BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has proposed that a bust/photograph of Madhusudan Das be unveiled in the precincts of Parliament on the statesman’s 171st birth anniversary.“It would be a befitting tribute to Madhu Babu and a great source of pride to the people of Odisha if a bust/photograph of Madhusudan Das is unveiled in the precincts of Parliament preferably on his 171st birth anniversary on April 28,” Pradhan said in a letter to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Thursday.
The Minister also sought her personal audience to discuss the proposal and take the matter further.Stating that Madhu Babu was a distinguished freedom fighter, social reformer, literary figure and statesman who worked tirelessly for the uplift and welfare of Odia people besides being the prime mover of the campaign for formation of a separate state of Odisha, the Union Minister said his contributions earned him the title of ‘Utkal Gaurav’.
Pradhan said Madhu Babu has many firsts to his name and was a strong advocate of woman empowerment. “Madhu babu established the first women’s college at Cuttack and had spearheaded the amendment to the Legal Practitioners Act which allowed women law graduates to enter legal profession in 1923.
Describing Madhu Babu as a visionary entrepreneur who started one of the first industries in Odisha-the Utkal Tannery in 1905, Pradhan said he also established the Odisha Artware Works which employed nearly 150 artisans. “A prominent literary figure and editor of the English newspaper ‘The Odiya’, Madhu Babu was a bug source of inspiration for many Indian leaders including Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi,” he said.