Noted Odia Writer & Cultural Activist Hussain Rabi Gandhi Passes Away

Cuttack: Hussain Rabi Gandhi, a distinguished Odia author and former President of the Odisha Sahitya Akademi, passed away on Saturday at the age of 75.

The Litterateur was receiving treatment for a number of ailments at SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack.

Hussain joined the unified Janata Dal in 1988 under the persuasion of Former Odisha CM Late Biju Patnaik and was chosen as the General Secretary. He was also the Biju Janata Dal’s general secretary from 1998 to 2005. He has also performed the role of party observer in Sambalpur and Deogarh.

Gandhi, a former editor of the official publication of the State Government (Utkal Prasanga), served as the co-founder and secretary of the Maulana Azad Multipurpose College in Cuttack.

He received the Gangadhar Meher Kabita award, Utkala Jyoti, and Biplabi Loka Kabi for his outstanding contributions to the sphere of Odia poetry.