Mihir Sen
Mihir Sen was a famous Indian long distance swimmer and lawyer. He was the first Asian to conquer the English Channel from Dover to Calais in 1958, and did so in the fastest time. He was the only man to swim the oceans of the five continents in one calendar year. These included the Palk Strait, Dardanelles, Bosphorus, Gibraltar, and the entire length of the Panama Canal. This unique achievement earned him a place in The Guinness Book of Records as the "world's greatest long distance swimmer".
Early life
Mihir Sen was born in a Baidya-Brahmin family on 16 November 1930 in Purulia, West Bengal, to physician Ramesh Sengupta and his wife, Lilabati. Largely due to the efforts of his mother Lilabati, the Sens moved to Cuttack when Mihir was eight, as Cuttack had better schools.Mihir graduated with a degree in law from Utkal University in Bhubaneswar in Odisha. He wanted to travel to England to prepare himself for the bar but was constrained by a lack of funds. However, with the financial help of then Chief Minister of Orissa, Biju Patnaik in 1950 he was able to board a ship to England to pursue his studies.
Life in England
In England, Sen was hired at India House by the Indian Ambassador Krishna Menon. He enrolled at Lincoln's Inn to study Law on 21 February 1951. He self-studied from the books he borrowed from their library. He was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn on 23 November 1954.Swimming career
Sen read an article in a local newspaper about Florence Chadwick, the first American woman to swim the English Channel in 1950, and was inspired to repeat this feat for his country. At this time, he had hardly any experience in swimming, so sought lessons in at the local YMCA until he mastered the front crawl technique.On 27 September 1958, he catapulted to fame after conquering the English Channel from Dover to Calais in the fourth fastest time. He returned to India a National Hero and was considered to be one of the most prominent youth icons of his generation. In 1959, he was awarded the Padma Shri by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
He then set out to become the first man to swim the oceans of the five continents in one calendar year. Initially, he needed to raise Rs 45,000 to pay the Indian navy to record and navigate the Palk Strait swim. Sen raised half the money through sponsors and the balance was provided by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. She further extended full support of the Indian Navy to accompany him for the Palk Strait swim. Sen became the first Indian on record to swim across the Palk Straits on 5–6 April 1966 between Ceylon and Dhanushkodi in 25 hours and 36 minutes. On 24 August, he became the first Asian to cross the Straits of Gibraltar in 8 hours and 1 minute, and on 12 September became the world's first man to swim across the 40-mile long Dardanelles in 13 hours and 55 minutes. In the same year, Sen was also the first Indian to swim the Bosphorus in 4 hrs and the first non-American to swim across the entire of the Panama Canal in 34 hrs and 15 mins on 29–31 October.
This achievement earned him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for long distance swimming and he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1967 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In the same year, he also won the Blitz Nehru Trophy for 'daring achievements in the seven seas of the world.'
Life in India
After his return to India in 1958, he was denied entry into the clubs due to their "whites only" policy. This compelled him to lead a high-profile media campaign to abolish this rule, and, as a result, clubs throughout India were forced to open their doors to all Indians. He initially practised Criminal Law at the Calcutta High Court, but subsequently became a successful businessman.In 1977, the Communist leader Jyoti Basu requested him to join and campaign for the Communist Party of India in return for a high-profile government post, which Sen refused. With the CPI victory, Basu attacked Sen's business and steadily undermined its functioning until it was forced to shut down permanently.