Syama Prasad Mukherjee (6 July 1901 – 23 June 1953) was an Indian politician, barrister and academician, who served as India's first
Minister for Industry and Supply (currently known as
Ministry of Commerce and Industry A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce.
Notable examples are:
List
*Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...
) in
Jawaharlal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
's cabinet. After falling out with
Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
,
protesting against the
Liaquat-Nehru Pact, Mukherjee resigned from Nehru's cabinet. With the help of the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family ...
, he founded the
Bharatiya Jana Sangh
The Bharatiya Jana Sangh ( BJS or JS, short name: Jan Sangh, full name: Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh; ) ( ISO 15919: '' Akhila Bhāratīya Jana Saṅgha '' ) was an Indian right wing political party that existed from 1951 to 1977 and was the po ...
, the predecessor to the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...
, in 1951.
He was also the president of
Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha
The Hindu Mahasabha (officially Akhil Bhārat Hindū Mahāsabhā, ) is a Hindu nationalist political party in India.
Founded in 1915, the Mahasabha functioned mainly as a pressure group advocating the interests of orthodox Hindus before the ...
from 1943 to 1946. He died in the custody of
Jammu and Kashmir Police
The Jammu and Kashmir Police or JKP is the law enforcement agency of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory). JKP was established in 1873 and has primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within Jammu and Kashmir in India.
Hist ...
in 1953. He was provisionally diagnosed of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
and shifted to a hospital but died a day later. Since the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...
is the successor to the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Mukherjee is also regarded as the founder of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Early life and academic career
Syama Prasad Mukherjee was born in a
Bengali Hindu
Bengali Hindus ( bn, বাঙ্গালী হিন্দু/বাঙালি হিন্দু, translit=Bāṅgālī Hindu/Bāṅāli Hindu) are an ethnoreligious population who make up the majority in the Indian states of West Ben ...
family on 6 July 1901 in Calcutta (
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
). His family originally hailed from
Jirat
Jirat is a census town located in Hooghly District in the Indian State of West Bengal. It is the administrative headquarter of Balagarh Block. It is birthplace of the Dr. Gangaprasad Mukherjee, Writer
Charuchandra Banerjee, Tollywood actor ...
,
Hooghly District,
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
. His grandfather Ganga Prasad Mukherjee was born in Jirat and he was first in the family who came to
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
and settled here.
Syama Prasad's father was
Ashutosh Mukherjee, a judge of the
High Court of Calcutta
The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It is located in B.B.D. Bagh, Kolkata, West Bengal. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The High Court build ...
, Bengal, who was also
Vice-Chancellor
A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system.
In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...
of the
University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, ...
. His mother was Jogamaya Devi Mukherjee. He was a very meritorious student and he came to
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
to study in
Medical College with the help of the wealthy people of
Jirat
Jirat is a census town located in Hooghly District in the Indian State of West Bengal. It is the administrative headquarter of Balagarh Block. It is birthplace of the Dr. Gangaprasad Mukherjee, Writer
Charuchandra Banerjee, Tollywood actor ...
. Later he settled down in
Bhawanipore
Bhowanipore (also Bhowanipur; bn, ভবানীপুর) is a neighbourhood of South Kolkata in Kolkata district of West Bengal, India.
History
In 1717, the East India Company obtained the right to rent from 38 villages surrounding their s ...
area of
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
.
[Ghatak, Atulchandra, ''Ashutosher Chatrajiban Ed. 8th'', 1954, p 1, Chakraborty Chatterjee & Co. Ltd.]
He enrolled in
Bhawanipur's
Mitra Institution
Mitra Institution (Main) is one of the heritage schools of Kolkata, West Bengal, teaching grades one to twelve under the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education
The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education is the West Bengal state govern ...
in 1906 and his behaviour in school was later described favourably by his teachers. In 1914, he passed his
matriculation
Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination.
