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{{Short description|Indian politician (1899 – 1987)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = Utkal Keshari
| birth_name = Harekrushna Das
| name = Harekrushna Mahatab
| native_name =
| native_name_lang = or
| image = Harekrushna Mahatab 2000 stamp of India.jpg
| caption = Mahatab on a 2000 stamp of India
| order = 1st
| office = Chief Minister of Odisha
| term_start1 = 26 January 1950
| term_end1 = 12 May 1950
| predecessor1 = ''Office Established'' (himself as [[Prime Minister of Orissa]])
| successor1 = [[Nabakrushna Choudhuri]]
| term_start = 19 October 1956
| term_end = 25 February 1961
| predecessor = [[Nabakrushna Choudhuri]]
| successor = [[Bijayananda Pattanaik]]
| order2 = 3rd
| office2 = Prime Minister of Orissa
| term_start2 = 23 April 1946
| term_end2 = 26 January 1950
| predecessor2 = [[Krushna Chandra Gajapati]]
| successor2 = ''Position Abolished'' (himself as [[Chief Minister of Orissa]])
| office3 = [[List of Governors of Bombay|Governor of Bombay]]
| term_start3 = 2 March 1955
| term_end3 = 14 October 1956
| 1blankname3 = Chief Minister
| 1namedata3 = [[Morarji Desai]]
| predecessor3 = [[Girija Shankar Bajpai]]
| successor3 = [[Sri Prakasa]]
| office4 = [[Member of Parliament]], [[Lok Sabha]]
| term4 = 1952–1955
| predecessor4 =
| successor4 = [[Nityanand Kanungo]]
| constituency4 = [[Cuttack (Lok Sabha constituency)|Cuttack]]
| term5 = 1962–1967
| predecessor5 = Badakumar Pratap Gangadeb
| successor5 = D. N. Deb
| constituency5 = [[Deogarh (Lok Sabha constituency)|Deogarh]]
| office6 = [[Minister of Commerce and Industry (India)|Minister of Commerce and Industry of India]]
| term_start6 = 13 May 1950
| term_end6 = 26 December 1950
| predecessor6 = [[Syama Prasad Mukherjee]]
| successor6 = [[Nityanand Kanungo]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1899|11|21}}
| birth_place = [[Bhadrak district|Agarpada]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]] (now in [[Odisha]])
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1987|01|02|1899|11|21}}
| party = [[Indian National Congress]] [[Orissa Jana Congress]] [[Janata Party]]
| spouse = Subhadra Devi
| children = [[Jashoda Kumari Jagaddeb]]
[[Bhartruhari Mahtab]]
| alma_mater = [[Ravenshaw College]]
| website =
| source = https://loksabha.nic.in/writereaddata/biodata_1_12/823.htm
| module = {{Infobox writer
| embed = yes
| pseudonym =
| language = Odia, English
| period = Colonial/Post Colonial India
| genre = History, Biographies, Academic Theses
| subjects = Indian Politics, History
| movement =
| notable_works = {{transliteration|or|Gaon Majlis}}
| awards = Sahitya Akademi Award
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| years_active =
}}
}}
'''Harekrushna Mahatab''' (born '''Harekrushna Das''', 21 November 1899 – 2 January 1987) was a leader of the [[Indian National Congress]], a notable figure in the [[Indian independence movement]] and the Chief Minister of [[Odisha]] from 1946 to 1950 and from 1956 to 1961. He was popularly known by the sobriquet "Utkal Keshari".

