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An Ode To SP Mukherjee

Contribution of Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookherjee

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priyamdawn
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31 views

An Ode To SP Mukherjee

Contribution of Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookherjee

Uploaded by

priyamdawn
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Syama Prasad Mookerjee passed away on June 23, 1953.

A minister in undivided Bengal and in Prime


Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet, Mookerjee was a prominent Opposition leader and founder of the
Bharatiya Jana Sangh. He was detained without trial by Sheikh Abdullah’s government after his arrest in
Kathua on May 11, 1953.

On June 30, 1953, Nehru wrote to Jogmaya Devi, Mookerjee’s mother, conveying his condolences. On
July 4, Devi responded: “My son died in detention, detention without trial. You say, you had visited
Kashmir during my son’s detention. You speak of the affection you had for him. But what prevented you,
I wonder, from meeting him there personally and satisfying yourself about his health and arrangements?
… Ever since his detention there, the first information that I, his mother, received from the Government
of Jammu and Kashmir was that my son was no more… and in what cruel cryptic way the message was
conveyed.” Further communication between Devi and Nehru makes for a sad reading.

Much later, on November 27, 1953, a resolution was moved in the West Bengal legislative assembly to
hold an inquiry into the circumstances of his death while in detention in Kashmir. It argued for holding
an inquiry through a commission headed by a Supreme Court judge. Surprisingly, an assembly member
from the Congress party, Shankar Prasad Mitra, moved an amendment to this resolution asking for the
words “for holding an inquiry”, to be substituted with “for requesting the Government of Jammu and
Kashmir to hold an inquiry”. He also sought that the sentence “by appointing a Commission with the
Judge of the Supreme Court of India to serve as Chairman of the Commission,” be omitted. Many who
actively opposed the amendment wondered why Bidhan Chandra Roy, the Congress chief minister of
West Bengal, who thought an inquiry to be necessary, had later declined it. Mookerjee, after all, had
been a great friend of the chief minister’s. What had been asked for was an inquiry by a SC judge who
could take cognisance of evidence from anywhere, including Kashmir. In this case, the Kashmir
government was the accused party. How could it then sit in judgement over this inquiry? But members
of the Congress, including Roy, argued in favour of the amendment. The Congress, in effect, sought
acceptance of the amendment, and succeeded.

Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Syama Prasad Mookerjee death, Jawaharlal nehru, nehru cabinet, Syama
Prasad Mookerjee detention, Syama Prasad Mookerjee's mother, Sheikh Abdullah’s government,
Shyama Prasad mookherjee's death inquiry, Indian express column,

A minister in undivided Bengal and in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet, Mookerjee was a
prominent Opposition leader and founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. (Express photo: Prem Nath
Pandey/File)

The West Bengal government forwarded the resolution passed in the assembly to the Ministry of States
(Kashmir section), Government of India. This letter was received on February 23, 1954. After six months,
the matter was eventually processed in the Ministry of States. The following is the observation from the
relevant file in the Ministry: “It is for consideration whether we may inform the Government of West
Bengal that as the matter primarily concerns the Government of J&K, the Government of India did not
consider it proper to pursue the matter. When the request for an inquiry into the circumstances of Shri
Syama Prasad Mukherjee’s death was raised in Parliament, the attitude which we adopted was that this
was a matter which concerned the Government of J&K alone. The resolution passed by the West Bengal
Legislative Assembly is consistent with this stand since it only asks the Government of India to pass on
the request to the Jammu & Kashmir Government. We have now two courses open to us: We may either
send the copy of the resolution and proceedings to J&K Government for such action as they may
consider necessary; or we may return the proceedings to the West Bengal Government and ask them to
address the J&K Government themselves. While the latter course might be strictly correct one, it would
have the effect of rebuff to the Government of West Bengal where Dr Mukherjee’s death has agitated
the public mind very much. There may therefore, be no harm if we adopt the first alternative. I do not
think this is likely to give rise to any misunderstanding with the J&K Government.” K N V Nambisan from
the Ministry of States signed this note on September 7, 1954. The first course was agreed upon by both
the secretary and the minister. On September 22, 1954, the Ministry of States forward the resolution to
the Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir, for such action as considered necessary. Nothing came out
of this routine letter sent by the Ministry of States to the Government of J&K.

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