Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hailed the role of former Odisha chief minister Biju Patnaik in bringing India and Indonesia closer with his daring evacuation of top Indonesian independence leaders.
In his address to the Indonesian parliament during the ongoing state visit, Modi said that both India and Indonesia gained independence around the same time and when it came to sovereignty as independent nations, India became a strong voice in support of Indonesia’s independence movement at the United Nations.
He further heaped praise on the former Odisha CM, saying the “role played by the respected Biju Patnaik during that period- the way he safely brought Prime Minister Sutan Sjahrir and Vice President Mohammad Hatta to India brought the two nations closer.”
Highlighting the maritime connectivity between the two countries, Prime Minister Modi further asserted that the sea has worked as a bridge between India and Indonesia.
“For India and Indonesia, the sea has never represented distance. It has always been a bridge between our nations and remains central to our shared future,” he added.
How Patnaik, wife Gyanwati extracted then Indonesian PM and Vice President?
After the World War II, Indonesia declared independence from the Dutch on August 17, 1945. However, the Dutch attacked the country to reclaim their former colony, placing Indonesian Prime Minister Sutan Sjahrir and Vice-President Mohammad Hatta under house arrest in Jakarta.
However, Jawaharlal Nehru ordered a covert operation to rescue the Indonesian leaders. Nehru tasked Biju Patnaik with extraction of the two leaders from.house arrest in Indonesia.
On Nehru’s orders, Patnaik and his co-pilot wife, Gyanwati Patnaik, flew a Dakota aircraft to Indonesia in July 1947 and safely extracted both Sutan Sjahrir and Mohammad Hatta.
According to historical accounts, the Dutch threatened Patnaik that they will shoot his aircraft. However, Patnaik told them that India will target Dutch aircraft flying over its airspace if they attacked his plane.
On July 24, Patnaik safely brought Sjahrir and Hatta to New Delhi via Singapore.