Former OSA President Professor Digambar Mishra Passes Away
Balasore, 23/4 (Krushna Kumar Mohanty): Professor Digambar Mishra, former president of the Odisha Society of the Americas (OSA), has passed away at the age of 87 in Birmingham, USA, where he had been residing for over five decades. A distinguished academician, Dr. Mishra was widely respected for his critical thinking, leadership, and deep commitment to community service, which inspired many.
Born on May 8, 1938, in Kamalpura village of Jajpur district, the late Professor Mishra earned a postgraduate degree in Arts from Utkal University in 1967. He later obtained a Master’s in Public Administration and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Alabama. He made a lasting impact as a professor and Head of the Department of Political Science at Miles College, Birmingham.
Dr. Mishra served as the President of OSA from 1991 to 1993, during which time he played a pivotal role in strengthening the Odia community in North America. In 2003, he published a book titled Political Behavior of Indian Governors, based on his research on the role of Governors in Indian states. In 2006, he received the “Distinguished Odia” award from the Non-Resident Odia Facilitation Center (NROFC).
He is survived by his wife Jyotsna Mishra, son Anup, daughter-in-law Manisha, daughter Likun, son-in-law Kumar, and three grandchildren.
His demise has been mourned by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy Chief Minister Prabhati Parida, Chairman and Managing Director of Eastern Media Ltd. Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, Germany-based Rajendra Narayan Das, former Chief Secretary Sahadev Sahu, Agriculture Secretary Dr. Arvind Padhee, former ministers Sanjay Das Burma, Debi Prasad Mishra and Ashok Chandra Panda, former MLA Priyadarshi Mishra, poet Saubhagya Kumar Mishra, Debadas Chhotaray, Dhirendra Kar, writer Gourahari Das, Satya Pattanaik, Professor Bijay Mishra, and Dr. Aditya Samal of Utkal Hospital, among many others.
