BIJAYANANDA PATNAIK
A LEGEND OF INDIA
SARASIJ MAJUMDER
Bijayananda Patnaik (5 March 1916 – 17 April 1997) was an
Indian politician and Aviator. He served as the 3rd Chief Minister of the State
of Odisha from 1961 to 1963 and from 1990 to 1995.
He is my SECOND HERO, after NETAJI.
Biju had his early education in Mission Primary School and
Mission (Christ Collegiate) School of Cuttack. In 1927 he joined the famous
Ravenshaw Collegiate School, where Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was once a
student. In 1932 he passed matriculation with a first division and got admitted
into the intermediate science class of the famous Ravenshaw College, Cuttack.
From his days at the Ravenshaw Collegiate School, he was an accomplished
sportsman and led the university teams in football, cricket, athletics and
hockey. For three consecutive years he was the sports champion of Ravenshaw
College.
Biju first saw Mahatma Gandhi in 1927 during the latter’s
‘Khadi Tour’ of Orissa and came under his spell. The desire to defy British
rule first awakened in him from his school days. He was assaulted by a British
police officer as he tried to get a glimpse of the Mahatma who was visiting
Cuttack. He showed his penchant for the extraordinary at a very young age. Like
his role model Napoleon, he seemed to have deleted the word ‘impossible’ from
his dictionary..
Biju discontinued studies for a B.Sc. degree to undergo training as a pilot at
the Aeronautic Training Institute of India and Delhi Flying Club. In fact, as a
child Biju was fascinated by aeroplanes and from his school days, he had
decided to make a career in flying. A small aero plane had landed at Cuttack’s
Killa Fort, when he was a student of Mission School. Biju ran away from school
to touch his dream object. But he was chased away by the security police. “At
that time, I had only seen pictures of aero planes in books”- He recalled later.
His great pleasure was flying and his exploits a pilot provided his career with
a metaphor that endured from the frolics of his youth to his ambition to be a
politician and industrialist. He was, everyone said, a high flyer. It is said
that at his wedding to Gyan in 1939, guests arrived in Tiger Moths.
He was an ace pilot, and in his lifetime, he performed many
daring acts. Some of the hazardous flying missions that he undertook first with
the RIAF and later with Indian National Airways earned him the sobriquet of a
“daredevil”.
FREEDOM FIGHTER:
He was influenced by Mr. Gandhi, and participated in freedom
struggle. The nationalism in him forced him to use his capacity, adventure and
mission in organizing secret meeting of underground leaders, for which he was
ultimately arrested, and imprisoned.
WAR TIME ACIVEMENTS:
He was a trained pilot who flew private airlines
but during Second World War joined Air Force, eventually
becoming head of air transport command.
When the Second World War broke out Biju Patnaik joined the Royal Indian Air Force along with his British friends who, like him, had learnt the rudiments of flying at the Delhi Flying Club. After Japan entered the war in 1941, Biju Patnaik evacuated British families from the advancing invaders. He flew supplies to China and the Soviet Union. He pioneered risky operations across the Himalayas to help the people in Chiang Kai Sheik's China. He once flew all the way to Stalingrad bombed Hitler’s forces by flying a fighter aircraft Dakota,on yet another mission. The British Government particularly appreciated his efforts to evacuate some important British Families from Rangoon ( Yangon) when the Japanese invaded Myanmar during World War-II.
KASHMIR OPERATION.
Shortly after independence Pakistani tribesman invaded
Kashmir and at Nehru's request Biju Patnaik piloted the first plane that left
Palam Airport at Delhi on 27 October 1947 at dawn and landed at Srinagar
Airport in the early morning. He brought 17 soldiers of 1-Sikh regiment
commanded by Lieutenant. Col. Dewan Ranjit Rai, thus doing an
Akshaya Kumar type of Airlift in real life. He carried on doing some more Air lifts to Srinagar.
OPERATION INDONESIA
When the Dutch attempted to quell Indonesian independence struggle , President Sukarno ordered Sjahrir, the former prime minister of
Indonesia, to leave the country to attend the first Inter-Asia Conference,
organised by Nehru (PM under provincial government), in 1947, in NEW DELHI 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 Dakota reaching India via
Singapore. 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'.
Achievements:-
His achievements include setting up most of the
industrial/infrastructure units today seen in Odisha, namely Para dip Port, REC
Rourkela, Bhubaneshwar Airport, NALCO, NTPC Talcher, HAL Sunabeda etc. but his
biggest achievement can be thought of Kalinga Prize that is
given by UNESCO for exceptional skill in presenting scientific ideas
to lay people, realizing that there are very few prizes that UN gives away in
the name of some place or person.
- Patnaik
was keen to build the port at Paradeep. When the Central government
refused to give funds to build the Paradeep port, he said: To hell
with the Government of India. I will build the port with state government
and my own money. And he spent Rs 1.60 billion on it. Later, of
course, Nehru sanctioned funds for the project.
- When
a journalist asked in him on his 79th birthday how he would like to die,
he had quipped, 'I would like to die in an air crash rather than from
prolonged illness. I would like to die instantly, just fall down and die'.
- When
Nehru was criticized in the Parliament for his decision to provide more
aid to Odisha, Nehru replied, "Biju Patnaik has the courage,
dynamism and zeal to work. So, there is no blunder in giving more aid to
Odisha." During the Sino-Indian War in 1962, Nehru consulted the
Oriya leader repeatedly for advice. For some time, he was Nehru's defence
adviser, unofficially of course.
- To
fight against corruption, he once proclaimed 'beat up all corrupt
officials'.
Biju Patnaik is the only person in India whose mortal remains was wrapped in the national flag of three countries-- Bharat, Russia and Indonesia.
No wonder Biju Patnaik
remains the tallest figure in Odisha till date.
NAVEEN PATTANAYAK—the present
outgoing CM of ODISHA is his son.
Biju Patnaik surely deserves Bharat Ratna, and Mr. Nehru/ Congress should have awarded him during his life time. I appeal to NDA –3 to award him this year
Posthumously.
NOTE:-- On him, there are many references, you may find in internet. Few are listed below.
References:-
1.0 http://backup\data\review\or-2014\f
2.0 http://magazines.odisha.gov.in/Orissareview/2014/Feb-March/engpdf/28-31.pdf
IMAGE: STAMP ISSUED BY GOI ON HIS 102nd BIRTH YEAR.
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