SYAMA PRASAD MOOKERJEE

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Context

June 23 was the 70^th death anniversary of Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
He had resigned from Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet due to Liaquat-Nehru pact of 1950.

Syama Prasad Mookerjee (1901 – 1953)

He was an Indian who founded Bharatiya Jan Sangh in 1951. It won 3 seats in 1952 elections.
Bharatiya jan Sangh is considered to be a predecessor of Bharatiya Janta Party.
He opposed Article 370, and the associated special status to Kashmir.
Despite being in opposition of Nehru and congress, he was a part of first Union Cabinet.
He said “ek desh mein do Vidhan, do Pradhan aur Do Nishan nahi challenge”.
- It implied that one country should have one constitution, one prime minister and one flag.
He was also a firm supporter of Uniform Civil Code in India.
He also emphasised on banning cow slaughter.
He was not allowed to enter the state of Jammu and Kashmir for protesting against Nehru and congress.
While in the custody of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, he is believed to be died of a heart attack, on June 23, 1953.
However the conditions of his death were suspicious and some believe it was not a natural death.

Background and Reason behind resign

Partition of India was bitter and saw bloodshed.
India was envisaged as a secular which would recognize and value the diversity of communities.
On the same lines Nehru also wanted his cabinet to be diverse and hence Syama Prasad Mookerjee found a place in Union cabinet along with Dr BR Ambedkar.
On the Independence Day, August 15, 1947, itself he became a part of interim government.
Initially the supported notion of United India, later he advocating for a divided Bengal for Hindu Bengalis.
According to his belief, Nehru – Liaquat pact was against the logical outcome of the Partition – a religion based states.
He wanted the India to be modelled on principles of Hinduism.
He proposed a systemic and government led and religion based exchange of population and property between two countries.
However he resigned in April 1950 over the disagreement and displeasure over the controversial Nehru-Liaquat Pact.

Nehru-Liaquat Pact

It was also known as Delhi pact.
It was a bilateral agreement signed by PM Jawaharlal Nehru and Liaquat Ali Khan.
It was signed in order to set guidelines and framework for protection of minority in two newly formed states of India and Pakistan.

Need for this Pact

After partition it was felt that minorities of both countries should be protected against the aggression of majority community.
Bad experience of partition, which saw massive communal rioting, led to firm resolve for such protection.
Even in 1950 there were millions of Hindus and Muslims migration from East Pakistan to India and from India to East Pakistan.

Agreement in the Delhi pact

Both countries agreed to protect minority communities throughout its territory.
It had provisions for -
- Complete equality of citizenship.
- Security of property, life, customs and dignity.
- Freedom of movement and occupation.
- Freedom of speech and worship.
  - These freedoms was not unlimited but with reasonable restrictions like law and morality.
- Equal opportunity for participation in the public life.
- Equal eligibility for holding political offices and other military and civil positions.
- Minority commissions to be set up in both countries.

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PRACTICE QUESTION

Consider the following statements about Syama Prasad Mookerjee:

1. In 1951 he founded Bharatiya Jan Sangha, a predecessor to Bharatiya Janata Party.

2. He was a firm supporter of secularism in India.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A. 1 only

B. 2 only

C. Both 1 and 2

D. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (A)