Daily Current Affairs Article 25th January 2021: Tucked away inside the Indonesian Embassy in New Delhi is a special room — one that has been built in recognition the nation’s freedom struggle from Dutch colonialism 74 years ago, and named, unusually, for an Indian leader, Biju Patnaik.
The former Chief Minister of Odisha, who was a skilled pilot, flew several missions in 1947 to transport Indonesian leaders, including the nation’s tallest leader, President Sukarno, Vice-President Hatta and Prime Minister Sutan Sjahrir out of Indonesia, at grave risk to himself.
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Eventually, Indonesia won back its freedom. In 1950, President Sukarno was the chief guest at India’s first Republic Day, and India-Indonesia ties remained strong for the next decade.
Relations between the two countries soured after Indonesia didn’t support India in the 1962 war with China.
Relations were revived only decades later, when in 2005, India and Indonesia signed a Strategic Partner- ship agreement; military exchanges and trade ties have grown since.
The newly-inaugurated Patnaik room, is a reminder not only of the historical bonds between the two countries, but the imperative of keeping ties strong in the present as well.
