Showering rich tributes on Odisha's former chief minister Biju Patnaik, President Pranab Mukherjee today hailed the legendary leader for his daredevil acts which could have cost him his life in early days.
"This young man (Biju Patnaik) could have lost his life, bringing an early end to the story of a political statesman of contemporary India ... I pay my respectful homage to this great son of India," Mukherjee told the 45th convocation of Utkal University here.
The President's remark came when he made a reference to a quote of Dr S Radhakrishnan who addressed the Utkal University convocation on January 2, 1963.
Mukherjee said Radhakrishnan's speech reminded him of Biju Patnaik. "This brings to my mind, the story of a young man (Biju) who was fired by the idea of freedom struggle. For him, this struggle had no territorial limits."
Referring to Biju's act of extraordinary bravery, Mukherjee said "In the prime of his youth, he (Biju) risked his life by flying an aircraft into the territory of an imperial power and rescued two great Indonesian freedom fighters and brought them back to safety in India" amidst cheers by the university students.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who was present on the dias, beamed as he listened to the President speak of his father.
Mukherjee, during his speech also established an emotional link with Odisha by naming several great sons of the soil like Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati, Biswanath Das, Pandit Nilakanth Das and Pandit Godavarish Mishra who played a vital role in the establishment of Utkal University.
"It is also an occasion to pay tribute to illustrious teachers like Prof Pranakrushna Parija, Prof V V John, Ganeswar Mishra, Prof Bidyadhar Mishra, Prof M N Das, Prof Sriram Chandra Dash, Prof A Ayyapan and Prof S K Das."
It was their vision and supreme endeavor that earned Utkal University a distinct identity and a pride of place among universities, he said.
