A PHASE IN THE LIFE OF
Dr.Shyama Prasad Mookerjee
1937-1946 - "Shyama Prasad Mukherjee" Life Sketch
(Dr. Anil Chandra Banerjee)
Dr. Syamaprasad Mookerjee wrote two
diaries in English and one in Bengali. Due to intensive public engagements,
multifaceted activities and declining health during the prime of his life, he
could not regularly write everything down in his diary. Nevertheless the value
of these writings in the light they shed on the contemporary political
situation and the expression of his personality is immense. These two English
diaries are based on some official documents and ancillary material. In this
book, Dr.Anil Chandra Banerjee tries to throw light on the activities of Dr.
Syamaprasad Mookerjee as a visionary educationist and an uncompromising leader
of the country’s freedom struggle.
The book places Syamaprasad at the centre
of this broad period background, 1937-1946, incorporating his early life, Sir
Asutosh Mookerjee’s role as the chief architect of education system in India
and Asutosh’s influence on his son. The period 1937-1946 was not only a very
formative period of Syamaprasad’s political life, but also one of the most
consequential chapters in Indian History. Syamaprasad emerged as one of the
most outstanding figures in this chapter of Indian politics. The book also cast
light on an important chapter in the history of Bengal. The book reflects
important aspects of Syamaprasad’s political life, such as his experience as
Finance Minister of Bengal in the Progressive Alliance Cabinet, his resignation
due to political differences with the Governor of Bengal, the World War, Civil
Uprising, Bengal famines and his role in #communal riots. The book also presents
to a certain extent Syamaprasad’s views on nationalism and Indian nationalism,
formulated from his speeches and diaries.
Dr Prabir Mukhopadhyay has translated this book in Bengali for
the Bengali readers, in which the “Preface” has been written by Justice Chittotosh Mukhopadhyay,
Chairman, Asutosh Mookerjee Memorial Institute
Syama Prasad Mookerjee had initially been an advocate for a united India.
However, as Partition became increasingly inevitable, he shifted his focus towards advocating for a divided Bengal, with West Bengal specifically meant for Hindu Bengalis.When the Delhi Pact was signed, which promised minority rights and the establishment of minority commissions in both India and Pakistan, Mookerjee was extremely angry.He felt that the Pact would essentially leave Hindus in East Bengal at the mercy of the Pakistani state.Instead, he argued for a systematic exchange of population and property at the governmental level between East Bengal and the states of Tripura, Assam, West Bengal and Bihar. He also favoured a plan granting the Hindu minority in East Bengal an opportunity to settle in India while pushing the Muslim minorities in India to East Bengal.