Australia
In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...
examination and was admitted into
Presidency College. He stood seventeenth in the Inter Arts Examination in 1916 and graduated in English, securing the first position in first
class in 1921. He was married to Sudha Devi on 16 April 1922. Mukherjee also completed an
MA in Bengali, being graded as
first class in 1923 and also became a fellow of the Senate in 1923. He completed his
BL in 1924.
He enrolled as an advocate in
Calcutta High Court in 1924, the same year in which his father had died. Subsequently, he left for England in 1926 to study at
Lincoln's Inn and was
called to the
English Bar
Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. Barristers have traditionally had the role of handling cases for representation in court, both defence and prosecutio ...
in the same year. In 1934, at the age of 33, he became the youngest Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta; he held the office until 1938. During his term as Vice-Chancellor,
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
delivered the University Convocation Address in Bengali for the first time, and the Indian vernacular was introduced as a subject for the highest examination. On 10 September 1938, the Senate of Calcutta university resolved to confer honorary D.Litt. on the Ex-Vice Chancellor in its opinion "by reason of eminent position and attainments, a fit and proper person to receive such a degree." Mukherjee received the
D.Litt
Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...
from Calcutta University on 26 November 1938. He was also the 15th President of the Association of Indian Universities during 1941-42.
Political career before independence
He started his political career in 1929, when he entered the
Bengal Legislative Council
The Bengal Legislative Council ( was the legislative council of British Bengal (now Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal).
It was the legislature of the Bengal Presidency during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After reforms we ...
as an
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...
(INC) candidate representing Calcutta University. However, he resigned the next year when the INC decided to boycott the legislature. Subsequently, he contested the election as an independent candidate and was elected in the same year. In
1937, he was elected as an independent candidate in the elections which brought the
Krishak Praja Party to power.
He served as the Finance Minister of Bengal Province in 1941–42 under
A.K. Fazlul Haq's Progressive Coalition government which was formed on 12 December 1941 after the resignations of the Congress government.
Kaji Najrul Islam wrote a letter on 17 July 1942, "I respect and love only you from my heart in this coalition ministry. I know we'll make India free. Then, Bengalis will remember you and
Subhas Babu before everyone else- you'll be the hero of our flag." During his tenure, his statements against the government were censored and his movements were restricted. He was also prevented from visiting the
Midnapore district
Midnapore district was a district of the state of West Bengal, India. This district was bifurcated on 1 January 2002 into the Purba Medinipur district and the Paschim Medinipur district. On 4 April 2017, the Jhargram subdivision of Paschim Medin ...
in 1942 when severe floods caused a heavy loss of life and property. He resigned on 20 November 1942 accusing the British government of trying to hold on to India under any cost and criticised its repressive policies against the
Quit India Movement. After resigning, he mobilised support and organised relief with the help of
Mahabodhi Society
The Maha Bodhi Society is a South Asian Buddhist society presently based in Kolkata, India. Founded by the Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala and the British journalist and poet Sir Edwin Arnold, its first office was in Bodh Gaya. T ...
,
Ramakrishna Mission and Marwari Relief Society.
In
1946, he was again elected as an independent candidate from the Calcutta University. He was elected as a member of the
Constituent Assembly of India
The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the 'Provincial Assembly'. Following India's independence from the British rule in 1947, its members served as the nation's first Parliament as ...
in the same year.
Hindu Mahasabha and Bengali Hindu Homeland Movement
![Syama Prasad Mookerjee](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Syama_Prasad_Mookerjee.jpg)
Mukherjee joined the
Hindu Mahasabha in Bengal in 1939 and became its
acting president
An acting president is a person who temporarily fills the role of a country's president when the incumbent president is unavailable (such as by illness or a vacation) or when the post is vacant (such as for death, injury, resignation, dismissal ...
that same year. He was appointed as the working president of the organisation in 1940. In February 1941, Mukherjee told a Hindu rally that if Muslims wanted to live in Pakistan they should "pack their bag and baggage and leave India ...
owherever they like".
