Thread by @Defence_360

While celebrating the scrapping of Article 370, let's commemorate the person without whom we would have lost Kashmir, forever.
"BIJU PATTANAIK" Of Odisha

Read thread.. Many might not have even known this....

The Maharaja of Kashmir was sitting tense in his chamber, disturbed with a single thought- “Can the Indian Army reach Kashmir in time?”

The RSS had been patroling the streets and mainatining the order. Over 200 RSS members were defending the city of Srinagar from every possible outbreak. The RSS chief of the region Balraj Madhok gathered information through his network that Pakistan will be attacking Kashmir soon

The Maharaja had agreed to join India. But could the Indian army reach Kashmir in time?
The RSS members had been clearing all the snow from the airstrips so that Indian plane could land without any problem.

Little did the king know that the help had already reached the borders of Kashmir.
The pilot of Dakota DC-3 landed at the airport at the dawn of 27 October 1947, bringing 17 soldiers of Sikh regiment along with him.

The pilot flew at a very low level to look around whether the enemy had already taken over the airport or not. This is a very vital fact in India’s Kashmir history. If we had lost Srinagar in 1947 Kashmir War, we would have lost the entire territory of Jammu & Kashmir.

With most of the roads blocked by the invading forces, securing the Srinagar airport and sending troops through it was the deciding factor in India’s takeover of Kashmir. The pilot is still not known to many. This wasn’t his only act of bravery though.
•••

Former Prime Minister of Indonesia Sutan Sjahir looked tensed. The Dutch had almost reached the airport. Once his flight would take off, he will be away from the Dutch’s clutches. The Dutch wouldn’t dare to hit an Indian flight.

But what if the Dutch captured him before the take off? Then not only he would be executed, the helpful Indian couple who were taking him out of this dire situation, would be tried too.

The freedom struggle of Indonesia would have receive a severe death blow had the pilot and his wife not acted smartly.

The Dutch attempted to quell Indonesian independence on 21 July 1947.

President Sukarno ordered Sjahir, the former prime minister of Indonesia, to leave the country to attend the first Inter-Asia Conference, organised by Nehru, in July 1947. The idea was to foment international public opinion against the Dutch.

Sjahrir was unable to leave as the Dutch controlled the Indonesian sea and air routes. Nehru sent the aforementioned pilot- one of the best pilots of his time and a former war pilot during War World II- to rescue Sjahir. The pilot was accompanied by his wife in this risky mission

The couple flew to Java and brought Sultan Sjahrir out on a Dakota reaching India via Singapore on 24 July 1947.
Later, after Indonesia achieved its independence, the pilot was given honorary citizenship in Indonesia & was awarded the 'Bhoomi Putra', the highest Indonesian award

This award ONLY ONCE granted to a foreigner. In 1996, when Indonesia was celebrating its 50th Independence Day, the pilot was awarded the highest national award, the 'Bintang Jasa Utama'.

•••••••••••••••

The pilot had served India during the World War II. He joined the Royal Indian Air Force and became the head of air transport command. Due to his service during the World War II, he was even awarded with the “Order of Lenin”.

Though he was fighting against the Axis power, he used air force transports to deliver nationalist and revolutionary literature (British called it subversive) to the Indian troops. He was jailed for two years for this by the British government.

◆ He actively took part in Quit India movement and other freedom movements.
◆ He was the face of freedom struggle in Odisha.
◆ He was with Congress, but when Indira started to act like a tyrant, he left Congress and formed a new party Utkal Congress.

◆ He later became a part of JP movement.
◆ During the Emergency, he was one of the first leaders who were thrown inside jail.
◆ He was a key factor in tumbling Congress. He was Union Minister of Steel and Mines in Morarji govt.

◆ He gave Odisha’s industrial revolution a new face. Kalinga tubes, Kalinga airlines, Kalinga iron works, Kalinga Refractories and the Kalinga, a daily Oriya newspaper were all his brain child.

◆ In 1951 he established the international Kalinga Prize for popularisation of Science and Technology among the people, which is now looked upon by the UNESCO.

◆ He brought out new revolution in Odisha by spearheading and establishing projects like Port of Paradip, Odisha aviation centre, Bhubaneswar Airport, the Cuttack-Jagatpur Mahanadi highway bridge, Regional Engineering College, Rourkela, Sainik School Bhubaneswar,

Contd...

, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology-Bhubaneswar, NALCO (National Aluminum Company), Talcher Thermal Power Station, Balimela Hydel Project, HAL-Sunabeda and the Choudwar & Barbil industrial belts.
◆ He initiated the Kalinga Cup in football.

The great man had served as Chief Minister of Odisha twice.
◆ When Nehru govt. didn't sanction fund for Paradeep Port Project, he uttered "To hell with the Government of India. I will build the port with state government on my own money". He spent Rs 1.60 billion on it.

Later, when the port was half way done, Nehru funded the project after recieving criticism on this issue.
◆ 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 asked about poverty, he once replied- "To be born poor is not a crime but to remain so is indeed a crime".

◆ His last message to the people of Odisha would be remembered by the Odias throughout the history- "Be loyal not to me but to the destiny of the State. Odisha is a rich state where poor people live. Be a pride to your State and not a shame".

Today is the birth anniversary of that great man Bijayananda Patnaik aka Biju Patnaik. Every year, we expect Government of India to posthumously felicitate him with the Bharat Ratna, but that dream is still not fulfilled.

Rajiv Gandhi, who fled from his duties as a pilot during 1971 war has received Bharat Ratna Award while hero like Biju Patnaik still didn't receive the award.

Image credit: Ananda Mohapatra

Write up by Saswat Routray