Nityananda Mahapatra (17 June 1912 – 17 April 2012) was an Indian Odia politician, poet and journalist. Political career He was imprisoned three times by the British Raj between 1930 and 1942 for nationalist activities. He came to literary prominence as editor of the Odia magazine Dagara, and as a short story writer after independence. In his political career Mohapatra served as a member of the Odisha Legislative Assembly from 1957 to 1971 and as state Minister of Supply and Cultural Affairs from 1967 to 1971. Death He died on 17 April 2012 at around 9:45am at Kharavelanagar, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, from complications of respiratory failure. He had been in a coma at the Aditya Care Hospital following a breathing problem. He was three months short of his 100th birthday. Literary awards Mahapatra received the Odisha Sahitya Academy Award in 1974 and the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in 1987 for his novel Gharadiha. References 1912 births 2012 deaths People from Bhadrak Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Odia Recipients of the Atibadi Jagannath Das Award Recipients of the Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award State cabinet ministers of Odisha Poets from Odisha Odia-language poets Indian magazine editors 20th-century Indian poets Indian male poets 20th-century Indian male writers