- PM Modi praised Biju Patnaik in Indonesian Parliament.
- Patnaik airlifted Indonesian leaders during 1947 struggle.
- He received Indonesia's 'Bhoomi Putra' award.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday heaped praises on Biju Patnaik, the former Odisha chief minister, for his role in holding a key airlift mission to evacuate the Indonesian leadership from Dutch-controlled Java during the country's freedom struggle.
The prime minister was addressing the Indonesian parliament in Jakarta. PM Modi said, "Both our nations gained independence around the same time: Indonesia in 1945 and India in 1947. When it came to sovereignty as independent nations, India became a strong voice in support of Indonesia's independence movement at the United Nations. The role played by the respected Biju Patnaik during that period- the way he safely brought Prime Minister Sutan Sjahrir and Vice President Mohammad Hatta to India brought the two nations closer."
Biju Patnaik's role in Indonesia independence
In 1945, Indonesia gained its independence, and Sukarno became the country's first President. Sutan Sjahrir became the prime minister of the independent government.
The year after, in 1946, the Dutch started invading the country again, which converted into a full-fledged attack in July 1947. President Sukarno directed Sjahrir to fly to India for the first Inter-Asia Conference, organised by Nehru, in July 1947. However, the Dutch controlled the Indonesian sea and air routes.
The then Prime Minister Pt Jawaharlal Nehru asked Patnaik, his friend and a leader of the Indian independence movement, to fly Sjahrir and then vice-president Mohammad Hatta and other Indonesian leaders.
Patnaik and his wife Gyana Devi flew to Jakarta in a Dakota plane. The plane was threatened to be shot down by the Dutch. However, Patnaik defied the threats and reached Jakarta on July 21, 1947.
ALSO READ: PM Modi Announces IIM Bangalore's First Overseas Campus In Indonesia
He flew Sjahrir and Hatta to Singapore and then to India. In 1950, the Indonesian government rewarded Patnaik with a piece of forest land and a palatial building.
However, Patnaik did not accept the offer. Patnaik was given honorary citizenship and the 'Bhoomi Putra' Award, a recognition granted rarely to a foreigner in the South Asian country.