Mihir Sen

Mihir Sen (16 November 1930 – 11 June 1997) was a famous Indian long distance swimmer and lawyer. He was the first Asian to conquer the English Channel from Dover to Calais in 1958, and did so in the fastest time (14 hrs & 45 mins). He was the only man to swim the oceans of the five continents in one calendar year. These included the Palk Strait, Dardanelles, Bosphorus, Gibraltar, and the entire length of the Panama Canal. This unique achievement earned him a place in The Guinness Book of Records as the "world's greatest long distance swimmer".

Early life Mihir Sen was born in a Baidya-Brahmin family on 16 November 1930 in Purulia, West Bengal, to physician Ramesh Sengupta and his wife, Lilabati. Largely due to the efforts of his mother Lilabati, the Sens moved to Cuttack when Mihir was eight, as Cuttack had better schools. in the fourth fastest time (14 hours and 45 minutes). He returned to India a National Hero and was considered to be one of the most prominent youth icons of his generation. In 1959, he was awarded the Padma Shri by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

He then set out to become the first man to swim the oceans of the five continents in one calendar year (1966). Initially, he needed to raise Rs 45,000 to pay the Indian navy to record and navigate the Palk Strait swim. Sen raised half the money through sponsors (notably the Kolkata daily, The Statesman) and the balance was provided by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. She further extended full support of the Indian Navy (The INS Sukanya and the INS Sharada) to accompany him for the Palk Strait swim. Sen became the first Indian on record to swim across the Palk Straits on 5–6 April 1966 between Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Dhanushkodi (India) in 25 hours and 36 minutes. On 24 August, he became the first Asian to cross the Straits of Gibraltar in 8 hours and 1 minute, and on 12 September became the world's first man to swim across the 40-mile long Dardanelles (Gallipoli, Europe to Sedulbahir, Asia minor) in 13 hours and 55 minutes. In the same year, Sen was also the first Indian to swim the Bosphorus (Turkey) in 4 hrs and the first non-American (and third man) to swim across the entire (50-mile length) of the Panama Canal in 34 hrs and 15 mins on 29–31 October.

This achievement earned him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for long distance swimming and he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1967 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In the same year, he also won the Blitz Nehru Trophy for 'daring achievements in the seven seas of the world.'

Life in India

After his return to India in 1958 (shortly after his English Channel victory), he was denied entry into the clubs due to their "whites only" policy. This compelled him to lead a high-profile media campaign to abolish this rule, and, as a result, clubs throughout India were forced to open their doors to all Indians. He initially practised Criminal Law at the Calcutta High Court, but subsequently became a successful businessman.

In 1977, the Communist leader Jyoti Basu requested him to join and campaign for the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in return for a high-profile government post, which Sen refused. With the CPI(M) victory, Basu attacked Sen's business and steadily undermined its functioning until it was forced to shut down permanently.

Death Sen died from a combination of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease at age 66 in June 1997.