Rabi Ray, an eminent parliamentarian, was born on November 26, 1926, at Bhanagarh in Puri district of Orissa. His higher education was completed at Cuttack. While pursuing his academic career, he was deeply involved in college politics. In early 1947, he was arrested in connection with the unfurling of the National Flag.
In 1948, Rabi Ray joined the Socialist Party. In 1956, he, under the guidance of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, founded the Socialist Party in Orissa. He entered Parliament in 1967 as a member of the Lok Sabha and in 1974, as a member of the Rajya Sabha. When the Janata Party government was formed at the Centre in 1977, he became the Minister for Health and Family Welfare.
In 1989, he was elected the Speaker of Lok Sabha. During his speakership, he initiated the Zero Hour for better utilization of the time of the House and for the first time, a Motion of Confidence moved by the then Prime Minister VP Singh was discussed and adopted on the same day.