Biju Patnaik was ahead of his time

BHUBANESWAR: Belated though, Biju Patnaik has finally been recognised as an icon of India, courtesy Narendra Modi government's decision to celebrate his birth centenary. It is bound to cheer every Odia across the state and outside.
The reason is not far to find. For, Biju was one of country's rarest politicians who made seminal contribution to public cause both in pre and post-independent India.A freedom fighter, philanthropist, pilot, industrialist and politician apart he was man of the masses.
Odisha has all along been identified as land of Jagannath. Biju Patnaik, true to his personality, came to be another identity for the state.
First director general of Unesco and recipient of Kalinga Prize, Sir Julian Huxley, described Biju as a "remarkable Indian whose adventures would fill a book".
The Encyclopaedia Britannica calls him an "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".
The Economist in an obituary reference said, "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 colour".
Biju's life reveal that he perhaps got his grit to become a staunch nationalist in 1927 when Mahatma Gandhi was in Cuttack on his 'Khadi tour'.
Biju was barely 11 years old then. He wanted to see Gandhi, but as he tried to take a vantage position, a British police officer pushed him aside.
As he grew older, his obsession to become something different and unique became evident. He discontinued B.Sc and took up pilot training. As an adult, his role in Indonesian freedom struggle, taking the first batch of Indian soldiers to Srinagar to counter invading Pakistanis is still a household talk in Odisha to instill confidence in the minds of youngsters.
It is however an irony that continues to confound many political analysts that the man who did so much for the country and commands unfathomable public esteem even 18 years after his death had to wait for 27 years to return to power in the state.
His first stint as chief minister in 1961 was for less than two and half years. It was during that period, thanks to his closeness to then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Biju managed to undertake many development works in the state such as Paradip Port, Express highway, OUAT and Regional Institute of Education.
After that he tried many times to return to power, but in vain. In 1967 he was defeated by a school teacher, Chakradhara Satapathy, from Patkura assembly constituency. In 1971, he lost one Lok Sabha and five assembly seats simultaneously.
He returned to the assembly that year through a byelection from Rajnagar assembly constituency.
He returned to power in 1990 and completed full term, but critics say he did not achieve much in his second term. While in power in 1993, Biju faced a serious revolt from government employees in the secretariat.
He was virtually assaulted, but so courageous was he that he did not leave the premises and stood facing the staff and listened to them. His government lost the 1995 elections.
Post-defeat life was tough for him. The JB Patnaik government slapped vigilance case against him. He took everything in his stride and remained calm till death.