Biswanath Pattnaik (11 November 1916 – 29 May 2010) was an Indian

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi,one of the prominent figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environ ...

activist and social worker involved in the

Sarvodaya Sarvōdaya ( ''wikt:सर्व, sarv-'' "all", ''wikt:उदय, uday'' "rising") is a Sanskrit term which generally means "universal uplift" or "progress of all". The term was used by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi as the title of ...

and

Bhoodan The Bhoodan movement (Land Gift movement), also known as the Bloodless Revolution, was a voluntary land reform movement in India. It was initiated by Gandhian Vinoba Bhave in 1951 at Pochampally village, Pochampally. The Bhoodan movement attem ...

movements. He received the Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 2008 for his contributions to social, medical, and educational programmes in areas with significant tribal populations, particularly Kujendri and Baliguda in

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Early life

Pattnaik was born on 11 November 1916 in a Karan family at Kumarada, in the present-day

Ganjam Ganjam is a town and a notified area council in Ganjam district in the state of Odisha, India. Brahmapur, Odisha, Brahmapur, one of the major city of Odisha, is situated in this district on the eastern coastline. Geography Ganjam is located at ...

district of

. His father, Upendra Pattnaik, died during his childhood, after which he was raised by his grandfather, Ghanashyam Pattnaik. He studied at the local village school and later in

Srikakulam Srikakulam is a city and the headquarters of Srikakulam district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. census, it has a population of 165,735. There are many other places of Buddhist Tourism such as Salihundam, Kalinga Patnam, Dabbaka Vaan ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

, until Class 8. At the age of 17, he began working as an informal teacher at his village school, earning a salary of seven rupees per month. Around this time, he met and was influenced by the Gandhian leader Gopabandhu Choudhury. Under Choudhury’s guidance, Pattnaik travelled to

Koraput Koraput is a town and a Municipality in Koraput district in the Indian state of Odisha. Koraput town is the district headquarter of Koraput district. History The district of Koraput derives its name from its headquarters in the present town o ...

in 1940 to help promote

Khadi Khadi (, ), derived from khaddar, is a hand-spun and woven natural fibre cloth promoted by Mahatma Gandhi, Gandhi as Swadeshi movement, ''swadeshi (of homeland)'' for the freedom struggle of India and the term is used throughout the Indian sub ...

and the broader

Swadeshi The Swadeshi movement was a self-sufficiency movement that was part of the Indian independence movement and contributed to the development of Indian nationalism. Before the BML Government's decision for the partition of Bengal was made public in ...

initiatives.

Activism and social work

Pattnaik took part in the movement for the formation of a separate

(then called Utkal) state and was also involved in other nationalist movements of the time. He contributed to the ''Banabasi Seva Samiti'' (established by Gopabandhu Choudhury in 1972), focusing on education and welfare programmes for tribal communities. The organisation ran residential schools for tribal children, orphanages, and old-age homes. He was often called the “Koraputia Gandhi” for his work in popularising Khadi and advocating for tribal rights. Pattnaik campaigned against social discrimination and opposed the practice of

untouchability Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimin ...

. Under his leadership, people belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes entered the Hindu temple at Kujendri for the first time. He also participated in the Quit India movement. Pattnaik led the

Bhoodan movement The Bhoodan movement (Land Gift movement), also known as the Bloodless Revolution, was a voluntary land reform movement in India. It was initiated by Gandhian Vinoba Bhave in 1951 at Pochampally village, Pochampally. The Bhoodan movement attem ...

in the Koraput area, encouraging land donations aimed at uplifting tribal and marginalised communities.

Awards

Pattnaik received numerous awards, including: * Best Social Worker Award from Bharatiya Adimajati Sevak Sangh (1995) * Justice Rajkishore Das Samman (1996) * Sarala Award (2002) * Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award (2003) * Pradyumna Bala Sammana * Kondhamala Citizen Forum Felicitation Award * Jamnalal Bajaj Award (2008) Film-maker Ajaya Bharadwaj has begun work on a documentary film chronicling Pattnaik’s life and contributions.

Death

Pattnaik died on 29 May 2010 in Baliguda,

Kandhamal district Kandhamal district also known as Phulbani district is a district in the state of Odisha, India. The District headquarters is the city of Phulbani. It is a district full with natural beauties includes wild animals and birds. Kandhamal is famous ...

, at the age of 93.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pattnaik, Biswanath 1916 births 2010 deaths Gandhians Indian independence activists from Odisha People from Ganjam district People from Odisha

Early life

Activism and social work

Awards

Death

See also

References