Dr.

Shyamaprashad Mukherjii
Wednesday, 6. July, 16:24

Banibrata Dasgupta

My friend Aron told me to write about the iconic man in Indian politics. Since I was busy I could not respond to him immediately. I am not as knowledgeable about him as well.Dr.Mukherjii has died 11 years before I born. But people find solace in finding som e similarity with any great personality, so I am glorified to tell you that he was a Cancerian as well. Bengalis were always prime enemy of Nehru. He was not in any good term with Netaji as well. Mysterious death of Netaji is a mystery even now. Nobody ca me to know how he died, so there are people who doubt Nehru's role there as well. But nobody can deny the educational system which Nehru & his dynasty introduced Netaji found very little space over. This, despite of the fact that, if the Azad Hind Fauj did not start war and exert pressure on British our freedom could have come another 50 or 100 years later.

That was the design of Nehru dynasty to abolish all names from history and give prominence on their family only. So, I am sure that many youngsters do not know even what the role of Sir Ashutosh in freedom struggle was.

Illustrious son of an Illustrious Father

Sir Ashutosh was British hater from his youth.

But still, he opted to be lawyer and studied in England.

His only intention being to save revolutionaries from the captivity of British rule. There are innumerable cases where he has not charged a single penny for standing for them. Netaji could not even complete study, because he was charged with assaulting professor. He was suspended and British took all steps to restrict him getting entry in any college. It was Sir Ashutosh who fought for him ensured justice to Netaji. Dr.Shyamaprashad was the son of this great man. Sir Ashutosh was against British language and British educ ation.

He wanted every local language should get priority in education. Most of the Congress leaders were foreign educated at that time. Some of them did not agree to him. So he showed the way by pushing his own son Shyamaprashad in his way of thinking.

Mastery of English matching love of Mother Tongue

Though Shyamaprashad was brilliant in English, he completed M.A in Bengali to ensure rightful place to Bengali in curriculum. Dr.Shyamaprashad carried such nationalist gene from his father. Though I am Bengali, I did not know anything about Dr.Mukherji.

Even I did not know he was son of Sir Ashutosh because in our educational system this name was carefully erased from all books. First it was erased by Siddhartha Shankar Roy and then the great commu nists. I started reading about him much later and on my own & then found he was literally a visionary and first martyr in independent India.

One day I went to see a movie of "Feluda" created by Satyajit Ray in Nandan with daughter.

I was in queue, waiting for the window to open. I found just in front of me one man is standing who is very familiar face in defense circle, as well as in television. I was thinking who he is. I found the man is very jovial and my daughter has become very good fr iend of him. Suddenly I remembered and asked him are you........? He said "yes" in hush voice.

He wanted not to let know others who is. Then we started discussion in low voice. I came to know from him only how the entire army is annoyed with congress.

He wanted not to let know others who is. Then we started discussion in low voice. I came to know from him only how the entire army is annoyed with congress.

Indian soldiers gave life in thousands in the battle against Pakistan to free Bangladesh (or East Pakistan). Thousands gave life to Indian cause previously as well in battle against them. Indian soldiers captured 91000 Pakistani soldiers in the battle of '71.

They were brought to India as political prisoner. India had the advantage of solving all outstanding issues with Pakistan and Kashmir.

But what we did?

We fed those soldiers in our money for more than year and ultimately released them without pressurizing even a little, without achieving any cause.

All the soldiers who fight battle with enemies treat Congress as antinational. That is why you will not see any army personnel joining congress at any point of time.

They are so agitated even today. He was the first Industry minister of Independent India.

Sardar Ballav Bhai Patel and Dr.Mukherji was always in fighting with Nehru regarding our policy towards Pakistan. They were worried about minorities in Pakistan and continuous killing of Hindus in Pakistan and Pundits in Kashmir.

But Nehru was kin on staying as Prime Minister, not understanding plight of Hindus. Liaquat Ali Khan came to India and after 6 days of discussion with Nehru and The LiaquatNehru Pact was signed on April 8, 1950.

He was aggrieved like anything. He wanted to hold Pakistan directly resp onsible for the terrible influx of millions of Hindu refugees from East Pakistan, who had left the state fearing religious suppression and violence aided by the Stated. Dr. Mukherjee was firmly against Nehru's invitation to the Pakistani PM, and their joint pact to establish minority commissions and guarantee minority rights in both countries.

So he left Ministry with deep anguish. He left ministry on the same day. His statement had produced fore in every Hindu's heart.