[Legislative Council Proceedings LCP 1941, Vol. LIX, No. 6, p 216] Yet, the Hindu Mahasabha also formed provincial coalition governments with the
All-India Muslim League
The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcont ...
in
Sindh and the
North-West Frontier Province
The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followi ...
while Mukherjee was its leader. He was elected as the President of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha in 1943. He remained in this position till 1946, with Laxman Bhopatkar becoming the new president in the same year.
Mukherjee demanded the partition of Bengal in 1946 to prevent the inclusion of its Hindu-majority areas in a Muslim-dominated
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...
. A meeting held by the Mahasabha on 15 April 1947 in
Tarakeswar
Tarakeswar (pronounced ''Tarokeshwar'') is a famous sacred city and a municipality in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Tarakeswar is called "Babar Dham" or "The city of Shiva". It is one of the major tourist and holy place ...
authorised him to take steps for ensuring partition of Bengal. In May 1947, he wrote a letter to
Lord Mountbatten telling him that Bengal must be partitioned even if India was not. He also opposed a failed bid for a
united but independent Bengal made in 1947 by
Sarat Bose, the brother of
Subhas Chandra Bose, and
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy ( bn, হোসেন শহীদ সোহ্রাওয়ার্দী; ur, ; 8 September 18925 December 1963) was a Bengali barrister and politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1956 t ...
, a
Bengali Muslim
Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...
politician. His views were strongly affected by the
Noakhali genocide
The Noakhali riots were a series of semi-organized massacres, rapes and abductions, combined with looting and arson of Hindu properties, perpetrated by the Muslim community in the districts of Noakhali in the Chittagong Division of Bengal ( ...
in
East Bengal
ur,
, common_name = East Bengal
, status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan
, p1 = Bengal Presidency
, flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg
, s1 = East ...
, where mobs belonging to the Muslim League massacred Hindus.
It was Mukherjee who launched the
Bengali Hindu Homeland Movement. It refers to the movement of the Bengali Hindu people for the Partition of Bengal in 1947 to create a homeland aka West Bengal for themselves within the Indian Union, in the wake of Muslim League's proposal and campaign to include the entire province of Bengal within Pakistan, which was to be a homeland for the Muslims of British India.
Opposition to Quit India Movement
Following the Hindu Mahasabha's official decision to boycott the
Quit India movement and the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family ...
's decision of non-participation in the movement,.
Mukherjee wrote a letter to
Sir John Herbert,
Governor of Bengal as to how they should respond to "Quit India" movement. In this letter, dated 26 July 1942 he wrote:
Let me now refer to the situation that may be created in the province as a result of any widespread movement launched by the Congress. Anybody, who during the war, plans to stir up mass feeling, resulting internal disturbances or insecurity, must be resisted by any Government that may function for the time being
Mukherjee in this letter reiterated that the Fazlul Haq-led Bengal Government, along with its alliance partner Hindu Mahasabha would make every possible effort to defeat the
Quit India Movement in the province of Bengal and made a concrete proposal in regard to this:
The question is how to combat this movement (Quit India) in Bengal? The administration of the province should be carried on in such a manner that in spite of the best efforts of the Congress, this movement will fail to take root in the province. It should be possible for us, especially responsible Ministers, to be able to tell the public that the freedom for which the Congress has started the movement, already belongs to the representatives of the people. In some spheres, it might be limited during the emergency. Indians have to trust the British, not for the sake for Britain, not for any advantage that the British might gain, but for the maintenance of the defense and freedom of the province itself. You, as Governor, will function as the constitutional head of the province and will be guided entirely on the advice of your Minister.
The Indian historian
R.C. Majumdar noted this fact and states:
Shyam Prasad ended the letter with a discussion of the mass movement organised by Congress. He expressed the apprehension that the movement would create internal disorder and will endanger internal security during the war by exciting popular feeling and he opined that any government in power has to suppress it, but that according to him could not be done only by persecution... In that letter he mentioned item-wise the steps to be taken for dealing with the situation...
During Mukherjee's resignation speech, however, he characterised the policies of the British government towards the movement as "repressive".
