Krushna Chandra Gajapati KCIE (26 April 1892 – 25 May 1974), also known as

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

Sri Sri Sri Krushna Chandra Gajapati Narayana Deva KCIE, was one of the key personality, helping the creation of Odia speaking state -

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 ...

. He was a scion of Paralakhemundi Estate (then

Ganjam district Ganjam is a district in the Indian state of Odisha. Ganjam's total area is 8,206 km² (3,168 mi²). The district headquarters is Chhatrapur. Ganjam is divided into three sub-divisions: Chhatrapur, Berhampur, and Bhanjanagar. As of ...

and

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 ...

taluk of Andhrapradesh) and the owner of Delanga estate of

Puri district Puri district is a coastal district of the Odisha state of India. It has one Administrative subdivision, sub-division, 11 Tehsils, tahasils and 11 Block (country subdivision), blocks and comprises 1722 revenue villages. Puri is the only Nagar ...

of Odisha. His family belonged to the great

Eastern Ganga Dynasty The Eastern Ganga dynasty (also known as Purba Gangas, Rudhi Gangas or Prachya Gangas) were a large medieval era Indian royal Hindu dynasty that reigned from Kalinga from as early as the 5th century to the mid 20th century. Eastern Gangas rul ...

. He was the first

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

of Odisha. The present-day Gajapati District of Odisha was named after him.

Early life and education

Krushna Chandra was born on 26 April 1892 to the

Zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

of Paralakhemundi, Goura Chandra Gajapati and his wife Radhamani Devi. He received his elementary education at the local Maharaja High School of Paralakhemundi and then went to

Newington College Newington College is a multi-campus Independent school, independent Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church Single-sex education, single-sex and Mixed-sex education, co-educational Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primar ...

in Madras for higher studies. During his studies in

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

, he lost his father. After the completion of his education he returned to Paralakhemundi and in the year 1913 married the princess of

Kharsawan State Kharsawan State, also spelt Kharsua or kharaswan, was a princely state in India during the British Raj. The state had a privy purse of 33,000 rupees. It was one of the Odia Princely states of India during the period of the British Raj and the ...

. In the same year he succeeded as the next zamindar of his estate on 26 April 1913.

Role in the formation of Independent Odisha State

Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati, Utkal Gourav

Madhusudan Das Madhusudan Das (28 April 1848 – 4 February 1934) was an Indian lawyer and social reformer, who founded Utkal Sammilani in 1903 to campaign for the unification of Odisha along with its social and industrial development. He was one of the pro ...

, Utkalamani

Gopabandhu Das Gopabandhu Das (1877–1928), popularly known as '' Pandit Utkalamani Gopabandhu Das'' (''Jewel of Utkal'' or Odisha), was a social worker, reformer, political activist, journalist, poet and essayist. Early life Gopabandhu Das was born on 9 ...

Fakir Mohan Senapati Fakir Mohan Senapati (13 January 1843 – 14 June 1918), often referred to as Utkala Byasa Kabi (''Odisha's Vyasa''), was an Indian writer, poet, philosopher and social reformer. He played a leading role in establishing the distinct identity of ...

and other eminent members of

Utkal Sammilani Utkala Sammilani () The Utkal Sabha Sammilani was a welfare organization formed on August 16, 1882, in Cuttack, Odisha primarily meant for the unification of Odia (Oriya)-speaking tracts and promotion of elected local self- Government. It is an ...

demanded a separate Odisha state with an amalgamation of Odia speaking areas in the then Odisha-Bihar-Bengal province. Finally, with the efforts of this

, the separate state of Odisha was formed on 1 April 1936. From that day, 1 April is celebrated by the Odia people as Utkal Divas. His estate in Vizagapatam district was partitioned into two – with the capital and major parts coming under Odisha whereas the remaining Telugu-majority areas remained in the Madras Presidency. In 1937, the first Governor of Odisha, Sir John Austin Hubback invited Krushna Chandra to form the cabinet. He became the first Prime Minister of Odisha from 1 April 1937 to 18 July 1937, elected again for the second time from 24 November 1941 to 30 June 1944.

Social and philanthropic services

He was instrumental in the establishment of the

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 ...

, the

SCB Medical College Srirama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital, also known as S.C.B Medical College and Hospital, is a public medical college in Cuttack, Odisha, India. It is named after Sriram Chandra Bhanj Deo, a ruler of was of the Mayurbhanj princel ...

, the famous Central Rice Research Institute in Bidyadharpur, Cuttack and later MKCG Medical College & Hospital in Berhampur. He set up many hospitals, schools, colleges, industrial institutions, modern agricultural farms and provided a record number of 1281 irrigation sagars or water-tanks in his agriculturally dominant native taluk. For this reason, the undivided Ganjam District was given the title 'the rice-bowl of Odisha'. Under Gajapati, scholarships were awarded to thousands of poor and meritorious students in humanities, science, agriculture, medicine, and engineering, among others. Apart from these, Maharaja was a well-known patron of the arts and research scholars in various fields. He supported the historical research of Padmasri Dr.

Satyanarayana Rajguru Satyanarayana Rajguru (1903-1997) was an Indian litterateur, epigraphist and historian. He was a curator and epigraphist at the Odisha State Museum and was a recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award, ''Bharati Bhushan'' award, Ganjam Sahitya Sammila ...

and the production of gramophone records of the renowned Odishi musician ''Gayaka Siromani'' Apanna Panigrahi, who was his court musician (rajasangitagya) as well as a friend. He was devoted towards ancient poets, especially Kabi Kalahansa Gopalakrusna of Paralakhemundi. Maharaja was himself an expert in ancient Odishi music and literature and has a number of original compositions to his credit, such as '''Manu Jau Nahi Ma', 'Radhadhara Sumadhura''' and others.

Political services and honours

Krushna Chandra served as a Captain in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He received a rare Sanad in 1920 from the then Viceroy and Governor General of India, in recognition of his services rendered to the Indian Army during the Great War and as a mark of commendation. He was a Member of the Royal Commission on Agriculture, under the Chairmanship of Lord Linlithgow. He was also a Member of the Madras Legislative Council. He was awarded honorary Doctorates by the Utkal University and the Berhampur University, and was appointed a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire, ...

(KCIE) in the

1946 New Year Honours The 1946 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and to celebrate the passing of 1945 and the beginn ...

. Krushna Chandra died on 25 May 1974 at the age of 82. He was accorded a state funeral by the Government of Odisha and was cremated with full honours at Paralakhemundi.

References

External links

* http://gajapati.nic.in/sonsofsoil/eminent%5Cemiperson.htm * http://orissa.gov.in/portal/LIWPL/event_archive/Events_Archives/69Maharaja_Krushna_Chandra_Gajapati.pdf * http://orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2010/April/engpdf/56-57.pdf * Orissa Review, January-2009 issue. Published by the Govt. of Orissa. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gajapati, Krushna Chandra 1892 births 1974 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Indian knights Scholars from Odisha History of Odisha Members of the Constituent Assembly of India People from Paralakhemundi Odisha politicians