Sarat Kumar Kar is a politician and writer from Odisha, India. He is a member of the Biju Janata Dalpolitical party. He was a member of the 6th Lok Sabha and was elected three times to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Mahanga. Kar became the Minister for Education and Culture in 1971 in the Biswanath Das led coalition Government. He was probably the youngest Cabinet Minister in Odisha's political history and the record remains intact till today. He was elected as a Janata Party MP in 1977 from Cuttack after defeating Congress stalwart and the then sitting Union Minister, Shri J.B.Patnaik. He was the speaker of the Twelfth Assembly from 10 March 2000 to 21 May 2004. He joined politics in 1964 after completing his Masters in Political Science from the prestigious Allahabad University. During his Allahabad University days, he had the opportunity to interact with Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri who inspired him to join politics. Shri Kar participated in the political meetings of Shri Shastri and became a member of the AICC. Shri Shastri asked him to meet Shri Biju Patnaik after returning to Odisha. Shri Kar met Shri Biju Patnaik. Biju babu took a liking for him and Shri Kar remained his close confidant till Biju babu breathed his last. Shri Kar has written four poetry books, one long fiction, one spiritual book and hundreds of articles in newspapers and magazines on literary, social, spiritual and political topics in Odia. He is a prolific orator on politics and culture. A great devotee of Lord Jagannath, he has been giving commentary on the Lord's Car Festival on All India Radio, Doordarshan and private TV channels for the last 45 years. His spouse, Smt. Anima Mishra Kar, is a retired Professor in English. She is an accomplished singer and was an "A" Grade artist for All India Radio, Cuttack through the 1960s to the 1990s. His elder son, Shri Suman Kar is a Lecturer in English in Bhubaneswar. His younger son, Shri Sobhan Kar, is an Indian Revenue Service officer and works for the Government of India at New Delhi.
