The Last Journey of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Unanswered Questions
- In History & Culture
- 09:21 AM, Jul 19, 2018
- Hariprasad N
Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee was a multi-faceted personality who played a distinct part in shaping the educational and political landscape of India during the middle part of the last century. He was an educationist, a lawyer, a freedom fighter, minister in India’s first cabinet and also the founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the parent party of BJP. Born in 1901, he led an eventful life full of glorious achievements. However his journey was abruptly halted in 1953 when he died under mysterious circumstances in Srinagar, J & K, while being under arrest on the issue of the state’s integration into India.
During his multi-week arrest and incarceration in Srinagar, he was accompanied as a co-prisoner by the great nationalist Sri Guru Dutt Vaid. Many years later, in the 1960s, Guru Dutt Vaid ji decided to pen down his memoirs of the last few weeks spent with Dr Mookerjee in 1953. He brought this out in the form of a book, in Hindi, titled ‘Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Ki Antim Yatra’ where he has vividly described the incidents in the months of April, May and June of 1953 culminating in the unfortunate death of Dr Mookerjee.
The present article is a narration of the circumstances that led to the incident, and the actual events that took place during those weeks. While being a book review of Guru Dutt ji’s work, the attempt here is also to highlight as many details as possible of the developments during those final weeks of Dr Mookerjee, many of which are unknown to the present generation.
A Short Introduction to Dr Mookerjee
Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee (SPM) was born in the year 1901 in a Bengali Hindu family in Calcutta (now Kolkata). His father, Sri Ashutosh Mookerjee was a judge of the High Court of Calcutta and also the Vice Chancellor of the Calcutta University. Being born in such an illustrious family, Dr SPM naturally excelled in his studies. He cleared his law exams with outstanding grades and went on to study in London to become a barrister. He also obtained an MA degree.
He started becoming involved in the administration of the Calcutta University at the age of 24 itself. He first became a member of the University Senate, and later in 1934, became its youngest Vice Chancellor at the age of 33! He held this position till 1938. His association with, and contribution to, the University continued subsequently too. During his Vice Chancellorship, he ushered in numerous reforms in the University, started many new courses and enlarged the usage and importance of Bengali in the administration. He even initiated the creation of a ‘Bengali Dictionary’ to formalize many words in the language. During this phase of his life, he also ventured into practicing law for a while at the High Court of Calcutta.
He started his political career in 1929, and was elected as a Congress candidate to the Bengal Legislative Assembly. In 1930, he resigned from his seat due to the boycott of the Legislature by Congress. However, he disagreed in principle with the party’s stand, and therefore stood for elections in the same year again as an independent and won his seat. Dr SPM was greatly impressed by the ideology and work of Veer Savarkar and became a member of the Hindu Mahasabha, where he held numerous high positions, including the President-ship from 1943 to 1946. In 1941, he co-ordinated with Fazlul-Haq and his Krishak Praja Party and became the minister of Finance in the Bengal cabinet. With his, the Hindu Mahasabha also succeeded in keeping the Muslim League out of power, much against the efforts of the Congress.
He resigned from the Bengal cabinet after numerous differences with the head of the Government. The immediate trigger was, however, the man-made famine in Bengal in 1943 and its absolutely inept handling by the Government. After giving up his minister-ship, he indulged full time into famine relief work. Under his guidance, thousands of people were provided relief and rehabilitation. During the infamous Dhaka riots and Calcutta killings, Dr SPM played a significant role in the efforts to quell the riots and also rehabilitation and justice to the victims. He became a strong voice for the Hindus in Bengal.
When it became clear in 1946-47 that the partition of India was inevitable, he led a movement to ensure that the state of Bengal did not merge with Pakistan in its entirety. Such a move, he was convinced, would be disastrous for the Hindus. Under his leadership, the efforts to partition Bengal into West and East divisions succeeded, and West Bengal integrated with India and became a Hindu majority state.
His great and undisputed nationalism, hands-on activism for justice for Hindus, and great background in education and politics compelled the Congress party to invite him to join the Constituent Assembly to aid in the process of drafting independent India’s Constitution. He made several key contributions during the drafting of the document, as well as during the numerous debates in the Assembly. He was also invited to become part of India’s first cabinet and went on to become India’s first Industries minister. Dr SPM led numerous initiatives in this crucial ministry. He laid the groundwork for the creation of many public sector industries and also contributed immensely to the creation of India’s first industrial policy.
Hindus in Pakistan were being subjected to great discrimination right after partition. The atrocities on them peaked in 1950. Dr SPM advocated that India should engage with Pakistan at any diplomatic level only after the Hindus in Pakistan were rehabilitated and their safety was assured of. However, Nehru went ahead with the Delhi Pact of 1950 with Liaquat Ali Khan. Dr SPM protested strongly against this move, and resigned from the cabinet. He then took on the mantle of the leader of the opposition and continued to voice the concerns of Hindus in India and Pakistan, which included the East Pakistan region of what is today Bangladesh.
He strongly opposed the special status given to Jammu & Kashmir, and led the call for complete integration of the state into India. The last part of his life, which was tragically cut short in 1953, was dedicated to fight for the Kashmir cause.
Purpose of the Yatra
Maharaja Hari Singh of Kashmir, and its popular leader Sheikh Abdullah, had both agreed to the merger of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir with India in 1947-48. However, Jawaharlal Nehru still went ahead with the idea of a plebiscite in the region, and also stunningly referred the ‘dispute’ to the UN. In 1950, Sheikh Abdullah started talking about an ‘Independent Kashmir’ during a visit to Paris. Even prior to that, the vacillation of Sheikh Abdullah on multiple issues led to suspicion on the part of the people of Jammu, who were predominantly Hindu. The Praja Party (also known as Jammu Praja Parishad), based primarily out of Jammu, wanted to enter the J & K assembly and represent the interests of the Hindus. However, during the elections, the candidature of most of the party members was rejected on flimsy grounds by the election authorities of the state. Consequently, the National Conference of Sheikh Abdullah won a massive majority in the assembly.
