Madhusudan_Das

VI
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MADHUSUDAN
BIMALKRISHNA PAL
MADHUSUDAN IN THE EYES OF HIS CONTEMPORARY
It is rightly said that 'the life history of Madhusudan is the
history of Modern Orissa.' This was realised when Madhusudan passed
away on 4th February. 1934. On 5th February late Janakinath Bose (father
of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose) made a touching reference to this fact in
the Cuttack Circuit Court of the Patna High Court in the following words :
My Lords, with a heavy heart I have to mention the sad
death of Mr. M.S.Das whose life history for the last fifty years has
been the history of Modern Orissa. When heart is full, voice is
silenced and I have not yet fully shaken off the shock which I
felt when I heard of his demise. Your Lordships will find that his
was a varied and useful career. In fact, when I look round me I
find that it will be extremely difficult if not impossible, to find
any man to fill up the gap that he has created by his death. He
combined in himself, if I may be permitted to mention, three
distinct cultures. Being the son of the soil belonging to a very
respectable Karan family at Cuttack, he imbibed ancient and
comparatively modem culture of Orissa. Then he went to Calcutta
to get his education there and came in contact with very learned
and respectable Missionaries there, and he thereby imbibed the
best of the European culture, and if I am permitted to say, he
freely mixed with most respectable families of Bengal and thereby
he also imbibed many a peculiarity of Bengali culture. To my
mind he always appeared to be the embodiment of three distinct
cultures that we knew of. My Lords. I had the honour and
privilege of associating with him for nearly fifty years and I can
say it is very difficult to find a learned and cultured man like
him. He loved his mother country with all his heart, with all his
soul, and I think, though he is dead he is still living and then he
will be searching the interest of Orissa from above. As an
educationist, he began his career as a school master and he did
very well as such; in fact if your Lordships will excuse me, when
I say that I learnt my grammar from the 'Model Questions' that he
had been publishing at Calcutta when I think he was the