Jakarta: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday recalled the historic rescue of Indonesian leaders by former Odisha Chief Minister Biju Patnaik and praised former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s role in supporting the South-East Asian country’s independence.
Modi, who became the first Indian prime minister to address the Indonesian parliament Tuesday, recalled how New Delhi became a strong voice for Jakarta’s independence movement at the United Nations.
“There is so much that our ancestors experienced together. Both our nations endured long periods of foreign rule. We gained our independence at almost the same time, Indonesia in 1945 and India in 1947,” Modi told the Indonesian parliament.
He further said: “The role played by the respected Biju Patnaik, and the way he safely brought Prime Minister Sutan Sjahrir and Vice President Mohammad Hatta to India, brought our two nations even closer together.”
Following Indonesia’s declaration of independence from Dutch rule August 17, 1945, the Dutch placed Sjahrir and Hatta under house arrest in Jakarta.
In July 1947, Nehru, yet to officially take charge as India’s first prime minister, ordered a covert operation to rescue the two leaders, tasking Patnaik, who was an ace pilot, with their extraction.
Patnaik and his co-pilot wife, Gyanwati Patnaik, flew a Dakota aircraft to Indonesia and safely extracted both leaders, bringing them to New Delhi via Singapore despite Dutch threats to shoot down the aircraft.
In his speech, Modi referred to India’s Republic Day celebrations in 1950, when then Indonesian president Sukarno was the chief guest.
He also mentioned the Bandung Conference – the historic 1955 summit of 29 newly independent Asian and African countries that promoted cooperation, opposed colonialism and laid the groundwork for the Non-Aligned Movement.
Nehru, who was then India’s prime minister, was one of its organisers.
“President Sukarno and Prime Minister Nehru gave a clear message to the world that independent nations have the right to take their own decisions,” said Modi.
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