Janaki Ballabh Patnaik

Janaki Ballabh Patnaik was an Indian politician who had been 25th Governor of Assam from 2009 to 2014. A leader of the Indian National Congress, he was Chief Minister of Odisha from 1980 to 1989 and again from 1995 to 1999, holding that post for the longest time on record before Naveen Patnaik. In 1950, he became the President of the Odisha state unit of the youth wing of the Congress. In 1980, he became the Union Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation and Labour from 16 January to 7 June.

Personal life

He was born in a humble Karan family. His father Gokulananda Patnaik was a reputed writer and teacher. He married Jayanti Patnaik in 1953, a four-time Member of Parliament and first Chairperson of National Commission for Women. He completed his schooling from Khurda High School, he graduated in Sanskrit from Utkal University in 1947 and received his master's degree in political science from the Banaras Hindu University in 1949.
He was accused of involvement in the Anjana Mishra case.

He died on Tuesday, 21 April 2015, aged 88 at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. On Monday, 20 April 2015, he had gone to attend the convocation of Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, of which he was chancellor, and also visited the Lord Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala. Later in the night, he complained of severe chest pain and was subsequently shifted to Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences where he died at around 3:00 am. on 21 April. He leaves behind a legacy of having translated the Mahabharata, the Ramayana and the Bhagavad Gita into Odia, as he was a Sanskrit-Odia scholar.