventures would fill a book”. In an obituary reference, the prestigious magazine The Economist says”. It is worth writing about Biju Patnaik for at least two reasons. His long life can be read as something of a history of India back to the time when the country was run by the British. And he gave Indian politics a rare fresh of color”.The Encyclopedia Britannica described Biju as “Indian Politician; who parlayed his fame as a World War-II aviator, anti-British freedom fighter and commercial airline entrepreneur into a political career, notably as Chief Minister of Orissa State, 1961-63 and 1990-95”.Bijoyananda (Biju) Patnaik was born in Cuttack, Orissa, on 5th March 1916 to Laxminarayan Patnaik and Ashalata Devi. Although he was in judicial service; Laxminarayan was a great nationalist and a prominent leader of the Oriya Movement. He was closely associated with two architects of modern Orissa-Utkal Gourav Madhusudan Das and Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das. He was taking great pride in Orissa’s cultural heritage. Biju inherited the qualities of fearlessness and love of Orissa right from his it.

Biju Patnaik's role in Indian freedom struggle

Biju Patnaik met with Jawaharlal Nehru during his participation in the Indian freedom struggle and became one of his trusted friends. Nehru viewed the freedom struggle of the Indonesian people as parallel to that of India and viewed Indonesia as a potential ally. When the Dutch attempted to quell Indonesian independence on 21 July 1947, President Sukarno ordered Sjharir, the former prime minister of Indonesia, to leave the country to attend the first Inter-Asia Conference, organized by Nehru, in July 1947 and to foment international public opinion against the Dutch. Sjahrir was unable to leave as the Dutch controlled the Indonesian sea and air routes. Nehru asked Biju Patnaik, who was adventurous and an expert pilot, to rescue Sjahrir. Biju Patnaik and his wife flew to java and brought Sultan Sjahrir out on a Douglas C-47 (Dakota) military aircraft reaching India via Singapore on 24 July 1947. For this act of bravery, Patnaik was given honorary citizenship in Indonesia and awarded the 'Bhoomi Putra', the highest Indonesian award, rarely granted to a foreigner. In 1996, when Indonesia was celebrating its 50th Independence Day, Biju Patnaik was awarded the highest national award, the - Bintang Jasa Utama..

About Family

Biju Patnaik was married to Gyan Patnaik. Biju Patnaik's younger son, Naveen Patnaik, is the current Chief Minister of Odisha. His daughter, Gita Mehta, is an English writer. His elder son Prem Patnaik is a Delhi-based industrialist.

Political Career Of Biju Pattnaik

 ( Rare picture of Biju Patnaik with Indira Gandhi )

Patnaik's political ideals were centred in socialism and federalism. His strong advocacy for equal resources to all Indian states who needed such made him a champion of his Odia constituents.The Indian National Congress has split in 1969. In May 1970 Biju Patnaik and his followers left Congress(R) in protest against “naked bossism” and central imposition after he had been denied a ticket to Rajya Sabha by the Congress High Command; although his case was sponsored by the Provincial Congress Committee. In 1970 he resigned from Congress Party and subsequently formed a regional party Utkal Congress. In the 1971 election, no party came out with a clear majority. Biju Patnaik and the Swatantra leader R.N. Singh Deo joined hands. This came as a surprise to political observers, as Singh Deo was a bitter critic of Biju. And with the support of the Jharkhand Party, they formed a United Front. Biju successfully persuaded the 82 years Old veteran Politician Biswanath Das to become the Chief Minister, after his long spell of Political retirement.

Utkal Congress and Swatantra parties fought the election under the banner of the Pragati Party and the political combine fared well in the election. Biju was closely associated with the Lok Sangarsha Samiti of Jaya Prakash Narayan and organized the Orissa visit of J.P. in 1975. When Indira Gandhi declared emergency on 25-26 June 1975, Biju was one of the first to be arrested under MISA and lodged in Rohtak Jail in Haryana. In the 1977 election, he was elected from Kendrapada to Lok sabha and was inducted into the Moraji Desai government as Minister of steel and mines. In the 1980 election, he was again elected to the Lok Sabha. In 1985 he resigned from parliament retaining his Assembly seat and became the leader of the opposition in the Orissa Assembly.

Biju’s illustrious political career culminated in his party’s resounding victory in the 1990 Assembly polls and he returned as Chief Minister for the second time on March 5, 1990. For the first time, he completed the full term (1990-95). A Biju critic says that he functioned in an arbitrary and autocratic manner “I am the party and I am the government” – he used to say “Am I not enough?”What was his reaction when immediately after being sworn in as a chief minister in 1990 he was asked, how long it would take for him to choose other members of the cabinet. Biju has a painful feeling that in spite of being so rich in natural resources, Orissa has remained one of the poorest and most backward states in India. The quality of its administration has steadily deteriorated, to the disgust of the voters. Since bureaucrats are virtually unshakable in India, he suggested in a speech that disgruntled citizens should assault them. Biju was never comfortable with the Mandal Commission recommendation and did not hesitate to publicly air his stand against V.P Singh‘s decision to implement the Mandal Commission. Al through many pro-Mandal leaders of the Janta Dal was never happy with Patnaik for his views and style of functioning, they did not dare to do anything to displease the Grant Old Man of Orissa politics. Another point on which his critics find fault with him is that when he lost power in 1995 as in 1967 in the election that followed, he never attempted to build a second line of command in his party.

