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Biju Patnaik: The flying ace |
Synopsis :
• To honour contribution of Biju Patnaik towards Indonesia’s independence, a room in Indonesian embassy was designated as Biju Patnaik Room.
About the personality :
• Biju Patnaik was conferred Indonesia’s ‘Bintang Jasa Utama’ award for the heroic role he had played when Dutch colonialists had tried to gain control over the country in 1947.
• He was an ace pilot who started training at the Delhi Flying Club in 1930 and joined the Royal Indian Air Force in 1936.
• He played a significant role in the Indian freedom struggle.
• He had air-dropped leaflets on the Quit India Movement for Indian soldiers fighting against Myanmar as part of the British Indian armed forces. He also helped ferry freedom fighters from one place to another during the Independence struggle.
• It was also during this time that he became friends with Jawaharlal Nehru.
• The former Odisha CM had also founded the Kalinga Airlines that operated the Dakota planes in the early years of Independence.
• These planes played a significant role in Indonesia. In 1953, Kalinga Airlines merged with the Indian Airlines.
Historical Background :
• Indonesia was freed from Dutch rule in 1945, after which Indonesia’s first President Sukarno along with its Prime Minister Sutan Sjahrir formed an independent government in the country.
• However, the year after, in 1946, the Dutch started invading Indonesia again and launched a full-fledged attack in July 1947.
• The Dutch army had put Sjahrir under house arrest in Jakarta.
• Biju Patnaik was asked by J L Nehru to fly Sjahrir and then vice-president Mohammad Hatta out of Java so they could broadcast Indonesia’s plight to the rest of the world.
• Biju Patnaik, along with his wife Gyana Devi, reached Jakarta on 21 July 1947. On his way from Singapore to the Java Islands, the Dutch had threatened to shoot down his aircraft, but nothing stopped him. He safely flew Sjahrir and Hatta to Singapore, and on to India.
• In 1950, the Indonesian government rewarded him with a piece of forest land and a palatial building but he did not accept the offer. He was also given an honorary citizenship of Indonesia and awarded the ‘Bhoomi Putra’, a recognition rarely granted to a foreigner.
Important Facts :
• A Douglas C-47B-20-Dakota plane was shot down by the Dutch in July 1947 when Patnaik lent it to transport humanitarian aid to the Indonesian Red Cross. Later, the Dutch compensated the Indian government by giving a plane, which in turn was handed over to Indonesia.
• He also revived the old Kalinga Bali Yatra in 1992, to find out the old trade route between Indonesia and Odisha. The sailboat INSV-SAMUDRA began its journey from Paradeep in 1992 and reached Bali in 1993. Today, the Kalinga Bali Yatra is still celebrated in Odisha’s Cuttack.
• Patnaik’s relations with Indonesia had a personal touch too. He had persuaded president Sukarno to name the latter’s daughter Megawati, who later became the President of Indonesia.
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