He said," I have never felt happy about our attitude towards Pakistan. It has been weak, halting and inconsistent. Our goodness or inaction has been interpreted as weakness by Pakistan. It has made Pakistan more and more intransigent and has made us suffer all the greater and even lowere d us in the estimation of our own people. On every important occasion we have remained on the defensive and failed to expose or counteract the designs of Pakistan

aimed at us."

Many people do not know Dr.Shyamaprashad was even minister of Finance of Bengal before Independence in the year '41 -'42.He formed Govt. with Mr. Fazlul Haq only to normalize Hindu-Muslim relation. It was the first and last Hindu -Muslim joint ministry in Bengal, and his earnest effort to get Bengal rid of communal administration pursued by the Muslim League Ministry. But that govt. did not last as well. India was not independent at that time.

But in the middle of British administration he gave a speech which showed his fire for independent India. He said in assembly tendering res ignation,

"Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, may I with your permission make a statement on the opening day of the Legislative Assembly dealing with the circumstances which led to my resignation as a minister. It is all the more necessary that I should do so, since my resignation has not been due to any want of confidence in me either by the House or the party to which I have the honor to belong. In fact, it has not been due also to any difference of opinion either with the Chief Minister or any of my colleagu es on any question of public importance. As members of the House are aware, I felt compelled to resign, first, because I found that the continued policy of the British Government and the Government in this country was to ignore the claims of Indians to ful ler political power, to hamper good government consistent with the true interests of the people and to weaken the forces of people's defense against enemy aggression.

It is not my intention to reiterate the points which I had mentioned in my letter of resignation to the Governor dealing with the all -lndia political situation. That letter, along with several other documents, true to the Hitlerian traditions of the government of this province, today form part of proscribed literature. A minister' s accusation of autocratic misrule need not be replied to with facts and figures, but must be suppressed under arbitrary rule - what grander conception could the British authorities hold before us of responsible government in this country? "

That is the fire Dr.Mukherjii always carried in his heart.

The Brilliant Academician He was vice Chancellor of Calcutta university from 1934 -38.Whatever I have studied I have found his language was simple and straight. He was never diplomatic or power hungry in nature.

On Lost Hindu Homeland Territories

In his historic speech in 7th August 1952 he asked, Is there any possibility of our getting back this territory? We shall not get it through the efforts of the United Nations: we shall not get it through peaceful methods, by negotiations with Pakistan. That means we lose it, unless w e use force and the Prime Minister is unwilling to do so. Let us face facts-are we prepared to lose it?

These Abdullahs had always played in the hand of Pakistan. Be it Sheikh or Farooq or Omar. They always maintained good relation with Nehru dynasty to have special power and special constitution for Kashmir. Nehru always made them feel that they are special than rest of India.

Dr.Mukherjii asked him in the same speech "-

May I ask-was not Sheikh Abdullah party to this Constitution? He was a Member of the Constituent Assembly; but he is asking for special treatment. Did he not agree to accept this Constitution in relation to the rest of India, including 497 States? It is good enough for all of them, why should it not be good enough for him in Kashmir? "

He clearly told Shaikh"Let Sheikh Abdullah declare that he accepts the Sovereignty of this Parliament There cannot be two Sovereign Parliaments in India You talk of Kashmir being a part of India, and Sheikh Abdullah talks of a Sovereign Parliament for Kashmir It is inconsistent It Is contradictory This Parliament does not mean a few of us here who are opposing this. This Parliament includes a majority of people who will not be swayed by any small considerations. And why should he be afra id of accepting the Sovereignty of this Parliament of Free India?"

I will request you to read his speeches; you will find why they have erased name of Dr.Mukherji from our educational system. What he had ignited at that time is still burning but the shame is we are not following his struggle, our protest to his mysterious death to the next level.

He said, Certain proposals have been made today. Some of us do not like them. What are we to do? If we talk we are reactionaries we are communalists, we are enemies. If we keep quiet and if a catastrophe comes after a year, then

you were a party to it, you kept quiet -therefore, and you are stopped from saying anything.

As long as this party will be in power their politics of nepotism & appeasement will not be less as this is in their blood. So we need to study more and more his values and ideologies to recapture Our Kashmir.

Bandemataram

Banibrata Dasgupta

A fresh and sincere voice for social change and national rebuilding, Bunibrata runs the Intellectual Forum Bunibroto Blog.

http://my.opera.com/bunibroto/blog/2011/07/06/dr -shyamaprashad-mukherjii

He is also the Editor of e-Paper Navodaya.

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