Chapter I

INTRODUCTION

Born On: 5th March, 1916

Died On: 17th April, 1997

Career: Politician and Social Activist

Bijayananda Patnaik is commonly known as Biju Patnaik. He was a heroic

personality and he achieved his name and fame through hard work alone. Apart
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from being a politician, he was an aeronautical engineer, navigator, industrialist, an

ace pilot, popular freedom fighter and above all a renowned and outstanding

personality. His looked up to Napoleon and thus he followed in his footprints. Biju

Patnaik was proficient in inspiring and gaining the confidence of his people. He

communicated effectively with the public and had the ability to convey his ideas to

them. According to Biju, there are four important things and these are unity of

nation, secularism, democracy and imperialism. He, with a strong determination

and sacrifice became a great politician and a social activist. He actively participated

in the struggle for freedom and thus became the ideal personality for the people of

Orissa to look up to. He uttered these lines for the public of Orissa, "In my dream

of the 21st century for the State, I would have young men and women who put the

interest of the State before them. They will have pride in themselves, confidence

in themselves. They will not be at anybody`s mercy, except their own selves. By

their brains, intelligence and capacity, they will recapture the history of Kalinga."

2
 EARLY LIFE :

 Biju Patnaik was born on 5th March, 1916 in Cuttack, Orissa. He was the son of the

late Shri Laksminarayan Patnaik and the late Smt. Ashalata Devi. His father was a

notable nationalist and a leading member of the Oriya movement. He had two

brothers and one sister. He completed his early education at the Mission Primary

School and Mission Christ Collegiate of Cuttack. In 1927, he got into to the

Ravenshaw University, where Netaji Subash Chandra Bose once studied. From his

college days, he was a talented sportsman and headed the football, hockey,

athletics and cricket team of the University. He was the sports champion for

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continuously three years. He discontinued his studies to take up training as a pilot

at the Aeronautic Training Institute of India and the Delhi Flying Club. As a kid, he

always was interested in flying. Thus, he became an eminent pilot and a navigator.

Biju Patnaik joined the Indian National Airways and became a ace pilot. During

1940-42, when the struggle for independence was going on, he was the chief of the

Air Transport Command. Patnaik now has two sons and a daughter. His elder son

Prem is an industrialist and the younger son, Naveen is a famous politician and is

also the Chief Minister of Orissa. His daughter, Gita Mehta is a well-known novelist

and writes on the westernization of India. Biju Patnaik had an inborn love for his

native state Orissa and inherited the qualities of heroism and bravery from his

parents.

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FAMILY:

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 which he is known as a son-in-law of Punjab as well. Just like Biju his wife too was

a pilot. In fact, she was the first Indian lady to get a commercial pilot's license. In

the 1940s, Gyan Patnaik accompanied Biju in the freedom struggle movemBiju

Patnaik was married to Gyan Patnaik, who belonged to Punjab, due to ent and

evacuation of British families from Rangoon when the Japanese laid siege on the

region.

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.

CAREER:

 Biju Patnaik was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, who fought for freedom. He took

part in the Quit India Movement and was sent to jail in 1943 for two years since he

was found guilty of taking freedom fighters to secret places in his plane. When the

Second World War started he joined the Royal Indian Air Force where he gelled

with the British and became friends with them. In 1941, when Japan stepped into

the war and attacked Myanmar, he rescued the British. He played a very important

role in the freedom movement of Indonesia. He, under the guidance of Pandit

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Jawaharlal Nehru, rescued the Indonesian people from the clutches of the Dutch

rulers. On 23rd March, 1947 Pandit Nehru invited 22 Asian countries for the First

Inter-Asia Conference and for this, Sultan Sjahrir, the Prime Minister of Inodnesia,

was cordially invited too. Pandit Nehru trusted Biju Patnaik asked him to ensure the

safe arrival of Prime Minister Sultan Sjahrir, which is exactly what Biju did. After

this, he became a heroic personality amongst the Indonesians who actively

participated in the gaining of the independence of their own country. In 1946, Biju

was elected to the Orissa Assembly from the North Cuttack Constituency. From

1961 to 1963, he worked as the Chief Minister of Orissa. He was also the member

of the Lok Sabha as well as a member of the Rajya Sabha. In 1975, when there was

an Emergency in the country, he was the first to be prisoned with other political

leaders of the opposition. In 1977, he was released and elected to the Lok Sabha

from Kendra Para and till 1979 under the government of Morarji Desai and

Choudhary Charan Singh he was the Union Minister for Steel and Mines. In 1980,

Biju was elected to the Lok Sabha and then again in 1996 he was re-elected to the

Lok Sabha. In 1989, after the defeat of the Congress Party, he came into the

limelight as a political leader but when V.P Singh became the Prime Minister he

went back to Orissa and contested in the assembly election. In the 1990 state

assembly election, Janta Dal won and Biju Patnaik again served as the Chief Minister

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 of Orissa till 1995.

