Kishen Pattnaik (30 June 1930 – 27 September 2004) was an Indian social leader, socialist thinker, author and activist. As a member of Parliament for the

3rd Lok Sabha List of Members of the 3rd Lok Sabha, (2 April 1962 – 3 March 1967) elected February–March 1962. The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house in the Parliament of India. The election was held for 494 seats out of which Indian na ...

, he represented the

Praja Socialist Party The Praja Socialist Party, abbreviated as PSP, was an Indian political party. It was founded when the Socialist Party, led by Jayaprakash Narayan, Rambriksh Benipuri, Acharya Narendra Deva and Basawon Singh (Sinha), merged with the Kisan Mazd ...

for the Sambalpur Constituency of India. Pattnaik founded and edited a Hindi monthly periodical called Samayik Varta.

Early life

Kishen Pattnaik was born in

Kalahandi State Kalahandi State, also known as Karond State, was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. It was recognized as a state in 1874 and had its capital in Bhawanipatna. Its last ruler signed the accession to the India ...

, located in the forest-covered region of Kashipur. Currently, it is Kasipur Block of Rayagada Dist. As a child, he attended a school named Tati Ghera, where his father worked as a teacher. After moving to his maternal uncle's house in Bhawanipatna, he enrolled in classes in 1946 in Rajendra College,

Bolangir Balangir also known as Bolangir, is a city and municipality, the headquarters of Balangir district in the state of Odisha, India. Balangir has one of the best cultural heritage in India. It is also known as one of the finest places for tourist ...

. He then received his Bachelors and Master of Arts at the University in

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nagpur is projected to ...

. In 1951, he returned to

Bhawanipatna Bhawanipatna is a city and headquarters of the Kalahandi district, in the Indian state of Odisha. Bhawanipatna has numerous temples dedicated to different deities of the Hindu pantheon. It is named after the presiding deity, Bhawani-Shankar an ...

and began teaching at the Braja Mohan High School.

Social Work

After numerous deaths due to starvation were reported in the Kalahandi district, Pattnaik and activist

Kapil Narayan Tiwari Kapil Narayan Tiwari (4 June 1929 – 21 September 2022) was an Indian activist and politician who served in the Orissa Legislative Assembly from 1977 to 1980, representing the Khariar Assembly constituency. Initially elected as an independent ...

filed a public interest litigation against the State of Odisha.

Political Activism and Election

In 1962, 27-year-old Kishen Pattnaik became one of the youngest candidates elected from the Sambalpur parliamentary constituency. In 1995, along with leaders like Jugal Kishore Roybir, Bhai Vaidya and emerging youths like Sunil, Adv. Joshy Jacob, Kishen Pattnaik co-founded Samajwadi Jana Parishad.

Publications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pattnaik, Kishen 1930 births 2004 deaths Lok Sabha members from Odisha Indian independence activists from Odisha Indian social reformers People from Bhawanipatna India MPs 1962–1967 Activists from Odisha Indian schoolteachers Scholars from Odisha People from Sambalpur district Praja Socialist Party politicians Social leaders