Political career after independence
![The first Cabinet of independent India](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/The_first_Cabinet_of_independent_India.jpg)
Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
inducted Mukherjee into the Interim Central Government as a
Minister for Industry and Supply on 15 August 1947.
Mukherjee condemned the
assassination of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on 30 January 1948 at age 78 in the compound of Birla House (now Gandhi Smriti), a large mansion in central New Delhi. His assassin was Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a Chitpavan Brahmin from Pune, Maharashtra, ...
as "most stunning blow that could fall on India" and began to have differences with Hindu Mahasabha after the Gandhi's killing, in which the Mahasabha was blamed by
Sardar Patel
Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar, was an Indian lawyer, influential political leader, barrister and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of I ...
for creating the atmosphere that led to the killing. Mukherjee suggested the organisation suspend its political activities. Shortly after it did, in December 1948, he left. One of his reasons was the rejection of his proposal to allow non-Hindus to become members. Mukherjee resigned along with
K.C. Neogy from the Cabinet on 8 April 1950 over a disagreement about the
1950 Delhi Pact with Pakistani Prime Minister
Liaquat Ali Khan
Liaquat Ali Khan ( ur, ; 1 October 1895 – 16 October 1951), also referred to in Pakistan as ''Quaid-e-Millat'' () or ''Shaheed-e-Millat'' ( ur, lit=Martyr of the Nation, label=none, ), was a Pakistani statesman, lawyer, political theoris ...
.
Mukherjee was firmly against their joint pact to establish minority commissions and guarantee minority rights in both countries as he thought it left Hindus in East Bengal to the mercy of Pakistan. While addressing a rally in Calcutta on 21 May, he stated that an exchange of population and property at governmental level on regional basis between East Bengal and
the states of
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...
,
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
,
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
and
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
was the only option in the current situation.
Mukherjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh on 21 October 1951 in Delhi,
becoming its first president. In the 1952 elections, the
Bharatiya Jana Sangh
The Bharatiya Jana Sangh ( BJS or JS, short name: Jan Sangh, full name: Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh; ) ( ISO 15919: '' Akhila Bhāratīya Jana Saṅgha '' ) was an Indian right wing political party that existed from 1951 to 1977 and was the po ...
(BJS) won three seats in the
Parliament of India
The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...
, including Mukherjee's. He had formed the National Democratic Party within the Parliament. It consisted of 32
members
Member may refer to:
* Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon
* Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set
* In object-oriented programming, a member of a class
** Field (computer science), entries in ...
of the Lok Sabha and 10
members
Member may refer to:
* Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon
* Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set
* In object-oriented programming, a member of a class
** Field (computer science), entries in ...
of the
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
; however, it was not recognised by the speaker as an opposition party. The BJS was created with the objective of
nation-building and nationalising all non-Hindus by "inculcating Indian Culture" in them. The party was ideologically close to the RSS and widely considered the proponent of
Hindu nationalism.
Opinion on special status of Jammu and Kashmir
Mukherjee was strongly opposed to
Article 370
Article 370 of the Indian constitution
gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, a region located in the northern part of Indian subcontinent and part of the larger region of Kashmir which has been the subject of a dispute between India, Pa ...
, seeing it as a threat to national unity. He fought against it inside and outside the parliament with one of the goals of Bharatiya Jana Sangh being its abrogation. He raised his voice strongly against the provision in his Lok Sabha speech on 26 June 1952.
[ He termed the arrangements under the article as ]Balkanization
Balkanization is the fragmentation of a larger region or state into smaller regions or states, which may be hostile or uncooperative with one another. It is usually caused by differences of ethnicity, culture, and religion and some other factor ...
of India and the three-nation theory of Sheikh Abdullah
Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah (5 December 1905 – 8 September 1982) was an Indian politician who played a central role in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir Abdullah was the founding leader of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference (later re ...
