Dr. Radhanath Rath (6 December 1896 – 11 February 1998) was a newspaper editor , freedom fighter, Social worker and politician from Odisha. He edited

The Samaja ''The Samaja'' is an Odia daily newspaper published in Cuttack, Odisha, India; started in 1919, it is one of the oldest papers in India. Gopabandhu Das, a prominent freedom fighter and social worker started it as a weekly from Satyabadi ...

, one of the leading newspapers of Odisha.

Early life

He was born on 6 December 1896, in a village named "Radhanathpur Shashan" of Aathgarh. He started his education in the Jubilee School of Balasore where his uncle Lokanath Mohapatra was the Sanskrit teacher. He was matriculated in 1916 from Ravenshaw Collegiate School of Cuttack. He joined the forest department of Singhbhum district as a Clerk. He left the job in 1919 and joined the 'Satyabadi press' of Gopabandhu Das. He started his career in Journalism as Manager and Assistant Editor of the Oriya weekly "

" which was started under the editorial of Gopabandhu Das. After the death of Gopabandhu Das in the year 1928, Pandit Lingaraj Mishra worked as the editor of the "Samaj". In the year 1930, the daily publication of Samaj was initiated. During 1946–1952 Lingaraj Mishra worked as the education minister of Odisha. So Radhanath Rath became the Editor of the "Samaj". He joined the

Quit India Movement The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in ...

in 1942 and was imprisoned for two years.

Political activities

He was elected 5 times to the Odisha Legislative Assembly. In 1946, he was first elected to the state assembly from

Athagarh Athagarh (Sl. No.: 89) is a Vidhan Sabha constituency of Cuttack district, Odisha. This constituency includes Athagad NAC, Athagarh Block, Tigiria Block and 6 Gram panchayats (Kakhadi, Sankarpur, Badasamantarapur, Mangarajpur, Mahisalanda an ...

. He appointed cabinet Minister in charge of Finance, Education, Forestry and Agriculture from 1952 to 1961. Radhanath Rath became the Finance and Education Minister in the Nabakrushna Choudhury Cabinet for the period 1952 to 1959. In the year 1959 he held the post of minister of development & forest department under the Harekrushna Mahatab's Cabinet.Except for between 1961 and 1967, he remained a member of the house from 1946 to 1977.

Social work

He was a lifetime member and President of the Odisha branch of the ' Servants of the People Society' set up by Lala Lajpat Rai of Punjab. He was president of the Society for over a decade from May 1981. He was the head of the All Indian Scout and Guides Association, Odisha. He was also related to many other organisations like the Hind leprosy eradication group, the Gopabandhu Daridra Narayan Seva Sangha. He was also the Deputy Din of the

Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) was established in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India in 1962. It is the second oldest agricultural university in the country. It is dedicated to agriculture related research, extension and educatio ...

. He has written many poems, stories and biographies. "Mo Jel Smruti Lipi" is one of his famous works. He died on 11 February 1998 at Cuttack. His body was laid to rest with full state honours at Satyabadi near Puri.

Awards

* Orissa Sahitya Academy Award, 1967 *

Padma Bhusan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest Indian honours system, civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for " ...

, 1968 * Critic Circle of India award, 1987 * All India Anubrata award in 1988 * Utkal Ratna Samman (1993, Utkal Sahitya Samaj) *Degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D) (by the Berhampur University), 1976.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rath, Radhanath 1896 births 1998 deaths Indian centenarians Men centenarians People from Cuttack district Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education Prisoners and detainees of British India State cabinet ministers of Odisha Odisha MLAs 1946–1952 Odisha MLAs 1952–1957 Odisha MLAs 1957–1961 Odisha MLAs 1971–1973 Odisha MLAs 1974–1977