Legendary leader and former Chief Minister of Odisha, Biju Patnaik was reminisced on his birth anniversary on Tuesday.
The iconic Dakota aircraft that has been installed at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar as a show piece reminds the legendary leader as a skilled pilot and his daredevilry in the skies.
Dakota Reminds Biju Patnaik’s Deep Relationship with Indonesia
The aircraft was lying in decrepit condition at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport in Kolkata. After years of public demand, the Dakota aircraft was finally brought to Odisha and kept for public display at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar.
Biju Patnaik, a towering figure wielding much clout in the national politics, was an ace pilot. Though he was enrolled with the Royal Indian Air Force, he clandestinely flew Indian freedom fighters from one location to another. It was stated that Patnaik had dropped leaflets on Indian soldiers of the British Indian Army to revolt.
Later, Biju Patnaik set up Kalinga Airlines and purchased a fleet of Dakotas which were merged with Indian Airlines later. Many believed that it was this Dakota aircraft that Biju Patnaik had flown to Java in Indonesia on July 21, 1947 and rescued the then prime minister Sutan Sjahrir and vice president Mohammad Hatta.
In 1947, after the Dutch attempted to recapture Indonesia, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru directed Biju Patnaik to fly to Java for the rescue of Sjahrir and Hatta. It is said that the Dutch warned him of shooting down his aircraft.
The Dutch had actually shot down a Dakota with a number of Indonesian leaders on board before that. Biju Patnaik had responded that if his aircraft was brought down, no Dutch flights would be able to fly across India safely.
Then, the Dutch was bound to allow him to land in Java and leave with Sjahrir and Hatta. Since then, Biju Patnaik became a legend in Indonesia and a personal friend of the country's first president Sukarno.
At that time, the Indonesian government wanted to gift him land and a palatial building, which he refused to accept. To honour such a great leader, the Indonesian government declared him 'Bhoomi Putra', according to a media report.
Biju Babu’s friendship with Sukarno was so deep that he named the Indonesian premier's daughter as Megawati Sukarnoputri.
The Dutch had actually shot down a Dakota with a number of Indonesian leaders on board before that. Biju Patnaik had responded that if his aircraft was brought down, no Dutch flights would be able to fly across India safely, according to a New Delhi-based official who told this to IANS.
(By OdishaTV Bureau)