Cuttack: Noted writer Hussain Rabi Gandhi passed away while undergoing treatment at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Odisha’s Cuttack city on Saturday. He was 75.
The former president of Odisha Sahitya Akademi, Hussain basically wrote in Odia language and was conferred with the Secular India Harmony Award by the former President Giani Zail Singh in 1993 and the Gangadhar Meher Kabita award in 2015 for his notable contributions to the field of Odia poetry.
Inspired by Biju Patnaik, he joined the Janata Dal in 1988 and was the general secretary of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on its formation in 1998 and continued to hold the post till 2005. He was one of the founding members of the party.
Mourning his death, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said Gandhi had a long association with Biju Patnaik and later with BJD. “He has contributed immensely in strengthening the Biju Janata Dal and promoted the values of Biju Babu and BJD.”
An established writer, who contributed immensely to Odia literature, his death is a great loss to the State, Naveen added.
.
