BIJU PATNAIK

BIJU PATNAIK

Subject: History

Context : Tucked away inside the Indonesian Embassy in New Delhi is a special room — one that has been built in recognition of the nation’s freedom struggle from Dutch colonialism 74 years ago, and named, unusually, for an Indian leader, Biju Patnaik.

Concept:

• Bijayananda Patnaik (1916 – 1997), popularly known as Biju Patnaik, was an Indian politician, aviator and businessman.
• Aviation: As a pilot, Patnaik flew with private airlines but at the start of the Second World War he joined the Royal Indian Air Force eventually becoming head of air transport command.
• Role in Indian freedom struggle: During quit India Movement, he used air force transports to fly clandestine missions that carried freedom fighters like Ram Manohar Lohia from hideouts across India to secret meetings that charted the independence struggle.
• Role in Kashmir integration: Biju Patnaik had fearlessly flown a DC-3 transport aircraft to Srinagar on October 27, 1947, ferrying soldiers of the Sikh regiment after the tribal invasion from Pakistan in Kashmir.
• Role in Indonesian freedom struggle: Patnaik rescued two key Indonesian independence leaders from a remote hideout in Indonesia and flew them to India, outraging the Dutch. For this act of bravery, he was given honorary citizenship in Indonesia and awarded the ‘Bhoomi Putra’ the highest Indonesian award.
• Politics: As politician, he served twice as the Chief Minister of the State of Odisha. Biju Patnaik’s younger son, Naveen Patnaik, is the current Chief Minister of Odisha.