The Ministry of Culture is celebrating the  125th birth anniversary of Dr. Harekrushna Mahtab. 

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• A commemorative stamp and coin were released by the President.
• Three books were launched:
• • Harekrushna Mahtab: A Monograph in Odia by Baishnaba Charan Samal.
  • Gaon Majlis translations in English (by Tarun Kumar Sahu) and Hindi (by Sujata Shiven).

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Key Contributions of Dr. Harekrushna Mahtab

• Freedom Struggle: He  actively participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement, Salt Satyagraha, and various other freedom struggles against British colonial rule.
• Political Roles:
• • Served as the Chief Minister of Odisha.
  • Held the position of Union Minister for Commerce and Industry.
  • Elected unopposed to the Lok Sabha in 1962.
  • He was appointed the Governor of Bombay province in 1955.
• Impact on Odisha: He played a pivotal role in the industrialization of Odisha & its integration into the Union of India.
• Literary Achievements: He got awards for works like “History of Orissa” and “Gaon Majlis”.
  • He also published the Weekly English paper The Eastern Times and was its chief editor.
• Philosophical Influences: He was Influenced by great personalities like Swami Vivekananda, Ramkrishna Paramhansa, & Mahatma Gandhi.
• He was known as ‘Utkal Keshari’.
• In 1918, Mahatab joined the Utkal Sammilani, a social and cultural organisation founded in 1903 by the social reformer Madhusudan Das