Odisha Celebrates 105th Birthday Anniversary Of Former CM Biju Patnaik

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Today is the 105th Birth Anniversary of Former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik who is also known as ‘Biju Babu’, Tall Leader’, Kalinga Putra’ and the ‘Big Daddy of Indian Politics’.

The Kalinga Putra was born in Cuttack on 5th March 1916 and was named as Bijayananda Patnaik. His father Lakshminarayan was an Odia and his mother Ashalata Devi was a Bengali. During his childhood, Patnaik was a keen lover of sports and was a decent player.

Patnaik studied at Ravenshaw Collegiate School but later dropped out of it as he was an avid lover of sports. During his college days, he was the key player for the football team and also won the inter-state championship for three years. Later he joined as a trainee pilot in the Royal Air Force of the British Empire and was the head of air transport command.

Pic Courtesy – Google

Patnaik was married to Gyan Patnaik, who belonged to Punjab and was a pilot too. Gyan was the first Indian lady to get a commercial pilot’s license. She also accompanied her husband in the freedom struggle movement and evacuation of British families from Rangoon when the Japanese laid siege on the region.

 He was elected as Chief Minister twice and remained in office only for seven years. He was one of the first among the opposition leaders to be arrested during the Emergency declared in 1975 and was released in 1977.

Pic Courtesy – Google

Current Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik is the younger son and Biju Patnaik’s daughter Gita Mehta is an English writer. His elder son Prem Patnaik is a Delhi-based industrialist.

Biju Patnaik breathed his last breathe at the Delhi home of the then Union Minister Dilip Ray on 17 April 1997 of cardio-respiratory failure.

Pic Courtesy – Google

On the occasion of Patnaik’s Birth Anniversary, Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has made a sand sculpture of Biju Patnaik with the message “Tribute To The TALL MAN BIJU BABU”. Around six tonnes of sand was used to make this sculpture and Sudarsan invested three hours to create the sculpture.

Pic Courtesy – Twitter

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid tributes to the former Odisha chief minister and said the nation is proud of his efforts for the state’s progress.

Pic Courtesy – Google

PM  Modi tweeted-  “Tributes to Biju Babu on his birth anniversary. His futuristic vision for India, emphasis on human empowerment as well as social justice inspires us all. The nation is proud of his efforts for Odisha’s progress.”

Image Source – Google

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