==Early life==
Harekrushna Mahtab was born at Agarpada village in [[Bhadrak district]] of [[Odisha]] to Krushna Charan Das and Tohapha Debi in an aristocratic [[Kshatriya]] family.<ref>{{Cite web |title=rediff.com: The evil that envelopes Orissa |url=https://m.rediff.com/news/2000/feb/14oriss.htm |access-date=2024-10-03 |website=m.rediff.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mishra |first=Digambar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SbsMAAAAYAAJ&q=mahatab |title=Political Behavior of Indian State Governors: A Study of the Role of Governor in Orissa |date=2003 |publisher=Saṁskṛiti |isbn=978-81-87374-19-0 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nanda |first=Chandi Prasad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FzNFDwAAQBAJ&q=mahatab+Khandayat&pg=PA267 |title=Vocalizing Silence: Political Protests in Orissa, 1930-42 |publisher=[[SAGE Publishing|SAGE Publishing India]] |year=2008 |isbn=9789352802500 |pages=267 |quote=... Brahmin vs Karan —Nilakantha representing the former and Mahatab the latter.}}</ref> He was adopted by his maternal grandfather Jaganath Mahtab, a zamindar of Agarpada.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Nanda|first1=CP|last2=Das|first2=MN|title=Builders of Modern India: Harekrushna Mahtab|date=2001 |publisher=Publications Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India |isbn=978-81-230-0905-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/harekrushnamahta00dasm/mode/2up}}</ref> After passing his matriculation examination from Bhadrak High School, he joined [[Ravenshaw College]], [[Cuttack]] but left his studies in 1921 to join the independence movement.<ref name="orissa">{{cite web|url=http://orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2011/Nov/engpdf/46-50.pdf|date=30 November 2011|title=Dr. Harekrushna Mahatab – A Curious Combination of Conspicuous Characteristics|author=Dr. Narayan Panda|access-date=1 October 2014|archive-date=6 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006092441/http://orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2011/Nov/engpdf/46-50.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="orissa2">{{cite web|url=http://orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/orissaannualreference/OR-Annual-2009/pdf/419-429.pdf|date=16 June 2010|title=ORISSA REFERENCE ANNUAL – 2009|access-date=1 October 2014|archive-date=16 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516110624/http://orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/orissaannualreference/OR-Annual-2009/pdf/419-429.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="docstoc">{{cite web|url=http://www.docstoc.com/docs/127646254/newsd19|title=ALUMNI: Dr. Harekrushna Mahtab|publisher=docstoc.com|access-date=1 October 2014|archive-date=6 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006120221/http://www.docstoc.com/docs/127646254/newsd19|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Political career==
In 1922, Mahatab was imprisoned and charged with sedition. He was the Chairman of Balasore District Board from 1924 to 1928. He became a member of Bihar and Odisha Council in 1924. He joined the [[Salt Satyagraha]] movement and was imprisoned again in 1930. He was elected as the General Officer Commanding of Congress Sevadal for the [[All India Congress Committee|AICC]] session at Puri in 1932 and was arrested when the party was banned. He participated in the movement against [[untouchability]] in 1934 and opened his ancestral temple to all for the first time in Odisha. Later, he started Gandhi Karma Mandir at Agarpada. He was the President of Utkal Pradesh Congress Committee from 1930 to 1931 and again in 1937. He was nominated to the Congress Working Committee by [[Subhas Chandra Bose]] in 1938 and continued till 1946 and again from 1946 to 1950. He was the President of State Peoples' Enquiry Committee in 1938 and recommended cancellation of Sanada of the rulers and merger of the erstwhile princely states with Odisha Province. He insisted on complete merger and not to leave any administrative control with the states. He was the initiator of the smaller states in orissa which was the first merger in the country. He participated in the [[Quit India Movement]] in 1942 and was imprisoned from 1942 to 1945.<ref name="gandhitopia">{{cite web|url=http://www.gandhitopia.org/profiles/blogs/harekrushna-mahatab|title=Harekrushna Mahatab – GandhiTopia|publisher=gandhitopia.org|access-date=1 October 2014|archive-date=6 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006102102/http://www.gandhitopia.org/profiles/blogs/harekrushna-mahatab|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="bhadrak">{{cite web|url=http://bhadrak.nic.in/freedomfighter.htm|title=~* Welcome to Bhadrak (Orissa) : The Official Website *~|publisher=bhadrak.nic.in|access-date=1 October 2014|archive-date=3 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103011311/http://bhadrak.nic.in/freedomfighter.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Mahatab was the first Chief Minister of Odisha from 23 April 1946 to 12 May 1950. He was the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry from 1950 to 1952. He became the secretary general of the Congress Parliamentary Party in 1952. He was the Governor of Bombay from 1955 to 1956.<ref name="bhadrak"/><ref name="google">{{cite book|title=Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev|author1=Khrushchev, N.S.|author2=Khrushchev, S.|date=2007|issue=v. 3|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|isbn=9780271029351|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nR0f25dmbn0C}}</ref><ref name="google2">{{cite book|title=While Serving My Nation: Recollections of a Congress Man|author=Mahtab, H.|date=1986|publisher=Vidyapuri|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rRYeAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> After resigning from Governorship in 1956, he again became the Chief Minister of Odisha from 1956 to 1960. During his tenures as the Chief Minister, he played a significant role in the merger and integration of former princely states, shifting of the capital from [[Cuttack]] to [[Bhubaneshwar]] and the sanction and construction of the multi-purpose Hirakud Dam Project. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1962 from [[Angul (Lok Sabha constituency)|Angul]] and became the vice-president of the Indian National Congress in 1966. In 1966, he resigned from the Congress and led the [[Orissa Jana Congress]]. He was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly in 1967, 1971 and 1974. He was imprisoned in 1976 for protesting against the [[The Emergency (India)|Emergency]].<ref name="google3">{{cite book|title=Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh: National Upsurge|author=Chitkara, G.|date=2004|publisher=A.P.H. Publishing Corporation|isbn=9788176484657|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ifuxzl9NM5sC|page=289}}</ref>

==Intellectual pursuits==
He was the founder of the [[Prajatantra Prachar Samiti]] and started the weekly magazine ''Prajatantra'' in 1923 at Balasore, which later became the ''Daily Prajatantra''. He was the chief editor of a monthly journal ''Jhankar'' since its inception. He also published the Weekly English paper ''The Eastern Times'' and was its chief editor.

