New Delhi: Odisha government will set up memorials and make a biopic on the life of ‘Utkal Keshari’ Harekrushna Mahtab, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced Thursday, saying the society now knows the contributions of many national heroes, and not ‘just one family’.
Majhi made the veiled reference to the Nehru-Gandhi family while addressing an event at the Vigyan Bhavan here to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Harekrushna Mahtab, the first chief minister of Orissa (now Odisha).
President Droupadi Murmu was the chief guest at the event hosted by the Ministry of Culture where a special commemorative stamp and coin were released along with a few books.
Mahtab was the last prime minister of the province of Orissa. The province of Bihar and Orissa was carved out of Bengal in 1912 before Orissa became a separate state in 1936. After Independence, it became part of the Union of India.
Stating that this landmark tribute is being paid to Mahtab 37 years after his demise, Majhi said without taking any name, “For a long period, we were only engaged in recognising the contributions of just one family. It happened throughout the country and it also happened in Odisha.”
“But Prime Minister Narendra Modi changed all this and we now know the contributions of many more national heroes than just one family,” he said.
“In Odisha too, we are now ready to worship all our heroes who made significant contributions to nation building,” the chief minister added.
Hailing Mahtab for his contributions, Majhi said he established the Hirakund Dam and was instrumental in the decision to shift the state capital capital from Cuttack to Bhubaneswar.
“He was a statesman, a visionary, a genius political thinker, and a strategist and mentor to many young leaders who later became big names in state politics. Besides his contributions to politics, he also inspired a generation of Odia writers and journalists,” the chief minister said.
Mahtab led (then) Orissa during a crucial period of the fight for Independence, Majhi said as he underlined the role played by him in the amalgamation of various princely states into the Union of India.
“We know the contributions of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in achieving the integration of the princely states into the Union of India. Likewise, Dr Mahtab was the ‘Sardar Patel of Odisha’, as he helped merge various princely states into the state of Odisha,” Majhi added, calling Mahtab a cynosure of “solidarity and responsive administration”.
“He was nominated to the Congress Working Committee by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. He was arrested from Ahmednagar along with the likes of Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad and many other top leaders of the time,” Majhi said.
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Mahtab was also “arrested in 1975 for opposing the brutalities and slave-like treatment meted out by the then infamous Congress government to the public and public leaders during Emergency”, Majhi said, adding that his nearly lifetime association with the Congress ended with the “anti-people politics/polices of the government led by Indira Gandhi”.
Announcing several celebrations to honour Mahtab’s contributions, Majhi said, “We will hold year-long celebrations to mark the 125th birth anniversary of ‘Utkal Keshari’ in a befitting manner. The government has taken a decision to set a memorials at different places, including his birthplace Agarpara, reprint books written by him in different languages, and encourage research on his life.”
The Odisha government has also taken a decision to make a biopic on Mahtab’s life, which will inspire the current generations and generations to come, Majhi added.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister of Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat were also present on the dais.
It is a matter of delight that the Odisha government has taken a decision to hold year-long celebrations to mark the 125th anniversary of Mahtab, Pradhan said.
Born November 21, 1899, in Agarpara, Mahtab also wrote extensively in both Odia and English, winning accolades for his work, including the historical account ‘History of Orissa’, besides winning the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1983 for ‘Gaon Majlis’, the Culture Ministry said.
He served as the Union minister for commerce and industry, before getting elected to the Lok Sabha unopposed in 1962.
PTI