. The state was granted its own flag along with a prime minister whose permission was required for anyone to enter the state. In opposition to this, Mukherjee once said ''"Ek desh mein do Vidhan, do Pradhan aur Do Nishan nahi chalenge"'' (A single country can't have two constitutions
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these prin ...
, two prime ministers
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is no ...
, and two national emblems
These are lists of national symbols:
*List of national animals
*List of national anthems
*List of national birds
* List of national dances
* List of national emblems
* List of national flags
*List of national founders
* List of national fruits
*Li ...
). Bharatiya Jana Sangh along with Hindu Mahasabha and Jammu Praja Parishad
The Jammu Praja Parishad (officially: All Jammu and Kashmir Praja Parishad) was a political party active in the Jammu Division of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. It was founded in November 1947 by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activ ...
launched a massive Satyagraha to get the provisions removed. In his letter to Nehru dated 3 February 1953, he wrote that the issue of accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India should not be allowed to hang fire.[
Mukherjee went to visit Kashmir in 1953 and observed a hunger strike to protest the law that prohibited Indian citizens from settling within the state and mandating that they carry ID cards. Mukherjee wanted to go to Jammu and Kashmir but, because of the prevailing permit system, he was not given permission. He was arrested on 11 May at Lakhanpur while crossing the border into Kashmir illegally. Although the ID card rule was revoked owing to his efforts, he died as a detainee on 23 June 1953 under claimed mysterious circumstances.][
On 5 August 2019, when Government of India proposed constitutional Amendment to repeal Article 370, many newspapers described the event as realization of Syama Prasad Mukherjee's dream.
]
Personal life
Syama Prasad had three brothers who were: Rama Prasad who was born in 1896, Uma Prasad who was born in 1902 and Bama Prasad Mukherjee who was born in 1906. Rama Prasad became a judge in High Court of Calcutta
The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It is located in B.B.D. Bagh, Kolkata, West Bengal. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The High Court build ...
while Uma became famed as a trekker and a travel writer. He also had three sisters who were: Kamala who was born in 1895, Amala who was born in 1905 and Ramala in 1908. He was married to Sudha Devi for 11 years and had five children – the last one, a four-month-old son, died from diphtheria
Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...
. His wife died of double pneumonia
Pneumonia can be classified in several ways, most commonly by where it was acquired (hospital versus community), but may also by the area of lung affected or by the causative organism. There is also a combined clinical classification, which combi ...
shortly afterwards in 1933 or 1934. Syama Prasad refused to remarry after her death. He had two sons, Anutosh and Debatosh, and two daughters, Sabita and Arati. His grandniece Kamala Sinha served as the Minister of State for External affairs in the I. K. Gujral ministry.
Syama Prasad was also affiliated with the Buddhist Mahabodhi Society
The Maha Bodhi Society is a South Asian Buddhist society presently based in Kolkata, India. Founded by the Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala and the British journalist and poet Sir Edwin Arnold, its first office was in Bodh Gaya. T ...
. In 1942, he succeeded M.N. Mukherjee to become the president of the organisation. The relics of Gautam Buddha Gautama, Gautam or Gotama may refer to:
Ancient sages and philosophers
* Akṣapāda Gautama, a Hindu sage and founder of the Nyaya school of Hindu philosophy: see Nyāya Sūtras
* Indrabhuti Gautama, chief disciple of Mahavira
* Gautama Buddha, th ...
's two disciples Sariputra and Maudgalyayana
Maudgalyāyana ( pi, Moggallāna), also known as Mahāmaudgalyāyana or by his birth name Kolita, was one of the Buddha's closest disciples. Described as a contemporary of disciples such as Subhuti, Śāriputra ('), and Mahākāśyapa ( pi, M ...
, discovered in the Great Stupa at Sanchi
Sanchi is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometres from Raisen town, district headquarter and north-east of Bh ...
by Sir Alexander Cunningham in 1851 and kept at the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, were brought back to India by HMIS Tir
HMIS ''Tir'' was a of the Royal Indian Navy (RIN). She was acquired from the Royal Navy where she served as HMS ''Bann'' during World War II. She was commissioned into the RIN in December 1945.
