Janaki Ballabh Patnaik (3 January 1927 – 21 April 2015) was an Indian politician who had been 25th

Governor of Assam This is a list of governors of Assam, and other offices of similar scope, from the start of British occupation of the area in 1824 during the First Anglo-Burmese War. The governor of Assam is the nominal head of the Indian state of Assam. The ...

from 2009 to 2014. A leader of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

, he was

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

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 ...

from 1980 to 1989 and again from 1995 to 1999, holding that post for the longest time on record before

Naveen Patnaik Naveen Patnaik (; born 16 October 1946) is an Indian politician and writer, who served as the 14th List of Chief Ministers of Odisha, Chief Minister of Odisha from 5 March 2000 to 12 June 2024. His 24-year reign is the List of longest-serving I ...

. In 1950, he became the President of the Odisha state unit of the youth wing of the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. In 1980, he became the Union Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation and Labour from 16 January to 7 June.

Personal life

He was born in a humble Karan family. His father Gokulananda Patnaik was a reputed writer and teacher. He married to

Jayanti Patnaik Jayanti Patnaik (7 April 1932 – 28 September 2022) was an Indian politician and social worker.

National Commission for Women The National Commission for Women (NCW) is a statutory body of the Government of India, generally concerned with advising the government on all policy matters affecting women. It was established on 31 January 1992 under the provisions of Nation ...

. He completed his schooling from Khurda High School, he graduated in Sanskrit (Honours) from

Utkal University Utkal University (UU) is a public university in Bhubaneswar, Khordha, Odisha, and is the oldest university in the state, and the 17th-oldest university in India. The university was established in 1943 and was operating from Ravenshaw College ...

in 1947 and received his Master's Degree in Political Science from the

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU), formerly Benares Hindu University, is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. The university incorporated the Central Hindu College, ...

in 1949. He was accused of involvement in the Anjana Mishra case.

Death

He died on Tuesday, 21 April 2015, aged 88 at

Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the administrative headquarters of Tirupati district. It is known for its significant religious and cultural heritage, being home to th ...

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 ...

. On Monday, 20 April 2015, he had gone to attend the convocation of Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, of which he was chancellor, and also visited the Lord

Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala The Venkateswara Temple of Tirumala or Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple is a Hindu temple situated in the hills of Tirumala, Tirupati Urban Mandal in the Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, India. The temple is dedicated to Venkateswara, a for ...

. Later in the night, he complained of severe chest pain and was subsequently shifted to Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS) where he died at around 3:00 am. on 21 April. He leaves behind a legacy of having translated the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

, the

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

and the

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...

into his mother tongue, as he was a Sanskrit-Odia scholar.

References

External links

The Indian Express on Patnaik's marginalisation
* The Hindu
Assam Governor JB Patnaik passes away in Tirupati
Indian Express
Farewell to JB Patnaik
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patnaik, Janaki Ballabh 1927 births 2015 deaths Chief ministers of Odisha Ravenshaw University alumni Utkal University alumni Leaders of the opposition in Odisha Chief ministers from Indian National Congress Governors of Assam India MPs 1967–1970 India MPs 1971–1977 India MPs 1980–1984 People from Tirupati Lok Sabha members from Odisha Civil aviation ministers of India Labour ministers of India Members of the Cabinet of India Recipients of the Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award Indian National Congress politicians from Odisha Recipients of the Utkal Ratna Samman