Nilakantha Das

Nilakantha Das (5 August 1884 – 6 November 1967)[1] was an orator, politician and social reformer born in the village Sri Ramchandrapur of Puri district, Bengal Presidency, British India. He was awarded an M. Phil. by the University of Calcutta. He denied a lucrative job under the British Raj and worked as a headmaster of Satyabadi High School.[2] His speeches inspired the youth generation to fight against untouchability and other social evils.

Nilakantha Das
Nilakantha Das's portrait in Odisha State Assembly.
Speaker: 2nd Odisha Legislative Assembly
In office
27 May 1957 – 1 July 1961
Preceded byNanda Kishore Das
Succeeded byLingaraj Panigrahi
ConstituencySatyabadi
Member: 1st and 2nd Odisha Legislative Assembly
In office
1952–1961
ConstituencySatyabadi
Personal details
Born(1884-08-05)5 August 1884
Puri District, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died6 November 1967(1967-11-06) (aged 83)
Political partyIndian National Congress
Other political
affiliations		Swadhin Jana Sangha
EducationMPhil
Alma materUniversity of Calcutta
ProfessionWriter, politician

In 1951, Das was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly as a member of a new political party called Swadhin Jana Sangha.[3] In 1955, he joined the Indian National Congress at the request of Jawaharlal Nehru. He was re-elected in 1957 as a member of that party.

Das was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1960.[4] He died on 6 November 1967.[5]

References
  1. "Pandit Nilakantha & Formation of Orissa Province" (PDF). Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  2. "Eminent Personalities of Orissa". Government of Orissa. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  3. "Odisha Files: Pundit Nilakantha Das". odishafiles.com. 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2013. 1951: Elected to Orissa Legislative Assembly with his new named party 'Swadhin Jana Sangha ';
  4. "Padma Awards Directory (1954–2014)" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs (India). 21 May 2014. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  5. "The Makers of Modern Orissa" (PDF). Retrieved 5 March 2013. Death laid its icy finger on him on 6th November 1967
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