She was converted into a midshipman's training ...
. A ceremony attended by politicians and leaders of many foreign countries was held on the next day at Calcutta Maidan. They were handed over by Nehru to Mukherjee, who later took these relics to Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
, Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
, Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
and Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. Upon his return to India, he placed the relics inside the Sanchi Stupa in November 1952.
Death
Mukherjee was arrested upon entering Kashmir on 11 May 1953. He and two of his arrested companions were first taken to Central Jail of Srinagar. Later they were transferred to a cottage outside the city. Mukherjee's condition started deteriorating and he started feeling pain in the back and high temperature on the night between 19 and 20 June. He was diagnosed with dry pleurisy
Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity ( pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...
from which he had also suffered in 1937 and 1944. The doctor prescribed him a streptomycin
Streptomycin is an antibiotic medication used to treat a number of bacterial infections, including tuberculosis, ''Mycobacterium avium'' complex, endocarditis, brucellosis, ''Burkholderia'' infection, plague, tularemia, and rat bite fever. F ...
injection and powders, however, Mukherjee informed him that his family physician had told him that streptomycin did not suit his system. The doctor, however, told him that new information about the drug had come to light and assured him that he would be fine. On 22 June, he felt pain in the heart region, started perspiring and started feeling like he was fainting. He was later shifted to a hospital and provisionally diagnosed with a heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
. He died a day later. The state government declared that he had died on 23 June at 3:40 a.m. due to a heart attack.
His death in custody raised wide suspicion across the country and demands for an independent inquiry were raised, including earnest requests from his mother, Jogamaya Devi, to Nehru. The prime minister declared that he had asked a number of persons who were privy to the facts and, according to him, there was no mystery behind Mukherjee's death. Devi did not accept Nehru's reply and requested an impartial inquiry. Nehru, however, ignored the letter and no inquiry commission was set up. Mukherjee's death, therefore, remains a matter of some controversy.
S.C. Das claims that Mukherjee was murdered. Atal Bihari Vajpayee claimed in 2004 that the arrest of Mukherjee in Jammu and Kashmir was a "Nehru conspiracy". The BJP in 2011 called for an inquiry to probe Mukherjee's death.
Legacy
One of main thoroughfare in Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
was renamed Syama Prasad Mukherjee Road on 3 July 1953 a few days after his death. Syamaprasad College founded by him in 1945 in Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
is named after him. Shyama Prasad Mukherji College
Shyama Prasad Mukherji College commonly known as SPM College, is a constituent college of the University of Delhi. The all-women's college was founded in 1969 and named after Syama Prasad Mukherjee
Syama Prasad Mukherjee (6 July 1901 – 23 ...
of University of Delhi
Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...
was established in 1969 in his memory. On 7 August 1998, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation
The Amdavad Municipal Corporation, or the AMC, established in July 1950 under the Bombay Provincial Corporation Act (1949), is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city of Ahmedabad.
History
On 21 April 1831, the ...
named a bridge after Mukherjee. Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
has a major road named after Mukherjee called Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Marg. Kolkata, too, has a major road called Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Road. In 2001, the main research funding institute of the Government of India, CSIR, instituted a new fellowship named after him.
On 22 April 2010, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi
Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is the municipal corporation that governs most of Delhi, India. The MCD is among the largest municipal bodies in the world providing civic services to an estimated population of more than 11 million citiz ...
's (MCD) newly constructed Rs. 650-crore building, the tallest building in Delhi, was named the Doctor Syama Prasad Mukherjee Civic Centre. It was inaugurated by Home Minister
The Minister of Home Affairs (or simply, the Home Minister, short-form HM) is the head of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most officers in the Union Cabinet, the chief responsibility of the Home Minist ...
P. Chidambaram
Palaniappan Chidambaram (born 16 September 1945), better known as P. Chidambaram, is an Indian politician and lawyer who currently serves as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. He served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee ...
