Biju Patnaik: The towering personality who helped forge India-Indonesia ties
New Delhi, July 7 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Jakarta on the first leg of a three-nation tour on Tuesday, remembered Odisha’s former chief minister Biju Patnaik’s role in Indonesia’s independence movement, adding how his actions helped bring the country closer to India, according to reports.
Popularly known as Biju Babu, he performed a daring 1947 evacuation of Indonesian leaders from Dutch-held Java, cementing his bond and establishing his heroics as an accomplished pilot.
Incidentally, he is also credited with suggesting the name “Megawati” for Sukarno’s daughter. Sukarno, a revolutionary leader who played a central role in Indonesia’s fight for independence, was the country’s first president.
His daughter, Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri, served as the fifth president of Indonesia, becoming the first and only female head of state. She was also the country’s eighth vice president.
Several accounts recount that when she was born, Patnaik visited Sukarno and suggested the name, derived from Sanskrit “meghavatī”, meaning “she who has a cloud” or “daughter of clouds”, because it was raining at her birth.
Megawati herself has reportedly recounted this story in meetings with Indian leaders, underscoring the personal dimension of Patnaik’s ties to Indonesia.
In July 1947, Biju Babu flew a Dakota into Dutch-controlled Indonesian territory to extract two leaders and bring them safely to India. As PM Modi pointed out on Tuesday, the mission strengthened diplomatic ties and earned Patnaik enduring respect in Indonesia.
When the Dutch sought to reassert control over Indonesia after Japan’s surrender, its leaders were detained, and movement was tightly restricted. At Jawaharlal Nehru’s request, at about 31, Patnaik volunteered to fly into hostile airspace, accompanied by his wife and co-pilot, Gyanwati Patnaik.
Facing threats from Dutch forces, Patnaik reportedly warned that any attack on his aircraft would be met by retaliation against their aircraft over Indian skies. He then successfully evacuated two Indonesian leaders to Singapore and then to New Delhi in a mission that drew international attention.
Beyond the dramatic flight that brought Indonesia’s leaders to India, allowing them to address the issue internationally, it aligned New Delhi with anti-colonial movements in Southeast Asia.
Patnaik’s action helped forge personal ties with Sukarno and others, earning him honours in Indonesia and the affectionate title of “Bhoomi Putra” in the country. The aircraft used in the mission later reportedly became a museum piece and a symbol of that shared history.
Biju, Bijayananda Patnaik, a freedom fighter, aviator, politician, and entrepreneur, served as chief minister from 1961 to 1963 and again from 1990 to 1995.
He also served as Union Minister of Steel, Mines and Coals in the Morarji Desai and Charan Singh governments.
He died on April 17, 1997, at the age of 81.
His son, Naveen Patnaik, the founder of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), was also the state’s chief minister. Serving from 2000 till 2024, Naveen holds the record of the longest-serving chief minister in Odisha.
Biju Babu is said to have been trained at the Delhi Flying Club. He flew rescue sorties during World War II, and is said to have often used his aircraft for clandestine support to Indian freedom activists.
After the war, he founded Kalinga Airlines and later entered politics, where his blend of aviation skills, nationalist zeal, and political ambition made him a prominent figure in mid-20th-century India.
The 1947 Indonesia mission remains a striking example of individual initiative shaping international relations. His courage as a pilot, his willingness to act on request, and the human ties he forged left a legacy that resonates in India–Indonesia relations to this day.
–IANS
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