Nirvik Bureau, Bhubaneswar, 13 Oc October 2024
Political legend and cultural icon, late Sarat Kumar Kar’s 4th death anniversary was observed in his constituency Mahanga and also at Bhubaneswar yesterday. Kar had passed away on 12th October 2020.
At Mahanga, his admirers and supporters observed his death anniversary in the morning under the banner of ‘Sarat Premi Parivar’. The event was organised at Kuanpal opposite the Mahanga Block office where a statue of Kar stands. The event commenced with the garlanding of Kar’s statue by the guests and his supporters. Shri Amar Prasad Satpathy, former Minister, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. He remembered the late leader’s contributions to Mahanga and Odisha as a political leader and also as a torch bearer of Odia literature and culture. He highlighted the extremely close relationship between late Shri Biju Patnaik and Kar. Congress leader, Shri Debendra Kumar Sahoo, was the Chief Speaker and spoke about his childhood memories of Kar when the latter was a young Minister representing Mahanga. He recalled the tragic death of Kar due to Covid and how the State Government failed to give him a state funeral with a Guard of Honour. Guest of Honour, Gandhian Shri Sarojbandhu Das, former Chairman of Mahanga Block, recollected his close association with Kar. He said that Kar was such a talented and astute politician that he could have been the CM of Odisha or even the PM of India. Shri Sobhan Kar, younger son of late Sarat Kumar Kar, called upon the people of Mahanga to work selflessly to restore the lost glory of their assembly constituency. The event was presided over by Shri Rudra Narayan Singh, former President of Mahanga BJD. Dozens of admirers of late Shri Kar – Ramachandra Swain, Nabakishore Goswami, Ramachandra Behera, Shaikh Abdul Quddus, Ramachandra Mohapatra, Badal Mishra, Labangalata Rout, Hrushikesh Behera, Suvendu Samal, Chaitanya Pani, Kanhu Charan Sahu, Bisweswar Mohanty and others – also spoke about him in glowing terms. Shri Gyanaranjan Tripathy proposed a vote of thanks.
At Bhubaneswar, a state-level event was organised by the Sarat Kar & Anima Kar Foundation at Jayadev Bhawan. The function was presided over by Shri Sobhan Kar, Chairman of the Foundation. The programme began with a minute’s silent prayer for Late Shri Kar and Late Shri Sartaj Swaroop Mathur, uncle of Shri Sobhan Kar and a renowned educationist, researcher and former diplomat who had passed away on 10th October.
The first ever Sarat Kumar Kar Memorial Lecture was delivered by former minister and Congress leader, Shri Prasad Harichandan. He spoke on the topic, Role of Speakers in Today’s Polarised Politics. Shri Harichandan spoke about the rich tradition of Speakers in the British Parliament and how they strengthened parliamentary traditions. He drew a parallel of that with the sterling performance of Late Shri Kar as the Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly. He mentioned about many landmark Rulings by Shri Kar that demonstrated his neutrality and ability to take strong decisions. He lamented that most Speakers across the nation today are behaving like party men. He concluded by saying that, “Sarat Kar dead is more powerful than Sarat Kar alive.”
Chief Guest, Shri Prasanna Kumar Acharya, Deputy Leader of Opposition, spoke glowingly about Shri Kar’s role as a Speaker, Minister and Member of Parliament. He recollected his experiences with Speakers of the Lok Sabha and compared that with his experiences with Late Shri Kar as the Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly.
On this occasion, the Foundation gave away three newly instituted awards by it. The Rajat Kumar Kar Memorial Award for the Best Young Cultural Personality was given to researcher of Odia literature, Dr. Anup Kumar Martha. The Sarat Kumar Kar Memorial Award for the Best Young Parliamentarian/Legislator was given to BJD MLA, Shri Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo. The award was received by his aunt, Ms. Rupasi Singh Deo as he was out of the State on a prior commitment. The Anima Kar Memorial Award for the Best Young Singer was given to Smt. Lipika Bibhar, an accomplished young singer of the State.
The Foundation also released three books published by it and honoured the three authors – Shri Manas Ranjan Mahapatra, Shri Abani Chandra Das, and Smt. Sasmita Panda. The authors spoke about their books and thanked the Foundation for publishing the books.
Shri Amar Prasad Satpathy, former Minister, was invited to the stage by Shri Sobhan Kar and the former spoke briefly about the achievements and legacy of late Shri Kar.
Shri Sobhan Kar remembered his father as a simple and loving human being who touched the lives of many with compassion and love.
The program was ably coordinated by Shri Abani Chandra Das, Editor, Nirvika and Smt. Sipra Kar. At the end, Shri Suman Kar, Co-Chairman of the Foundation proposed a vote of thanks and invited everyone for dinner.