Jogendranath Mandal (

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

: যোগেন্দ্রনাথ মন্ডল; 29 January 1904 – 5 October 1968), was one of the

founding fathers The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

of modern state of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, and legislator serving as country's first minister of law and labour, and also was second minister of Commonwealth and Kashmir affairs. In the cabinet of

Interim Government of India The Interim Government of India, also known as the Provisional Government of India, formed on 2 September 1946 from the newly elected Constituent Assembly of India, had the task of assisting the transition of British India to independence. It ...

, He got the law portfolio before. As a leader of the ''Scheduled Castes'' (

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

s), Jogendranath Mandal campaigned against the division of Bengal in 1947, believing that the divided Bengal would mean that Dalits would be at the mercy of the Muslim majority in East Bengal (Pakistan), and at the thraldom of majority caste-Hindus in West Bengal (India). In the end, he decided to maintain his base in East Pakistan, hoping that the Dalits would be benefited from it and joined the first cabinet in Pakistan as the Minister of Law and Labour. He migrated to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

a few years after partition after submitting his resignation to Liaquat Ali Khan, the then

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pak ...

, citing the anti-Dalits bias of Pakistani administration.

Early life

Jogendra Nath Mandal was born in the

Barisal Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal Di ...

district of what was then

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia an ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

(later

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 = Ea ...

and

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, wit ...

, presently

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

) on 29 January 1904. He belonged to the

Namasudra Namasudra, also known as Namassej, is an ''Avarna'' community originating from eastern and central Bengal. The community was earlier known as ''Chandala'' or ''Chandal'', a term usually considered as a slur. They were traditionally engaged in fis ...

Community. Jogendra Nath Mandal was a diligent student since his nascent years, and with his resilient assiduousness to study, he passed his initial education in the First Class; then after graduating in 1929, took admission in law. But after completion of his law degree in 1934, Jogendra Nath Mandal decided not to take up law practice or a job. Instead, he commenced his vociferous retaliation against the unjust and oppressive societal structure which had hitherto humiliated his community, and decided to dedicate his whole life for the betterment of the oppresseds and society as a whole.

Political career in India (1937-1947)

Mandal began his political career as an independent candidate in the Indian provincial assembly elections of 1937. He contested Bakharganj North East Rural constituency for a seat in the

Bengal legislative assembly The Bengal Legislative Assembly () was the largest legislature in British India, serving as the lower chamber of the legislature of Bengal (now Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal). It was established under the Government of India Ac ...

and defeated Saral Kumar Dutta, the president of the district committee of the

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 Em ...

(INC) and nephew of the Swadeshi leader,

Ashwini Kumar Dutta Ashwini Kumar Dutta (25 January 1856 – 7 November 1923) was a Bengali educationist, philanthropist, social reformer and patriot. Early life Ashwini Kumar Dutta was born in an affluent high class Bengali Hindu Kayastha Bharadwaja clan Dutta fa ...

. Mandal was considerably influenced around this time by both

Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperia ...

and

Sarat Chandra Bose Sarat Chandra Bose (Bengali: শরৎচন্দ্র বসু) (6 September 1889 – 20 February 1950) was an Indian barrister and independence activist. Early life He was born to Janakinath Bose (father) and Prabhabati Devi in Cuttac ...

. When the former was expelled from the INC in 1940, Mandal became involved with the Muslim League (ML), which was the only other significant national party, and became a minister in the cabinet of the ML chief minister,

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 ...

. Mandal was a follower of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the father of the

Indian Constitution The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental r ...

. It was also around this time that Mandal and

B. R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served a ...

established the Bengal branch of the

Scheduled Castes Federation The Republican Party of India (RPI, often called the Republican Party or simply Republican) is a political party in India. It has its roots in the Scheduled Castes Federation led by B. R. Ambedkar. The 'Training School for Entrance to Polit ...

, which itself aspired to political power. Mandal played a vital role for Ambedkar’s election to the Constituent Assembly from Bengal, when Ambedkar failed to secure a seat from Bombay in 1946. Mandal played a significant part in the framing of

Constitution of India The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...

as well as Ambedkar consulted and sought his advice through letters on matters pertaining to the framing of the Constitution. While the Namasudra community was being courted by the

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 B ...

, and politics in the province was dominated by the oppressed Dalit and Muslim people, Mandal saw a distinction between communal affairs and political disputes involving the INC and ML. When rioting broke out in 1946, he traveled around

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 = Ea ...

to urge Dalit people not to participate in violence against Muslims, as Muslims were perceived to have been as oppressed by the upper caste Hindus as the Dalits were. He argued that the Dalits would be better off with the Muslims than with the high caste Hindus; thus, he supported ML. When the Muslim League joined the

in October 1946, Jinnah nominated Mandal as one of the League's five representatives. King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

duly appointed Mandal to the body, where he took over the law portfolio.

Political career in Pakistan (1947-1950)

Mandal was one of the 96 founding fathers of Pakistan, as he supported the ML. At their inaugural session, days before the 15 August 1947

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

, they elected him their temporary chairman. When Jinnah was to be sworn in as the first Governor General of Pakistan, he is said to have asked Mandal to preside over the session. He held immense faith in Mandal for his vision and righteousness. He was appointed Pakistan's first Minister for Law and Labour. But Mandal’s status did not last long because of continuous suppression under a Muslim-majority bureaucracy. The situation further worsened after Jinnah’s death in September 1948. When Muslim rioters with the support of the police committed atrocities against his constituents, the Dalits, he protested. That caused strife between him and the Pakistani prime minister, Liaquat Ali Khan.

Returning to India (1950)

In 1950, Mandal had to return to India due to an arrest warrant against him in Pakistan, submitting his resignation to Liaquat Ali Khan, the then

, citing inaction of the Pakistani administration against the rioters who committed atrocities against his people. He mentioned incidents related to social injustice and biased attitude towards non-Muslim minorities in his resignation letter. However he became a political untouchable after returning to India; still he continued his work to rehabilitate Hindu refugees from Bangladesh who were fast filling up West Bengal. He died on 5 October 1968 in

Bongaon Bangaon is a city and a municipality in North 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bangaon subdivision. Geography Location Bangaon is located at . It has an average elevation of 7 m ...

North 24 Parganas North 24 Parganas (abv. 24 PGS (N)) or sometimes North Twenty Four Parganas is a district in southern West Bengal, of eastern India. North 24 Parganas extends in the tropical zone from latitude 22° 11′ 6″ north to 23° 15′ 2″ north and f ...

Bibliography

References

External links

University of Southampton archives

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandal, Jogendra Nath 1904 births 1968 deaths People from Barisal District Bengali Hindus First Pakistani Cabinet All India Muslim League members Labour ministers of Pakistan Law Ministers of Pakistan Leaders of the Pakistan Movement Pakistani emigrants to India Indian Hindus Pakistan Movement activists from Bengal Pakistani MNAs 1947–1954 Members of the Council of the Governor General of India Bengal MLAs 1937–1945 Members of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan