A Lawyer in a coastal Odisha district has made Jagatsinghpur district collector the nominee for two fixed deposit accounts worth Rs 14 lakh to fulfill his desire to give back to the society.
Though civil lawyer Basudeb (he does not use any surname) of Jagatsinghpur district had made the district collector the nominee in two fixed deposits accounts worth Rs 2 lakh and Rs 12 lakh, owned by him and his wife, in 2016 and 2019 respectively, he revealed it about a week ago.
“As the Covid-19 casualties increased in Odisha, I got scared and decided to let the district collector know about making him the nominee of my accounts in the event of me and my wife’s demise. I have diabetes and was worried and so I let the collector know about it through a WhatsApp message,” said 65-year-old Basudeb, a resident of Sipi village near Jagatsinghpur town of the district.
District collector Sangram Mohapatra said he was surprised when he got the message from Basudeb. “I was taken aback as no one does this. I then met him and his wife. He wants the money to be used for the underprivileged and the downtrodden people in the district,” said Mohapatra. “This spirit of philanthropy would inspire others,” he added.
Basudeb said while society has given everyone a lot, it’s one’s duty to give back as much as possible. “How would the amount in my bank account help if it keeps lying there? It should be of some use to someone in the society,” he said, adding that neither his wife Bidyutprava nor his two lawyer sons opposed his decision. “I have tried to give both my sons, the best education. The elder one is a lawyer in Supreme Court while the younger one practices in Orissa High Court. Let them earn their own bread.”
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A Brahmin and a member of the communist party, Basudeb (Basudeb Sarangi) dropped his surname in 1972 to protest the practice of casteism in the society. He named his elder son Biplab Stalin and younger one Bismay Stalin after the famous Communist leader from former Soviet Russia. However, he became disillusioned with Communism in 1984 and resigned from the party. However, he has been standing up for local causes in his district.
Basudeb’s younger son Bismay Stalin said he was happy with his father’s decision of making the state government a nominee in his fixed deposit. “I am proud to be his son,” he said.
The 65-year-old Basudeb is not done yet, he next plans to sell about.0.2 acres of his land and donate the proceeds to a trust.
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