AWARDS AND ACCOLADES :

 Pattnaik was given honorary citizenship in indonesia and awarded the "Bhoomi
putra",the highest indonesia award .

 In 1995, when indonesia was celebrating its 50th independence Day,he was
awarded the highest national awarded ,the bintang jasa utama.

 In 2018 a postal stamp was launched dedicated in his name.

 The 5 Rupee commemorative coin was released in 2016 on the occasion of his
100th birth anniversary.

 The odisha state government dedicatrd several institutes in his name.

 The sports award of the state is dedicated to his name.

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 Every year on the day Biju pattnaik Jayanti (5th march 1916), The odisha
government celebrates Panchayat Raj Diwas in the memory of the former chief
minister.

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 LEGACY :

 In Orissa, there are various institutions named after Biju. One of these institutes

includes the Biju Patnaik University of Technology. The airport of Bhubaneswar is

also named as Biju Patnaik Airport. Biju's son Naveen Patnaik declared 5th March,

his father's birthday, as Panchayati Raj Divas. This day is an acknowledged holiday

in Orissa.

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 Chapter II

ROLE IN INDIAN FREEDOM MOVEMENT :

 From his student life,Biju was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. in 1927 when Gandhiji

made the khadi Tour,he went there to see a glimpse of the father of the nation.The

Britishes caught Biju and beat him severly.from that moment,he had decided to

contribute his life to the indian freedom movement .

 During the poeriod of the second world war, he joined the Royal Indian Air Force.In

1940 Gandhiji had refused the participation of indian people with Britishers in

world war two ,but some of the other sections in the country had given their

support to the British Army .Later in 1942, the Quit India Movement was launched

by Mahatma Gandhi. Although Biju had joined the Royal Indian AirForce as a pilot

for the Britishers,he worked in different undercover operations favoring the Quit

India Movement.

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 Biju Pattnaik did many great things during that period,like circulating political

leaflets and pamphelts with detailed description of the Azad Hind Fauj and Quit

India Movement.

ROLE IN SAVING KASHMIR :

After saving independence of india in 1947, the newly carved out neighbour nation

Pakistan attacked kashmir with the help of tribals.That time PM Nehru called

Bijayananda Pattnaik. He took his task as a challenge and showed his aviation skills

to ferry indian soldiers to kashmir to fight the pakistani forces as the conflict

intensified between the two nations . As a result ,our brave indian soldiers showed

their bravery and succeededin eliminating pakistan forces to bgo back.

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 ROLE IN INDONESIAN fREEDOM STRUGGLE :

 Biju Patnaik met with Jawaharlal Nehru during Indonesian freedom struggle and

became one of his participation in 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 Sjahrir, the former prime minister of

Indonesia, to leave the country to attend the first Inter-Asia Conference, organised

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 and other Indonesian resistance fighters who were fighting their

Dutch colonisers.

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 Biju Patnaik and his wife Gyanwati, flew to Java, dodging the Dutch guns, he

entered Indonesian airspace and landed on an improvised airstrip near Jakarta.

Using left-over fuel from abandoned Japanese military dumps, Patnaik took off with

prominent rebels, including Sultan Sjahrir and Achmad Sukarno, for a secret

meeting with Nehru at New Delhi and brought out on a Douglas C-47 (Dakota)

military aircraft reaching India via Singapore on 24 July 1947.

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 For this act of bravery, Patnaik was given honorary citizenship in Indonesia and

awarded the 'Bhoomi Putra'.

(The Biju Patnaik wall at an exhibition organised by the Indonesian Embassy at Nehru

Memorial Museum and Library in Delhi)

 The highest Indonesian award, rarely granted to a foreigner. In 1995, when

Indonesia was celebrating its 50th Independence Day, Biju Patnaik was awarded

the highest national award, the Bintang Jasa Utama.

 In 2015, Sukarno's daughter Megawati Sukarnoputri recounted how it was Patnaik

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 who suggested she be named Meghavati or "daughter of clouds".

 She, whose full name is Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri, later

became Indonesia's first female president, serving from 2001 to 2004.

 In 2021, the Indonesian Embassy in New Delhi designated a room on the name of

Biju Patnaik. On the walls of the Biju Patnaik room are photographs, newspaper

clippings and letters that document Mr. Patnaik's secret assignments to fly out

Indonesian leaders, as well as his relations with the Indonesian leadership.

