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Biju (Bijayananda) Patnaik (5 March 1916 – 17 April 1997) is the only person in India on whose death his body was wrapped in the national flag of three countries. India, Russia and Indonesia. Biju Patnaik was an Indian politician, aviator and businessman. Biju Patnaik served twice as the Chief Minister of the State of Odisha.
Biju Patnaik was a pilot and when the Soviet Union was in trouble during World War II, he bombed Hitler's forces by flying a fighter aircraft Dakota, which forced Hitler to retreat. The highest award was also given to him and he was granted honorary citizenship by the Soviet Union.
When the Kavalis attacked Kashmir, it was Biju Patnaik who made several trips a day from Delhi to Srinagar on 27th Oct 1947 by flying a plane and transporting the soldiers to Srinagar.
When the Kavalis attacked Kashmir, it was Biju Patnaik who made several trips a day from Delhi to Srinagar on 27th Oct 1947 by flying a plane and transporting the soldiers to Srinagar.
Indonesia was once a colony of Dutch or Holland and the Dutch occupied a large area of Indonesia. Dutch soldiers kept the whole sea around Indonesia under their control and they did not let any Indonesian citizen out. Indonesia was freed from Dutch in 1945.
In July 1947 PM Sutan Sjahrir was house arrested by the Dutch. They sought India's help. Then Nehru asked Biju Patnaik to rescue the then Indonesian PM Sjahrir to India. On 22nd July 1947, Biju Patnaik and his wife Gyanwati, flew to Java, dodging the Dutch guns, he entered Indonesian airspace and landed on an improvised airstrip near Jakarta. Using left-over fuel from abandoned Japanese military dumps, Patnaik took off with prominent rebels, including Sultan Sjahrir and Achmad Sukarno, for a secret meeting with Nehru at New Delhi and brought out on a Douglas C-47 (Dakota) military aircraft reaching India via Singapore on 24 July 1947. This incident developed a tremendous energy into Indonesian army and they attacked the Dutch soldiers and Indonesia became a completely independent country.
Later, when the daughter of Indonesian President Sukarno was born, he called Biju Patnaik and his wife to name the newcomer. Then Biju Patnaik and his wife Gyanwati named the daughter of the President of Indonesia as Meghawati (daughter of clouds) Sukarnoputri. Indonesia had granted honorary citizenship award 'Bhumi Putra' of their country to Biju Patnaik and his wife in 1950. Later he was awarded the highest honorary award of Indonesia 'Bintang Jasa Utma' on their 50th year of independence. After the death of Biju Patnaik, seven days of state mourning was observed in Indonesia and one day state mourning was observed in Russia and all flags were lowered.
Recognitions & Commemoration
The Government of Odisha has named several institutions after the name of Biju Patanaik. They include the Biju Patnaik Airport at Bhubaneswar, the Biju Patnaik University of Technology, Biju Patnaik Stadium at Nalco Nagar, Angul etc. Also his son Naveen Patnaik made his birthday 5 March as the Panchayat Raj Divas, a holiday in Odisha in his memory. The Biju Patnaik 5 Rupee commemorative coin was released in 2016.
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