. The building, which is estimated to cater to 20,000 visitors per day, will also house different wings and offices of the MCD. The MCD also built the Syama Prasad Swimming Pool Complex which hosted aquatic events during the 2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...
held at New Delhi.
In 2012, a flyover at Mathikere
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
in Bangalore
Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
City Limits was inaugurated and named the Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee Flyover. The International Institute of Information Technology, Naya Raipur
International Institute of Information Technology, Naya Raipur (IIIT-NR), formally Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee International Institute of Information Technology, Naya Raipur, is a state funded institute in Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India. The ...
is named after him.
In 2014, a multipurpose indoor stadium built on the Goa University
Goa University is a public state research university headquartered in the city of Panaji, in the Indian state of Goa. In addition to Panaji ( Taleigão Plateau Campus), it has a campus in Margao, Mapusa, Ponda, Old Goa and Vasco da Gama. ...
campus in Goa
Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
was named after Mukherjee.
The government of India approved the Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM) with an outlay of on 16 September 2015. The Mission was launched by the Prime Minister on 21 February 2016 at Kurubhata, Murmunda Rurban Cluster, Rajnandgaon
Rajnandgaon is a city in Rajnandgaon District, in the state of Chhattisgarh, India. the population of the city was 163,122. Rajnandgaon district came into existence on 26January 1973, as a result of the division of Durg district.
History
...
, Chhattisgarh. In April 2017, Ranchi College
Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee University, formerly Ranchi College, is a state university located in Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. It is named after the Indian politician Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. It was established as a college in 1926 and upgraded to ...
was upgraded to Shyama Prasad Mukherjee University. In September 2017, Kolar, a town in Bhopal
Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...
, Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
, was renamed as Shyama Prasad Mukherji Nagar by the state's Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan
Shivraj Singh Chouhan (born 5 March 1959), is an Indian politician and member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the 17th and current Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, having been elected to the same position 3 times in the past, and a Member ...
.
Mukherjee's role in fighting for Bengal was featured in the movie ''1946 Calcutta Killings'', in which Gajendra Chauhan
Gajendra Singh Chauhan known professionally as Gajendra Chauhan, is a former television actor known for his work on Indian television, especially his portrayal of Yudhishthira in the historical television series ''Mahabharat'' (1988–90). He h ...
played the role of Mukherjee.
On 12 January 2020, the Kolkata Port Trust
Port of Kolkata or Kolkata Port, officially known as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Trust (formerly Kolkata Port Trust), is the only riverine major port of India, located in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal, around from the sea. It is the olde ...
was renamed as Syama Prasad Mukherjee Port by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...
.
The Chenani-Nashri Tunnel
Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel, also known as Chenani-Nashri Tunnel is a road tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located in the Lower Himalayas, on National Highway 44. Construction started in 2011 and was completed by 2017.
It is In ...
on NH44 in Jammu and Kashmir was renamed after Mukherjee by the Indian government in 2020.
See also
*List of unsolved deaths
This list of unsolved deaths includes well-known cases where:
* The cause of death could not be officially determined.
* The person's identity could not be established after they were found dead.
* The cause is known, but the manner of death (homi ...
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
External links
Excerpts from convocation address at Benares Hindu University (1 December 1940)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukherjee, Syama Prasad
1901 births
1953 deaths
India MPs 1952–1957
20th-century Indian lawyers
Bengali Hindus
Bengali lawyers
Bengali activists
Alumni of the Inns of Court School of Law
Presidency University, Kolkata alumni
First Nehru ministry
Hindu martyrs
Indian political party founders
Indian barristers
Indian activists
Politicians from Kolkata
Vice Chancellors of the University of Calcutta
Indian National Congress politicians
Hindu Mahasabha politicians
Bharatiya Jana Sangh politicians
Members of the Constituent Assembly of India
Lok Sabha members from West Bengal
Indian people who died in prison custody
Presidents of The Asiatic Society
Scholars from Kolkata
University of Calcutta alumni
Unsolved deaths
Commerce and Industry Ministers of India
Founders of Indian schools and colleges