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 Chapter III

Achievements as a Public Representative

 Biju patanaik setup Kalinga tubes, Kalinga Airlines, Kalinga Iron work, Kalinga

Refractories and the Kalinga, a daily Oriya newspaper. In 1951 he established the

international Kalinga Prize for popularisation of Science and Technology among the

people and entrusted the responsibility to the UNESCO. The projects which he was

known to have spearheaded includes the Port of Paradip, Orissa aviation centre,

Bhubaneswar Airport, the Cuttack-Jagatpur Mahanadi highway bridge, Regional

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Engineering College, Rourkela, Sainik School Bhubaneswar, Orissa University of

Agriculture and Technology-Bhubaneswar, NALCO (National Aluminum Company),

Talcher Thermal Power Station, Balimela Hydel Project, HAL-Sunabeda and the

Choudwar & Barbil industrial belts.

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 CARRER IN POLITICS: Between 1952 and 1990 Bijayananda Patnaik was elected

to the odisha assembly seven times. Pattnaik also served as a member of both

houses of the indian parliament. He was elected to Rajya sabha in 1971 and Lok

sabha four times in 1977,1980,1984 and 1996.

 FIRST TIME CHIEF MINISTER - Following the 1961 midterm elections,he became

odisha's CM for the first time. However,in support of the Kamraj plan ,he

resigned from his post in 1963.The plan had proposed that all senior politicians

should resign from their post to revitalize congress.

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 CLASHES WITH INDIRA GANDHI -

Bijayananda was very close to India's first PM Jawaharlal Nehru even after his

demise;Pattnaik continued that support with Nehru's daughter Indra Gandhi

also.who took over the congress party in 1967.However ,they clashed in 1969

over the presidental election.So he left the congress and formed a regional party

with the name Utkal congress.

 In the 1971 assembly poll,his party did quite well.Biju then again contacted his old

friend Jayaprakash Narayan and jumped in to the JP Movement as it picked up

momentum in 1974.When the emergency was declared in 1975,Biju Patnaik was

one of the first to be arrested along with other opposition leaders.

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 FROM UNION MINISTER TO HOMECOMING -

In 1977, he was released and elected to the Lok sabha for the first time from

kendrapara.He became union minister for steel and mines in both the Moraji Desai

and The Charan Singh governments until 1979.

 with the congress defeat in 1989,he bounced back in to the political limelight.He

again chose to go back to odisha and prepared for the assembly election with his

renamed party Janata Dal.In the 1990 state assembly election,the Janata Dal

received a thumping majority (two third assembly seats) which saw Biju Patnaik

being the Chief Minister of Odisha for the second time untill 1995.

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 Chapter IV

A TRUE VISIONARY INDUSTRIALIST :

In post Independence years,pattnaik started to build an industrial empire in the

economically backward state of odisha.During the inauguration of the orissa

planning Board on 15th June 1962,Biju Babu said ,"People cannot grow unless the

industries are developed and established here."

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 IRON MAN OF ODISHA :

 “Biju Patnaik is a remarkable Indian whose adventures would fill a book”. This

statement of Sir Julian Huxley, the First Director General of UNESCO certifies that

Odisha's Ex-Chief Minister Shri Bijayanand Patnaik was the Iron man of Odisha.

UNPARALLELED CONTRIBUTION TO THE STATE OF ODISHA AND INDIA :

In todays odisha,whatever Institutions,Organisations,Plants,Dams, Research

Centres,etc are available,nearly 70% of those were made during his leadership

.within a short period,whatever he did for his state today is a dream for people to

expect from their modern day leaders.Some of the outstanding works for his life.

 The choudwar and Barbil Industrial Belts

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 The Orissa Aviation Centre

 Hirakud Dam

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 Rourkela Steel Plant

 The Cuttack-Jagatpur Mahanadi Highway Bridge

 Paradeep Port

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 The Bhubaneswar Airport(Biju Patnaik International Airport,BBSR)

 Hydro-electric Project at Balimela

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 Thermal power Plant at Talcher

 The MIG factory at Sunabeda

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 Engineering & Medical College at Burla

 Sainik School at Bhubaneswar

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 Regional research Laboratory

 The Odisha State Planning Board

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 SOME INTERESTING FACTS :

Development Projects - He is known to have spearheaded several projects such as

setting up the kalinga Airlines,the port of Paradip ,Regional Engineering

College(now NITR),kalinga tubes,kalinga Refractories,kalinga news paper,etc.He

supported and boosted the industrial and accademic growth of the state of Odisha.

Absconder's Paradise - During the struggle for the independence of India,his house

at delhi served as a safe house for several freedom fighters.so much so that his

house come to be popularly known as Absconder's paradise.

Arrest during the Emergency - He spent 2 years in jail after the Emergency was

declared in the nation in the year 1975.Most of the other oppositional leaders also
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face the same fate.

