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.