THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 11 March 2020 (Biju Patnaik and his importance to modern day Odisha(Indian Express))

Biju Patnaik and his importance to modern day Odisha(Indian Express)

Mains Paper 1:History
Prelims level: Biju Patnaik
Mains level: The Freedom Struggle - its various stages and important contributors

Context:

• On the occasion of the 104th birth anniversary of former Odisha chief minister Biju Patnaik, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted an Intelligence Bureau document from 1945 to show how Patnaik bravely lent his flying skills ............................................

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About him:

• Born 1916, Biju Patnaik went on be trained as a pilot and then joined the Royal Indian Air Force when the Second World War began.
• Loyal to the Allied forces, he fearlessly evacuated British families when Japan advanced. However, Patnaik had a second loyalty, that to the Indian national movement.
• He had been inspired by Mahatma Gandhi when he was 13 and while part of the Second World War, he distributed leaflets of Gandhi’s Quit India movement among Indian soldiers part of the British army.

Role of him in freedom struggle:

• While promoting the cause of the nationalist uprising in India, he also played an important role in the independence struggle in Indonesia where the native population was battling the Dutch.
• Patnaik’s efforts in rescuing prime minister Sutan Sjahrir made him exceptionally popular in Indonesia and earned him the epithet “bhoomi putra” (son of the soil).
• The first president of Indonesia, Sukarno named his daughter ‘Megawati Sukarnoputri”, meaning cloud Goddess, on the suggestion of Biju Patnaik.
• She went on to become the president of Indonesia between 2001 and 2004. His brave skills as a pilot was called into action once again in October 1947 when he saved Kashmir from Pakistani raiders.

Post-independence movement:

• Post independence Patnaik was elected as part of the Odisha Legislative Assembly and in 1961 he became president of the state Congress.
• However, he soon had a fall out with Indira ..........................................

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Importance to modern day Odisha:

• He was also a firm believer of renaissance and often invoked the greatness of the Kalinga dynasty, in order to motivate the people of Odisha to dream of a brighter future. “In my dream of the 21st century for the state, I would have young men and women who put the interest of the State before them.”
• They will have pride in themselves, confidence in themselves. They will not be at anybody’s mercy, except their own selves.
• By their brains, intelligence and capacity, they will recapture the history of Kalinga,” said Patnaik back in 1992.
• His obsession with Kalinga evident from the number of establishments in Odisha that have been named after the first millennium BC kingdom.

Way forward:

• It is Biju himself and not Kalinga whose name is often invoked for claiming a past of glory and pride in the state.
• The Biju Patnaik International Airport, the Biju Patnaik National Steel Institute (BPNSI) and the Biju Patnaik University of Technology are some of the modern establishments which continue to commemorate the firebrand personality of Patnaik.

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  General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions:

Q.1)With reference to the endophyticactino bacteria, consider the following statements:
1. Researchers at IASST Guwahati, have recently found significant plant-growth-promoting and antifungal activities of endophyticactino bacteria associated with Tea plant and related genera, Eurya to find potent plant growth-promoting strains.
2. Application of endophytic Actinobacteria could reduce chemical fertilizers & fungicides in Tea plantation.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: .............................

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Mains Questions:
Q.1)Discuss the role of Biju Patnaik, the flying ace, who helped Indian and foreign freedom movements with his adventurous ideas.