He received the [[Sahitya Academy award]] in 1983 for the third volume of his well-known work, ''Gaon Majlis''.<ref name="orissa3">{{cite web|url=http://orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/orissaannualreference/ORA-2011/pdf/90-91.pdf|date=6 September 2012|title=RECIPIENTS OF KENDRA SAHITYA ACADEMY AWARD FOR ODIA LITERATURE|access-date=1 October 2014|archive-date=22 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322013419/http://orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/orissaannualreference/ORA-2011/pdf/90-91.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Awards and honours==
He was the President of [[Orissa Sahitya Academy]] and Sangit Natak Academy for a couple of terms. He received an [[honorary Doctorate]] degree from [[Andhra University]], an honorary D.Litt. from [[Utkal University]] and an honorary Doctorate of Law from [[Sagar University]].<ref name="orissa4">{{cite web|url=http://orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2010/November/engpdf/14-16.pdf|date=6 January 2011|title=Dr. Harekrushna Mahatab : A Versatile Genius|author=Dr. Bhagabat Tripathy|access-date=1 October 2014|archive-date=6 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006091301/http://orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2010/November/engpdf/14-16.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="orissa5">{{cite web|url=http://orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2011/Apr/engpdf/10-18.pdf|date=16 April 2011|title=The Makers of Modern Orissa|author=FAKIR MOHAN SENAPATI|access-date=1 October 2014|archive-date=29 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193247/http://orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2011/Apr/engpdf/10-18.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> 
The Odisha State Central Library, the apex library of the state public library system of Odisha is named after him as [[Harekrushna Mahtab State Library]]. It was established in 1959 with 3 acre campus at state capital, [[Bhubaneswar]].<ref>[http://hkmsl.gov.in/ Welcome to Harekrushna Mahtab State Library] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180414131050/http://hkmsl.gov.in/ |date=14 April 2018 }}. Hkmsl.gov.in. Retrieved on 26 November 2018.</ref><ref name="Hada Bajpai 2014 p. 36">{{cite book | last1=Hada | first1=K.S. | last2=Bajpai | first2=R. | title=Integrated Indian Public Library System | publisher=Partridge Publishing India | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-4828-2163-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ye5dBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT36 | access-date=2020-03-19 | page=36}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Harekrushna Mahatab}}
*[http://orissa.gov.in/cmorissa/cm.asp Orissa Chief Ministers List]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090410070616/http://orissagov.nic.in/e-magazine/orissaannualreference/ORA-2005/pdf/name_of_chief_minister.pdf Orissa Chief Ministers]
*[https://loksabha.nic.in/writereaddata/biodata_1_12/823.htm Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website]

{{s-start}}
{{s-gov}}
{{Succession box
|before=[[Bishwanath Das]]
|title= [[List of Chief Ministers of Odisha|Chief Minister of Odisha]]
|years= 23 April 1946 to 12 May 1950
|after= [[Nabakrushna Choudhuri]]
}}
{{succession box
|title=[[List of Governors of Bombay|Governor of Bombay]]
|before=[[Girija Shankar Bajpai]]
|after=[[Sri Prakasa]]
|years=2 March 1955 to 14 October 1956
}}
{{Succession box
|before=[[Nabakrushna Choudhuri]]
|title= [[List of Chief Ministers of Odisha|Chief Minister of Odisha]]
|years= 19 October 1956 to 25 February 1961
|after= [[Biju Pattanaik]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Chief Ministers of Odisha}}
{{Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India)}}
{{Sahitya Akademi Award For Odia}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahatab, Harekrushna}}
[[Category:1899 births]]
[[Category:1987 deaths]]
[[Category:Governors of Bombay]]
[[Category:Chief ministers of Odisha]]
[[Category:Members of the Constituent Assembly of India]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Odisha]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of British India]]
[[Category:Journalists from Odisha]]
[[Category:Indian National Congress politicians from Odisha]]
[[Category:Ravenshaw University alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian journalists]]
[[Category:Odia-language writers]]
[[Category:Indian people imprisoned during the Emergency (India)]]
[[Category:Chief ministers from Indian National Congress]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Odia]]
[[Category:Indian male journalists]]
[[Category:People from Bhadrak district]]
[[Category:Utkal Congress politicians]]
[[Category:Commerce and industry ministers of India]]
[[Category:India MPs 1962–1967]]

Harekrushna Mahatab - Revision history

Ghazal Builders at 13:14, 27 March 2026