Sarat Kumar Kar () (5 September 1939 – 12 October 2020) was an Indian politician, writer, poet, and orator from the state of

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 ...

. He was a three-time

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

Odisha Legislative Assembly The Odisha Legislative Assembly is the unicameral state legislature of Odisha state in India. The seat of the Legislative Assembly is at Bhubaneswar, the capital of the state. The Legislative Assembly comprises List of constituencies of Odisha ...

and served as the Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly from 2000 to 2004. Kar was also a Member of Parliament in the

6th Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house in the Parliament of India. The 6th Lok Sabha, which ran from 23 March 1977 to 22 August 1979 was elected in February and March 1977. 11 sitting members from Rajya Sabha were elected to 6th ...

, representing the Cuttack constituency. He was a member of the

Biju Janata Dal The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is an Indian regional political party with significant influence in the state of Odisha. The party was established to uphold the legacy of former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik and to address the unique socio-economic ...

(BJD) political party. He had a multifaceted career that spanned politics, literature, and cultural advocacy.

Early life and education

Sarat Kumar Kar was born on September 5, 1939 in the village of ''Adam Mahespur'', located in

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka in Odia language, Odia ), is the former capital, deputy capital and the 2nd largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. It is also the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised f ...

, then part of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. He completed his early education in Cuttack and pursued higher studies at

Ravenshaw College Ravenshaw University, formerly known as Ravenshaw College, is a co-educational state university situated in Cuttack, Odisha on the eastern coast of India. Founded as Ravenshaw College in 1868, the institution became a university in 2006. The u ...

. He later earned his

Master’s degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practi ...

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from

Allahabad University The University of Allahabad is a Central University located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 23 September 1887 by an act of Parliament and is recognised as an Institute of National Importance (INI). It is the 4th oldest mode ...

Political career

Kar entered politics in 1964 after completing his master's degree in Political Science from

. While at the university, he came into contact with

Lal Bahadur Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri (; born Lal Bahadur Srivastava; 2 October 190411 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1964 to 1966. He previously served as Minister ...

, whose ideals and leadership deeply influenced him. Kar attended several political meetings addressed by Shastri and subsequently became a member of the

All India Congress Committee The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from States and union territories of India, state-level Pradesh Congress Commit ...

(AICC). Following Shastri's suggestion, Kar met

Biju Patnaik Bijayananda Patnaik (5 March 1916 – 17 April 1997) was an Indian politician and aviator. He served as the 3rd Chief Minister of the State of Odisha from 1961 to 1963 and from 1990 to 1995. He was also the 14th Steel and mines and 1st Coal Uni ...

upon returning to

. Their meeting marked the beginning of a long and close association, with Kar remaining a trusted confidant of Biju Babu until his death. Over the years, Kar became associated with various political parties, including the

Janata Party The Janata Party (JP, ) is an unrecognised political party in India. Navneet Chaturvedi is the current president of the party since November 2021, replacing Jaiprakash Bandhu. The JP was established as an amalgam of Indian political partie ...

, before eventually joining the

(BJD). He was elected to the

in 1977 from the Cuttack parliamentary constituency after defeating

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 ...

stalwart and the then sitting

Union Minister The Union Council of Ministers is the Cabinet (government), principal executive organ of the Government of India, which serves to aid and advise the President of India in execution of their functions.Article 74 of the ''Constitution of India' ...

, Janaki Ballabh Patnaik. At the state level, he was elected as an MLA three times — in 1971 (from Utkal Congress), 1990 (from JD), and 2000 (from BJD) — from the Mahanga constituency in

Cuttack district Cuttack district is one of the 30 districts of Odisha state in India. It is located in the coastal part of the state and its administrative headquarters are located in the city of Cuttack. As of 2011 Census, after Ganjam district, Ganjam, it is t ...

. Kar also served as the Minister for Education and Culture in the

Bishwanath Das Bishwanath Das (8 March 1889 – 2 June 1984) né (maiden name) Biswanath Dash was a politician, lawyer and philanthropist from India. He was the prime minister of Orissa Province of British India 1937–1939, the governor of Uttar Pradesh 1962 ...

- led

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

in 1971. He was the youngest

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

's history. He was the speaker of the 12th Assembly from 10 March 2000 to 21 May 2004.

Literary contributions

Apart from politics, Kar was also a well-known writer and poet. He authored four books of poetry: ''Druta Bilambita, Manthan, Romanthan'', and ''Ananya''. He also wrote a novel (''Samayara Jete Dheu''), a spiritual book, and numerous articles in Odia newspapers and magazines on topics related to literature, politics, spirituality, and social issues. Kar received the

PEN Award There are over 145 International PEN centres on the world, some of which hold annual literary awards. The PEN America Literary Awards have been characterized as being among the "major" literary awards in America. PEN America PEN/Faulkner Foundat ...

for his poetry collection ''Manthan''. In addition to his literary accomplishments, he was known for his deep spiritual inclination and philosophical insight. A mystic and philosopher, he profoundly understood the Panchasakha school of thought. He was also a devout follower of Lord

Jagannath Jagannath (; formerly ) is a Hindu deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India as part of a triad along with (Krishna's) brother Balabhadra, and sister, Subhadra. Jagannath, within Odia Hinduism, is the supreme god, '' Purushot ...

Personal life

Kar was married to Anima Mishra Kar, a retired English

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

and singer who was an "A" Grade artist for

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

from the 1960s to the 1990s. They had two sons. His elder son, Suman Kar is a

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

in English in

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...

. His younger son, Sobhan Kar, served as an

Indian Revenue Service The Indian Revenue Service (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ), often abbreviated as IRS, is a civil service that is primarily responsible for tax collection, collecting and administering Direct tax, direct and indir ...

officer in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

before opting for voluntary retirement to engage in social work. His elder brother, Rajat Kumar Kar, was a

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

awardee and an eminent Jagannath culture expert and commentator. He was known for his long-standing role as a commentator for the annual

Rath Yatra Ratha Yatra (), or chariot festival, is any public procession in a chariot. They are held annually during festivals in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The term also refers to the popular annual Ratha Yatra of Puri that involves a public processi ...

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

, and private TV channels for over four decades.

Death

Sarat Kumar Kar passed away on 12 October 2020 at the age of 81 due to complications related to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

References