Baxipatra worked for social justice, says Governor

BHUBANESWAR: Veteran socialist and former minister Harishchandra Baxipatra worked all his life for social justice and upliftment of downtrodden people of the society, said Governor Raghubar Das.Addressing a function to mark the 90th birth anniversary of Baxipatra here, the Governor said a socialist ideology and commitment to it is essential for serving people.

There are various ways to make this into reality and Baxipatra translated these into main ideals of his life. Stating education is vital for progress and social change, Das said Baxipatra had utilised it for empowering the downtrodden.

“His ‘sadhana’ to help the poor and backward in society will remain an inspiration for people,” he said. Delivering the Harishchandra Baxipatra memorial lecture, former foreign secretary and diplomat Shyam Saran said Baxipatra was a man of many talents. He always worked for people in  fields like politics and journalism, he said.

Stating Odisha has a long and rich history of relations with neighbouring countries, Saran referred to Baliyatra from the coast of the state and its close relations with Indonesia. He said India came out unscathed from the cold war days, because it was non-aligned. India emerged as a leader in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and got an international profile. Saran said after 1991, the cold war was over and the world is now dominated by only one super power-USA. But issue-based alignment remains the corner stone of India’s foreign policy, he said and added, “We are now in the threshold of a new world order.”

While former state election commissioner Sanjib Chandra Hota was the guest of honour, former finance minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadei presided over the function. General secretary of the memorial committee Lopamudra Baxipatra also spoke.