Today is the International Women’s Day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Incidentally, on record, legendary Biju Patnaik is known as one of the greatest champions for the cause of women’s emancipation. When he was Chief Minister, stamp duty for women was waved for filing any court case. He also ensured women were given priority in employment, positions of authority. He instantly recognised women for having made any socioeconomic contribution. A least-known tribal social worker, Tulasi Munda, so impressed the big–hearted Biju that he made sure she became recipient of Padmashri award.
From time to time, Odisha people have demanded Bharat Ratna for Biju. That hurts thinking citizens a great deal. The so-called highest Indian civilian award lost its shine the day the original criteria were demolished to accommodate a sportsman with loads of money and a few problems with law. The Ratna was instituted in 1954 to be conferred on people to recognise their exceptional service or performance of the highest order in the fields of arts, literature, science and public services. Exceptional service necessarily means selfless and exemplary acts benefitting the lowest-rung communities. Sachin had kicked up controversies over a ‘car import’ tax evasion, civic statutory compliance violation and a few other issues relating to not being generous to the needy. He would not pay from his own coffers but hand out cash and kind raised by others. Despite all this, around 2011, the UPA Government decided to break rules to bestow the ‘Ratna’ on Tendulkar, who is doubtlessly a legendary master of cricket popularly played only in the erstwhile British colonies. The UPA masters imagined their poll victory prospects would soar by wooing the cricket-crazy youths. As per norms, the Prime Minister recommends names to the President who ticks only three per year. Manmohan Singh, the PM, couldn’t have said ‘no’ to Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi heavily misguided by Sports Minister Ajay Maken, who mooted the grand idea! Major Dhyanchand, who made India proud for his magical display of hockey and several Olympic gold medals, was ignored. No one knows for sure if Bharat Ratna recipients should be pushed into the Rajya Sabha to keep quiet during sessions or remain absent on most days. It seems one only has to remain in the best book of the PM to grab the ‘Ratna’. Dhyanchand died virtually penniless while the young billionaire cricketer is basking in glory due to mad public frenzy. Fortunately, most thinking Odisha citizens have stopped demanding a heavily devalued award for Biju Patnaik. He is such an invaluable ‘Ratna’ himself that the so-called highest civilian award stands dimmed before his reputation today.
Born in 1916, Biju did many things that history is bound to preserve. He was a daring, adventurous individual. He became a pilot and joined the Royal Indian Air Force during the Second World War and fearlessly evacuated British families from the Japanese zones. All the same, Bijubabu was extremely loyal to the Indian national movement. He had regularly distributed leaflets of Gandhi’s Quit India Movement among British ‘Indian soldiers’. Biju’s flying skills were conclusively proven in October 1947 when he saved Kashmir from Pakistani raiders by carrying Indian troops there at great risk to life. He had also played an important role in the Indonesian struggle for independence from the Dutch. He rescued PM Sultan Shahriar which made him exceptionally popular in Indonesia and earned him the “Bhoomi Putra” (son of the soil) status. Indonesia’s first President Sukarno named his daughter ‘Megawati Sukarno-putri”, meaning ‘cloud goddess’ as proposed by Biju. She grew up to become President of Indo-nesia. Even in highest Muslim-populated Indonesia, Biju was chosen to name their national airlines ‘Garuda’ after the celestial mount of lord Vishnu, principal deity in Hindu pantheon.
lastly, Bijubabu was the most enterprising Odia after the legendary lawyer Madhu Sudan Das, who established several manufacturing units to bring economic development to Odisha with a view to creating employment for the extremely poor people. Bijubabu set up the Kalinga Tubes and the Odisha Textile Mills and many more novel units when advanced States like Bengal, Punjab and UP had not even begun dreaming of big-scale manufacturing activities. The Jindals of today stand testimony to their rise in business due to trading in the Kalinga Tubes pipes which OP Jindal, their founding father, organised in the 1950s and 60s. OP would wait for days to lift his quota from the Choudwar plant those days after having placed full amount of price money. Bijubabu got enchanted by politics believing that this platform was superior to serve the people better. But his daredevil ways of politicking without the wicked tricks cost him nearly all his riches. After Nehru, his political mentor-admirer, Bijubabu got cheated on all fronts. He had looked away from his business outfits, lost money on all political adventures and virtually become a pauper only to keep the Odia people happy. Despite bad days, his indomitable spirit kept his senses intact. His second innings in 1977 began on a much superior note as, by now, he had become a most adorable political figure. Though JB Patnaik-led Congress remained in power, Biju would not care a damn as he knew he will win walkover victories because of pro-people ideologies and terrific courage.
Most importantly, Biju shall remain in people’s memory for one rare quality: he never brought anyone from his family into politics. He was so dispassionate about the family members that even the Odisha people did not know Naveen was his youngest child. His children were inspired differently by him: to educate and fend for themselves as per their own conscience. Each pursued his or her career in a manner as thought appropriate. Eldest Prem chose to become an industrialist; daughter Gita groomed herself as a litterateur and became an author of bestselling books in English. Naveen, the superbly mother-protected youngest boy, looked at life differently; he loved the finer aspects of life, all subtleties delved into by him as time rolled by; and, eventually, researched into various dimensions of social evolution as delineated in history so as to be able to make his interpretations and conclusions in three illustrated book forms. Thus, though least-projected, Naveen became a celebrity by himself long before his political stint. Glaringly-known icons from all over the world clamoured to interact with him to learn more. The Biju legend thus lives on through Gita and Naveen on the intellectual as well as public service fronts.
So, Biju is obviously one of the rarest of statesmen who had clear visions of human development. Even today, stalwarts including Advani and Jashwant Sinha remember Biju with highest reverence. Vajpayee, unfortunately, is out of mind due to old age-related Alzheimer’s. Or else, he would have been the greatest ‘Biju praise singer’ today. Not surprisingly, Biju was one of the bitterest critics of the BJP cadres and ideology, mainly because of their non-secular approach in a strictly secular country. The unlawful ‘Hindutva’ card and the clamour for ‘Ram Mandir’ had disturbed Bijubabu no end and he had always sincerely prayed to God to save the great country from communal forces. India had remained a most preferred land of all communities and faiths. The original faith called the ‘Sanatana Dharma’ meaning the ‘eternal way of life’ was propounded and popularised by ancient Indians. Several faiths including the Islam have adopted the spirit from this Dharma to be so popular today.
lastly, it is obvious that the latest BJP victory in the northeastern region indicates one simple factor: some people of the three States have wanted to test a new regime as the same establishments have caused drudgery. But Meghalaya has been duped by the cash-rich brigade to buy foolish local politicians over and grab power. Tripura has fallen because the left has steadily been losing steam all over the world due to the perception of ‘no capital investment, no development’. But the spirit of intolerance has shown up from day one when the saffron-controlled establishment, minutes after climbing onto the seat of authority, decided to pull down an age-old statue of lenin as if the long gone leader’s ghost would start haunting the communal forces in the region. That is just antithetical to the ‘Sanatana’ spirit of ‘embrace all without hate as all human races have been created by the same lord!’
Biju Patnaik has been a true Hindu who inspired millions with his understanding of life full of ‘giving and forgiving’.
(The writer is a core member of Transparency International, Odisha)