Dr Mahendra Kumar Mishra (1952) is a well-known folklorist of India. Dr Mishra joined the Odisha Education service and served as the State Coordinator for Multilingual Education in School Education Department, Govt. of Odisha during 1992- 2010.He implemented MLE in Odisha in 21 tribal languages.

He authored Oral Epics of Kalahandi (207) and edited Multilingual Education in India (2016). He has visited universities in China, South Korea, Thailand and Nepal on Folklore and Multilingual Education.

Dr Mishra received the International Mother Language Award from UNESCO based International Mother Language Institute in Dhaka for 2023. He received the Sahitya Academy Award in 1999. He is Advisor of Language Development Board of Central Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi.