Utkal Keshari Harekrushna Mahatab | |
|---|---|
 Mahatab on a 2000 stamp of India | |
| 1st Chief Minister of Odisha | |
| In office 19 October 1956 – 25 February 1961 | |
| Preceded by | Nabakrushna Choudhuri |
| Succeeded by | Bijayananda Pattanaik |
| In office 26 January 1950 – 12 May 1950 | |
| Preceded by | Office Established (himself asPrime Minister of Orissa) |
| Succeeded by | Nabakrushna Choudhuri |
| 3rd Prime Minister of Orissa | |
| In office 23 April 1946 – 26 January 1950 | |
| Preceded by | Krushna Chandra Gajapati |
| Succeeded by | Position Abolished (himself asChief Minister of Orissa) |
| Governor of Bombay | |
| In office 2 March 1955 – 14 October 1956 | |
| Chief Minister | Morarji Desai |
| Preceded by | Girija Shankar Bajpai |
| Succeeded by | Sri Prakasa |
| Member of Parliament,Lok Sabha | |
| In office 1952–1955 | |
| Succeeded by | Nityanand Kanungo |
| Constituency | Cuttack |
| In office 1962–1967 | |
| Preceded by | Badakumar Pratap Gangadeb |
| Succeeded by | D. N. Deb |
| Constituency | Deogarh |
| Minister of Commerce and Industry of India | |
| In office 13 May 1950 – 26 December 1950 | |
| Preceded by | Syama Prasad Mukherjee |
| Succeeded by | Nityanand Kanungo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Harekrushna Das (1899-11-21)21 November 1899 |
| Died | 2 January 1987(1987-01-02) (aged 87) |
| Party | Indian National Congress Orissa Jana Congress Janata Party |
| Spouse | Subhadra Devi |
| Children | Jashoda Kumari JagaddebBhartruhari Mahtab |
| Alma mater | Ravenshaw College |
| Writing career | |
| Language | Odia, English |
| Period | Colonial/Post Colonial India |
| Genre | History, Biographies, Academic Theses |
| Subjects | Indian Politics, History |
| Notable works | Gaon Majlis |
| Notable awards | Sahitya Akademi Award |
| Source:[1] | |
Harekrushna Mahatab (bornHarekrushna Das, 21 November 1899 – 2 January 1987) was a leader of theIndian National Congress, a notable figure in theIndian independence movement and the Chief Minister ofOdisha from 1946 to 1950 and from 1956 to 1961. He was popularly known by the sobriquet "Utkal Keshari".
Harekrushna Mahtab was born at Agarpada village inBhadrak district ofOdisha to Krushna Charan Das and Tohapha Debi in an aristocraticKshatriya family.[1][2][3] He was adopted by his maternal grandfather Jaganath Mahtab, a zamindar of Agarpada.[4] After passing his matriculation examination from Bhadrak High School, he joinedRavenshaw College,Cuttack but left his studies in 1921 to join the independence movement.[5][6][7]
In 1922, Mahatab was imprisoned and charged with sedition. He was the Chairman of Balasore District Board from 1924 to 1928. He became a member of Bihar and Odisha Council in 1924. He joined theSalt Satyagraha movement and was imprisoned again in 1930. He was elected as the General Officer Commanding of Congress Sevadal for theAICC session at Puri in 1932 and was arrested when the party was banned. He participated in the movement againstuntouchability in 1934 and opened his ancestral temple to all for the first time in Odisha. Later, he started Gandhi Karma Mandir at Agarpada. He was the President of Utkal Pradesh Congress Committee from 1930 to 1931 and again in 1937. He was nominated to the Congress Working Committee bySubhas Chandra Bose in 1938 and continued till 1946 and again from 1946 to 1950. He was the President of State Peoples' Enquiry Committee in 1938 and recommended cancellation of Sanada of the rulers and merger of the erstwhile princely states with Odisha Province. He participated in theQuit India Movement in 1942 and was imprisoned from 1942 to 1945.[8][9]
Mahatab was the first Chief Minister of Odisha from 23 April 1946 to 12 May 1950. He was the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry from 1950 to 1952. He became the secretary general of the Congress Parliamentary Party in 1952. He was the Governor of Bombay from 1955 to 1956.[9][10][11] After resigning from Governorship in 1956, he again became the Chief Minister of Odisha from 1956 to 1960. During his tenures as the Chief Minister, he played a significant role in the merger and integration of former princely states, shifting of the capital fromCuttack toBhubaneshwar and the sanction and construction of the multi-purpose Hirakud Dam Project. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1962 fromAngul and became the vice-president of the Indian National Congress in 1966. In 1966, he resigned from the Congress and led theOrissa Jana Congress. He was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly in 1967, 1971 and 1974. He was imprisoned in 1976 for protesting against theEmergency.[12]
He was the founder of thePrajatantra Prachar Samiti and started the weekly magazinePrajatantra in 1923 at Balasore, which later became theDaily Prajatantra. He was the chief editor of a monthly journalJhankar since its inception. He also published the Weekly English paperThe Eastern Times and was its chief editor.
He received theSahitya Academy award in 1983 for the third volume of his well-known work,Gaon Majlis.[13]
He was the President ofOrissa Sahitya Academy and Sangit Natak Academy for a couple of terms. He received anhonorary Doctorate degree fromAndhra University, an honorary D.Litt. fromUtkal University and an honorary Doctorate of Law fromSagar University.[14][15]
The Odisha State Central Library, the apex library of the state public library system of Odisha is named after him asHarekrushna Mahtab State Library. It was established in 1959 with 3 acre campus at state capital,Bhubaneswar.[16][17]
... Brahmin vs Karan —Nilakantha representing the former and Mahatab the latter.
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chief Minister of Odisha 23 April 1946 to 12 May 1950 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Bombay 2 March 1955 to 14 October 1956 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief Minister of Odisha 19 October 1956 to 25 February 1961 | Succeeded by |
| Orissa Province | |
|---|---|
| Odisha (formerly Orissa) | |
| Ministry |
|
| Department of Commerce |
|  | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DPIIT |
| |||||||||||||||
| Secretaries |
| |||||||||||||||
| Ministers | ||||||||||||||||
| MOS |
| |||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