During the final term as Chief Minister (1990-95), he acted more as a statesman than the head of the government. He caused a turmoil when he threatened that Orissa would secede from the Indian Union if the Center continue to neglect it. Prime Minister Chandra Sekhar took serious exception and demanded that Biju should clarify his position. Patnaik explained that Orissa should be given fiscal autonomy in a true federal structure to script its own economic development. He also floated the demand for full convertibility of the rupee.

The final phase of Biju’s political career was perhaps an unhappy chapter to his long, checkered political career. Having been voted out of power from the States in 1995. He contested two Lok Sabha seats Aska in Ganjam district and Cuttack Sadar. He won both the seats at a time when the congress had swept the election in the state. People naturally expected that he would hold a center- stage at national politics. But to their dismay, they found that lesser elements within the party, including some who owned their political existence to him, were out to undermine his importance and every possible method to undermine their leader was adopted. To prevent him from joining the Union Cabinet, even graft cases were slapped on him.

Biju Patnaik was disillusioned over the brand of politics going on at the center. He was also unhappy over the constant bickering within his party. As a matter of fact; he was never comfortable with the Mandalisation of the Janta Dal and through that the DAL claim about introducing social justice was suspect. Towards the end, he had become a convert to the ideas of having a broad-based, democratic coalition, which included the Congress.

A long, illustrious career came to an end on 17th April 1997 when Biju Patnaik passed away at Delhi. His death was one of the worst tragedies that had ever happened to the State of Orissa and removed the greatest figure of our time at the very climax of his career. Grief and shock swept across Orissa as news of his death spread. It was perhaps a tryst with destiny that Patnaik was cremated at Swargadwara, Puri. He was to rest in peace close to the abode of his Kalia (Lord Jagannath). Though he was not religious in the traditional sense, he had a sentimental attachment to Load Jagannath. While addressing a public meetings in front of the Puri Jagannath Temple, he used to enter into a monologue with the Lord.

Adventure indeed! It is in his blood from body hood. It is this love of adventure that goaded him to have a bicycle ride from Cuttack to Peshawar when he was a student and to change his profession of an aeronautical engineer to that of a pilot. It is this call of adventure that inspired him to undertake the risky jobs of flying the stranded Britishers in Burma to safety during the Second World War days and to carry on at the same time anti-British subversive activities which ultimately landed him into jail. In providing indispensable leadership, he emerged as the greatest political figure of his age. The story of his adventurous life still inspires the youth of Orissa.

Biju never flinched in his determination to develop the country and uplift the poor. “Never despair” was what he used to say to his supporters. Always he exhorted the people of the state to emulate the ideas of Kharavela. Timeless fortitude; persistence and respect for the common man made him a unique personality. He devoted his life to building a new era of progress and did it with a combination of skilled statesmanship and innovative spirit. He touched millions of Oriyas in a very personal way and earned his place in the home and hearts of a whole generation. As the ‘Hindustan Times’ editorially commented after his death – “It may not be

an exaggeration to say that Biju Patnaik was the tallest among all leaders from Orissa, who made their mark in national politics. A major reason why he acquired his status was undoubtedly his romantic, impulsive nature, which made him stand out even at a time when with Nehru and J.P at the height of their power and there was no dearth of colorful politicians in India”.

People were fascinated by the considerable charm and the range of accomplishments of this Grand Old Man of Orissa, who led a full life. No matter what the challenges, he believed that the facts were only one part of reality-the other part was how you react to them and change them for the better. That he was a visionary can be underscored by an illustration Way back in the sixties, when the license raj permit was at its peak, Biju startled people by talking about liberalization. He remained a votary of economic reform till the very end and had the courage of conviction to take on those who blindly aped this model or that. He was so clear about basic issues because he was not just a politician - an industrialist.According to the veteran journalist, no epithet is not used about him. “Wily, volatile, flamboyant, dynamic, reckless, daredevil, damn efficient” and what not? Perhaps all these suit him in one context or the other. But in the jungle of attributes his essential human qualities, his deep love for his people, are often missed. Once Patnaik is deeply moved by the peoples’ distress, he will move mountains to give succor. In October 1971, when the entire administration was benumbed by the rude shock of the killer cyclone and tidal wave that had flattened the coastal Orissa, it was Biju Patnaik who rose to the occasion.