UNESCO kalinga Prize - Being the President of the kalinga foundation Trust,Biju

Baba made a donation in the year 1952 to set up the kalinga Prize for the

popularisation of Science .The prize is awarded by UNESCO to people who present

their scientific ideas in a way that reaches the masses.

Bridge and Cycling - Biju Babu had a great interest in playing bridge .He was also

and avid cyclist.He is known to have cycled all the way from cuttack to peshawar in

the year 1932 on the 'visit India Mission'to spread the message of humanity. He

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accomplished this feat by covering a distance of roughly 4500miles.

1946 Legislative Assembly Elections - He was elected as a member of the legislative

Assembly in Odisha,representing the North Cuttack constituency,even if didn't

contest in it.

Role in the first war of Kashmir - Patnaik, under the instruction of jawaharlal

Nehru,flew the 1- sikh regiment commanded by Lt. Col. Dewan Ranjit Rai in to

srinagar,Kashmir in october 1947 under the very noses of the enemies.

Tibetan Resistance against People's Republic of China - Under the stewardship of

Biju Babu,the CIA and Indian Intelligence helped form the Tibetan Guerilla force

which boosted the Tibetan resistance against the people's Republic of China in the

year 1962.

The Soviet honour - Determined to fight against the axis forces,Biju Patnaik had

helped the soviet army during their war with the forcesof Hitler's Germany. He was

awarded by the Russians for the same.

Royal Airforce of British Empire - He joined the Royal Airforce of the British Empire

at the beginning of the second World war.During World war II,Biju Patnaik rescued

several British families that were imprisoned by the Japanese for which he was

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 awarded . But later he was imprisoned in 1943 for helping the freedom fighters

with their mission.

3 National Flags - Upon his death,Biju Patnaik's body was wrapped in the flags of

three countries -India,Russia, and Indonesia,all honouring his bravery.

DEATH :

 Biju Patnaik died on 17th April 1997 in New Delhi ,Biju died due to cardio-

respiratory failure.The glimpse of his stature can be understood by the fact that

when he died,his coffin was wrapped in national flags of three nations,India

,Russia,and Indonesia.

 Before he died ,he left with some great words for the people of odisha ,which he

had said in 1992,is so inspirable for every odia.His famous qoute -

"In my dream of the 21st century for the state ,I would have young men and

women who put the interest of the state before them.They will have pride in

themselves.They will not be at anybody's mercy.except their own selves .By their

brasins,intelligence and capacity.they will recapture the history of kalinga".

34
THE VOICE OF THE STATE DEMANDING BHARAT RATNA :

Sri Biju Patnaik's ideals were centered on socialism and federalism .In the true spirit

of federalism ,he strongly advocated for equal resources to all indian states.He was

one of the great examples of a true statesman. He always showed his bravery for

the welfare of the country .He helped build the nation in different forms,as

35
 bureaucratic ,as a great leader in indian politics,as an aviator in the freedom

movement ,and many more on the list.

He was a politician among statemen and a statemen among politicians who had

influenced both the state and the national politics for more than four decades.

Whether in power or in opposition,he was one of the most influential politicians of

india.

 That's the reason people of odisha have demanded Bharat Ratna for their

legendary leader Biju Patnaik for his immense contribution towards the country's

freedeom movement and nation- building .As a result, the whole state and all the

political parties unitedly raised this demand with one voice after discussing it in the

state assembly in March 2021.

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 CONCLUSION :

Biju Patnaik breathed his last on 17 April 1997. As a stateman, a learned person

,matured political , social worker,champion of education and particularly women

education ,promoter of cottage ,small scale industries ,economic reformer.he was

in every sense the pride of Odisha.He was one of the leaders to show the seeds of

political corsciousness very effectively on the soil of Odisha. He was a great builder

of Odisha.He built Odisha's most prominent port by spending Rs-1.60 billion.He had

courage,dynamism and Zeal to work for Odisha .Even the Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru was dazzled by Mr. Patnaik's familiarity with military subjects. He

had also strong opposition to corruption . To fight against corruption he once

ordered to beat up all corrupt officials. For the prestige of of Odisha he did much

more. Till today he occupies permanent place in the heart of Odisha people as the

'Hero of Kalinga'and 'kharavela of kalinga'.According to Biju Patnaik,"to be born

poor is not a crime but to remain so is indeed a crime. In fact, Biju Patnaik

contributed a lot for the state of Odisha.His contributions in different fields are

matchless. He will be remembered for ever.

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 0-0
References
1. Biju Patnaik Profile" – via kalingafoundationtrust.com.
2. Dina Krishna Joshi, "Biju Patnaik: The Legendary Hero", Orissa Review, 2010 , pp.
53–56.
3. Dr. Tusar Kanta Pattnaik, “Biju's Industrial Venture in Sixties”, Odisha
Review, December, 2016, pp.70-75.

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