Indian patriot Biju's historic flight for freedom

Indian patriot Biju's historic flight for freedom

By Juwono Sudarsono

JAKARTA (JP): Compared to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and
Jawaharlal Nehru, many Indonesians have no recognition of Biju
Patnaik, the Indian patriot, entrepreneur and adventurer from
Orissa who took part in a momentous event on July 22 fifty years
ago.

Biju Patnaik personified the essence of Asian nationalism and
true grit. He believed in the unity of the struggle between
Indian movements for independence from the British with
Indonesia's commitment to be rid of Dutch colonialism.

The Marshall Plan was set up in Europe in 1947. That year also
marked the turning point when European powers began to realize
they could no longer control the destiny of its colonies.
Indonesia and Vietnam proclaimed independence in 1945 and India
was soon to follow in August 1947. Ghana in Africa followed a
decade later.

Following the proclamation of Indonesia's independence on Aug.
17, 1945, on July 22, 1947, at the height of the first Dutch
military aggression to regain control over the Indonesian
archipelago, Biju Patnaik dared the fortunes of history to fly
Indonesian prime minister Sutan Sjahrir from Yogyakarta to New
Delhi. That flight and the subsequent publicity of the meeting
between leaders of the New Asia reinforced the rising political
tide of pan-Asia nationalism.

President Sukarno, whose speeches preceding Indonesian
independence often quoted leading Indian nationalist figures, had
invited Prime Minister Nehru to visit Java to see for himself the
political situation in post proclamation Indonesia. Sukarno had
been troubled by the fact that several Indian soldiers under
British command were being deployed to Java to regain Dutch
control under the auspices of the Allied Forces.

Later in 1946, despite adverse economic conditions in
Indonesia at the time, Prime Minister Sjahrir communicated to
Jawaharlal Nehru Indonesia's readiness to send supplies of rice
to India which at the time was suffering from severe shortages of
foodstuff. By Aug. 1946, the first delivery of 6,000 tons was
consummated through the port of Cochin in South India.

Following the Linggajati Agreement between Indonesia and the
Netherlands in March 1947, the Indian government extended de
facto recognition to the Indonesian Republic and invited
Indonesian leaders to attend the Asian Relations Conference in
New Delhi. That conference, which offered moral support to the
newly established republic, strengthened the spirit of Asian
nationalism and subsequently inspired the birth of the Asian
African Conference in Bandung in 1955 and the Nonaligned Movement
in 1961.

Following the Dutch military aggression in July 1947, Prime
Minister Nehru appealed to the conscience of the world. Nehru was
concerned that the safety of Indonesian leaders in Yogyakarta
were at risk. The spirit of the New Asia, he said, would not
tolerate Dutch military action and the compliance of the Western
powers who were concentrating on efforts to build the Western
alliance against communism in post-war Europe.

On July 22, 1947, Nehru dispatched Biju Patnaik on a Dakota
plane to airlift Sjahrir from Yogyakarta to Singapore, from which
he was taken to Delhi. The symbolism of that flight is now part
of our national history, one that is cherished not only for its
audacity but more importantly, for the solidarity that symbolized
the close relations between India and Indonesia.

Biju Patnaik's role was recognized by the Bumiputera award
presented to him by the Indonesian government during President
Sukarno's tenure. In 1995, President Soeharto personally
presented to him Indonesia's highest award to a foreigner, the
Bintang Jasa Utama.

The spirit of partnership and cooperation between India and
Indonesia must endure. The free spirit as well as enlightened
adventurism of a dedicated airman from Crissa -- the Emperor of
Kalinga, as he is often called in India -- shall be preserved,
whatever the differences that may arise between our two
governments and our two peoples.

For the flight of July 22, 1947, though fleeting, inspired
many Indonesian civilian and guerrilla freedom fighters. It was
imbued with the spirit of pan Asianism, underpinned by
collaboration between Indonesia as an emerging nation-state in
Southeast Asia and the awakening of India in South Asia. The
resilience of the Indonesian nation was reinvigorated.

In the current globalized world, the survival of many
developing nations can only be secured through concerted efforts
at building networks of political, economic as well as cultural
partnership and cooperation between North and South. Equally
challenging are the imperatives of South-South cooperation. As
Biju Patnaik showed fifty years ago, we can only reach the future
together if we remain true to the commonality of our cherished
past.