The nation remembers Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his birth anniversary today. The Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder was born on 6 July 1901 in Kolkata.
An academician, barrister, and freedom fighter, Mookerjee was one of the key figures in the cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of the country. He remains etched into the minds of the people as the founder of the Jana Sangh, the predecessor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
On his birth anniversary, here are some-lesser known facts about Syama Prasad Mookerjee:
- He began his higher education at Kolkata’s Presidency College. Mookerjee had an MA in Bengali. He studied law and English as well.
- He became the youngest person to hold the post of the Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University. Mookerjee achieved this feat when he was only 33 years old.
- It was under his tenure as Vice-Chancellor that Rabindranath Tagore delivered the convocation address at the Calcutta University in Bengali, the first time such an event had taken place.
- He joined politics early on in his life. In 1929, he was elected to the Bengal Legislative Council and represented Calcutta University as a member of the Indian National Congress. However, he resigned a year later due to ideological differences.
- Mookerjee later became the President of the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha.
- He later became the Finance minister of West Bengal after he won as an independent candidate and was included in the cabinet of Fazlul Haque. In 1942, he quit his post due to ideological differences.
- Syama Prasad Mookerjee was against the Quit India Movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi as he felt it could damage the integrity of Indian society. He also wrote several letters to the British governor to stop the movement in Bengal.
- He became the Minister for Industries and Supplies in Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet. However, he resigned in 1950. A year later, he founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
- He contested elections in 1952 as a member of the Jan Sangh and won from the South Calcutta seat. The Jan Sangh won three seats in total in that election.
- Mookerjee passed away in mysterious circumstances in 1953. The Jan Sangh founder was arrested in Kashmir in 1953 for protesting the special status granted to Kashmir and the permit system in place there. Before his death, he had been detained in Srinagar for almost a month.
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