Harekrushna Mahatab (21 November 1899 – 2 January 1987) was the leader of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

, a notable figure in the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

and the Chief Minister of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

from 1946 to 1950 and again from 1956 to 1961. He was popularly known by the sobriquet "Utkal Keshari".

Early life

Harekrushna Mahtab was born at Agarpada village in

Bhadrak district Bhadrak is a district of Odisha state in eastern India. Bhadrak city is the headquarters and the largest city of the district. Origin of name The district is named after goddess Bhadrakali whose temple is situated in Agarpada which is 8 ...

. He was born to Krushna Charan Das and Tohapha Debi in an aristocratic Khandayat family. After passing his matriculation examination from Bhadrak High School, he joined Ravenshaw College,

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...

but left his studies in 1921 to join the independence movement.

Political career

In 1922, Mahatab was imprisoned and charged with sedition. He was the Chairman of Balasore District Board from 1924 to 1928. He became the member of Bihar and Odisha Council in 1924. He joined the

Salt Satyagraha The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March to 6 April 1930 as a di ...

movement and was imprisoned again in 1930. He was elected as the General Officer Commanding of Congress Sevadal for the AICC session at Puri in 1932 and he was arrested when the party was banned. He participated in the movement against

untouchability Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimin ...

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 by

Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperia ...

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 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 from 1942 to 1945. 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. 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 significant role in the merger and integration of former princely states, shifting of the capital from

Bhubaneshwar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango tr ...

and the sanction and construction of the multi-purpose Hirakud Dam Project. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1962 from

Angul Angul (also known as Anugul) is a town and a municipality and the headquarters of Angul district in the state of Odisha, India. Angul has an average elevation of above sea level. The total geographical area of the district is 6232 km2. ...

and became the vice-president of the Indian National Congress in 1966. In 1966, he resigned from the Congress and led the

Orissa Jana Congress Orissa Jana Congress (Orissa Peoples Congress), generally just called the ''Jana Congress'', was a political party in the Indian state of Orissa. The Jana Congress was formed in 1966 when Harekrushna Mahatab (former Orissa Chief Minister) left th ...

. He was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly in 1967, 1971 and 1974. He was imprisoned in 1976 for protesting against the emergency.

Intellectual pursuits

He was the founder of the Prajatantra Prachar Samiti and started the weekly magazine ''Prajatantra'' in 1923 at Balasore, which later became the ''Daily Prajatantra''. He was the chief editor of a monthly journal ''Jhankar'' since its inception. He also published the Weekly English paper ''The Eastern Times'' and was its chief editor. He received the

Sahitya Academy award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

in 1983 for the third volume of his well-known work, ''Gaon Majlis''.

Awards and honours

He was the President of Orissa Sahitya Academy and Sangit Natak Academy for a couple of terms. He received an

honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

degree from

Andhra University Andhra University (IAST: ''Āndhra Vișvakalāpariṣhat'') is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Maharaja of Jeypore was one of the biggest do ...

, an honorary D.Litt. from

Utkal University Utkal University (UU) is a Public university in Bhubaneswar, Khordha district, Khordha, Odisha, and is the oldest university in Odisha, the state, and the 17th-oldest university in India. It is a teaching-cum-affiliating university. The pre ...

and an honorary Doctorate of Law from Sagar University.
The Odisha State Central Library, the apex library of the state public library system of Odisha is named after him as Harekrushna Mahtab State Library. It was established in 1959 with 3 acre campus at state capital,

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...

.Welcome to Harekrushna Mahtab State Library
Hkmsl.gov.in. Retrieved on 26 November 2018.

References

External links

Orissa Chief Ministers ListOrissa Chief Ministers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahatab, Harekrushna 1899 births 1987 deaths Governors of Bombay Chief Ministers of Odisha Members of the Constituent Assembly of India Indian independence activists from Odisha Prisoners and detainees of British India Journalists from Odisha Indian National Congress politicians Ravenshaw University alumni 20th-century Indian journalists Odia-language writers Indians imprisoned during the Emergency (India) Chief ministers from Indian National Congress Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Odia Indian male journalists People from Bhadrak district Utkal Congress politicians Commerce and Industry Ministers of India India MPs 1962–1967