Nilakantha Das

Who is Nilakantha Das?

Pandit Nilakantha Das, was born on 5 August 1884 in the village Sri Ramchandrapur of Puri district. He was one of the comrades of 'Pancha Sakha' of 'Satyabadi Era'. He was an orator, politician, social reformer and patriot. He was awarded an M. Phil. by the University of Calcutta. He denied a lucrative job under British Government and worked as a headmaster of Satyabadi High School. He was also a great writer and orator. His speeches inspired the young generation to fight against untouchability and other social evils. He died on 6 November 1967.

In 1951 he was elected to Odisha Legislative Assembly from 'Swadhin Jana Sangha' a new party. In 1955 as per request of Jawaharlal Nehru he joined Congress. He was re-elected in 1957 from Congress.