Thread by @sheshapatangi1

Nurtured By Biju Patnaik, Destroyed By Jyoti Basu.

He Conquered all the Ocean's of the world, Padma Bhushan Recepient and a successful businessman, but couldn't withstand the waves of political vendetta by Jyoti Basu.

The gut wrenching story of #MihirSen.

The man who swam into world record books by conquering the English Channel and Palk Straits, said this
“I had undertaken this perilous swim not to gain fame or trophies but to prove once again to the world that Indians are no longer afraid”.

#MihirSen, after his World Record

famously said, “I wanted to prove to the world that Indians are not afraid.”

In 1967, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan.

Do you people know, how our
heroes gets treated in our country?

My opinion is, it depends on where you are, what you do, and whether you support the

message of the Congress’s & its Croonies political establishment.

The story of Mihir Sen, a man who went onto show the world that Indians were capable of greatness by becoming the only man to swim across oceans of five continents in one year, is both an inspirational and

cautionary tale of how one hero was eventually let down by the very people he sought to champion.

Born prematurely on 16 Nov 1930, in a small village in Purulia district, West Bengal, there were fears that this sickly child would not survive very long.

When Mihir graduated

the top of his class from Utkal University with a degree in Law, then-Chief Minister Biju Patnaik stepped forward with an offer to finance his passage to England.

There, Mihir joined Lincoln’s Inn, the prestigious society of barristers. He was 21.

Why did a man specialising

in criminal law, venture out to conquer the seas?

"His motive for swimming the seven seas was primarily political. Being a young nationalist of uncommonly strong views and unorthodox ambition, he wanted to show the world what Indians are made of and to set for young Indians

an example of courage and to tell them that one of the best things to do with life is to risk it. In this way, he hoped to prepare them for what he saw as their destiny,” wrote Supriya Sen, his daughter, for The Telegraph.

The weather forced him to abandon his first attempt

midway in 1955.

3 years later, on 27/09/1958, he again entered the sea off the coast of Dover.
This time, he was better prepared. Coating his body in mustard oil.

Sen stroked his way into the record books, completing the solo crossing in 14 hours and 45 minutes.

What would have been the pinnacle of achievement for many, was however, just the beginning for the determined Mihir Sen.

In 1966, he went further, swimming across the oceans in five continents in a single year.

Sen crossed the Palk Straits in 25 hours and 36 minutes,

The Straits of Gibraltar in 8 hours and one minute, The Dardanelles in 13 hours and 55 minutes, The Bosphorus in 4 hours, and The entire length of the Panama Canal in 34 hours and 15 minutes.

Once he was done with his swimming career, he established a factory for silk exports

in Calcutta and started exporting it around the world.

With hard work and business acumen, he became India's second-largest silk exporter.

Then Came Jyoti Basu...😡

He wanted Mihir Sen to campaign for his CPI in the 1977 election.
Sen turned down the request and naturally

Communists threatened & tried arm twisting tactics.
Mihir Sen decided to stand as an independent candidate against Basu.

Jyoti Basu then unleashed one of the most vicious personal vendettas in the history of vendettas, against Mihir Sen.

First they started spraying graffiti

outside his factories and shops.

Repeated strikes started & brought production to zero.
Trucks with export stocks were burnt down.
Police filed false cases against him.
Sen's house was raided multiple times, assests frozen & cash seized.

Mihir suffered from dementia by the time he was 50.

On 11th June, 1997, Sen died in poverty.
His legacy faded into oblivion as the death went virtually unnoticed and ended up as just another sad tale of the forgotten National Heroes.

#PunyaSmaran
#VANDEMATARAM