Nation remembers Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookherjee on his birth anniversary today

Today is the birth anniversary of great visionary and ideologue Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee. He continued to struggle for the unity and integrity of India till his end. Dr Mookerjee founded Jansangh in 1951. As a founder of Bharatiya Jan Sangh which later became the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee is considered one of the tallest leaders of the Hindutva movement in India. Shyama

Prasad Mookherjee was born into a Bengali family on 6 July 1901 in Kolkata.  He graduated in English as a gold medalist in 1921 and also completed an MA in Bengali again standing first in 1923, following that by completing his studies in law at Lincoln's Inn in London. At the age of 33, he became the youngest Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta, and held the office till 1938. Syama Prasad Mookherjee entered politics in 1929 becoming a member of the Legislative Council of Bengal, first as an Indian National Congress candidate and later as an independent candidate. He served as Finance minister of Bengal Province in 1941-42. His political stance was determined by his opposition to the Muslim League which had considerable influence in pre-partition Bengal. He emerged as a spokesman for Hindus joining the Hindu Mahasabha and becoming its President in 1944. Mookherjee believed in Countering Jinnah's demand for exaggerated Muslim rights and for Pakistan. He adopted the political path of protecting Hindus against what he believed was communal propaganda and the divisive agenda of the Muslim League. Mookherjee was initially a strong opponent of Partition but later supported it to prevent the inclusion of Hindu-majority areas into Muslim-dominated East Pakistan. He also strongly opposed a third possibility floating around at the time of an independent United Bengal. Post Independence Mukherjee served as Minister for Industry and Supply in the Nehru Government. Mookherjee was widely respected by many Indians and members of the Indian National Congress, including Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He resigned from the cabinet in 1950 opposing Nehru's joint pact with Pakistan to establish minority commissions and guarantee minority rights in both countries. In doing so he recalled the terrible influx of millions of Hindu refugees from East Pakistan, who had left fearing religious suppression and violence aided by the state.