The Praja Party declared the whole election process as illegal and launched an agitation. The party also demanded the full integration of the state with India. Sheikh Abdullah declared the protests as illegal. Although the protests were always peaceful, force was being used on the protestors in an attempt to quell the demands. To add salt to the wound, Nehru sent troops to the valley to aid in the quelling of the agitation.
In the year 1952, Dr SPM and the BJS formally joined hands with the Praja Party on the issue of the agitation. They launched a ‘satyagraha’ in Delhi, Punjab and J&K to protest against the special treatment of the state, and demanded complete integration into India, just like any other state. Dr SPM famously stated “Ek desh mein do Vidhan, do Pradhan aur Do Nishan nahi chalenge” – “There shall not be two Constitutions, nor two Prime Ministers nor two symbols in this country”. This was in protest against the head of the J & K government being called as the ‘Prime Minister’ and also the attempts to have a separate formal flag for the state, in addition to the limited jurisdiction of the Government of India in the affairs of the state.
Dr SPM wrote to Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah with his demands for the state. Being unsatisfied with their responses, he launched a nationwide satyagraha. The protests, which were completely peaceful, were massive in Punjab and Delhi. In Feb 1953, the Punjab Government imposed restrictions using section 144 of IPC to prevent gathering of protesters. The Delhi Government also soon followed suit. Dr SPM decided to violate the uncalled for imposition of these restrictions. Consequently, he, Sri Nirmalchandra Chatterjee, Nandalal Shastri, Guru Dutt Vaid and a few others were arrested and jailed. The Supreme Court of India came to their rescue and released them on bail, as the reasons for their arrest were obviously weak.
The Bharatiya Jana Sangh, in its annual session in Kanpur, decided to constitute a committee to visit Jammu and discuss the state of affairs with the Praja Party. Sri Guru Dutt and 6 others were chosen to be in the delegation. The Government of India had a strange policy due to which all Indians who wanted to enter Jammu and Kashmir had to obtain a permit from the Defense ministry. The delegation applied for the same, but was refused permission.
Dr SPM wrote to the Defense Minister seeking to know the legal status behind the permit. He pointed out that all other opposition members were being permitted except the BJS. Meanwhile numerous conflicting reports were coming from Jammu and Kashmir. Even though there was overall peace, some reports suggested violence. There were also reports of large-scale arrests and detentions of protestors. Considering all this, Dr SPM decided that it was time for him to personally go to Jammu and Kashmir and take stock of the situation. Due to the cases that were pending on him after his arrest in Punjab, he was finding it difficult to find a suitable time interval to go to Jammu. However, in May 1953, he got a 12 day break from his cases. He immediately decided to make a visit to the state.
Journey towards Jammu
As noted earlier, Dr SPM and others were refused permission early in 1953 itself when they sought to enter Jammu & Kashmir. Dr SPM protested this atrocious move, and also questioned why he and his party were being singled out on this issue. Dr SPM pointed out that even the members of the Communist Party were easily getting permits but the satyagrahis were being prevented. In April 1953, Umashankar Trivedi and Vishnughanshyam Deshpande, two members of Parliament, tried to enter Jammu. Both of them were arrested in Jalandhar and detailed in Ambala.
This latest incident triggered another round of protest by Dr SPM. This time he decided to go to Jammu – but without applying for the permit. He declared that the permit system was illegal since the Constitution declared freedom of movement for all its citizens – and Jammu & Kashmir was very much a part of India. The permit system created a different stature for J & K which was unconstitutional! He wrote to the Defense minister with these arguments but did not receive a satisfactory response. Therefore, he declared that he would undertake a yatra to Jammu, starting 8th of May 1953, without obtaining the permit.
The purpose of the yatra was to be the following:
· To determine the true status of the more than 2500 people arrested during the agitation, which was underway since many months, and to address the issue of over 30 deaths during the same.
· To take stock of the agitation of the Praja Party and advise them, in the background of more than 1800 members of the party being arrested.
· To find out a peaceful solution to the agitation, and ensure the demands of the people are met by the Government.
· To ensure the successful ending of the agitation in Jammu.
· To go to Jammu without a permit.
Dr Mookerjee released a statement which read as follows:
“Mr Nehru repeatedly declared that the accession of the state of Jammu and Kashmir to India has been hundred percent complete. Yet it is strange to find that one cannot enter the state without a previous permit from the Government of India. This permit is even granted to communists, who are playing their usual role in Jammu and Kashmir, but entry is barred to those who think or act in terms of Indian unity and nation-hood. I do not think Government of India is entitled to prevent entry into any part of the Indian Union, which according to Mr Nehru himself, includes Jammu and Kashmir. Of course, if any one violates the law after entering the state, he will have to face the consequences”
Dr SPM even expressed interest in meeting Sheikh Abdullah and discussing with him, keeping the larger goal of a peaceful solution to the impasse.
At this stage, the Government of India could have taken one of two stances - a) Granting permission to visit Jammu b) Detain Dr SPM in advance before he entered Jammu. But the Government of India did none of this. Dr SPM therefore launched his yatra on the 8th of May from Delhi. He was to cover the route from Delhi till Pathankot in Punjab via a combination of train hops and private vehicles. Several thousands of people had gathered at the Delhi railway station for the start of Dr Mookerjee’s journey. Just before the commencement of the yatra, Dr SPM addressed the crowd at Delhi station and expressed confidence that his peaceful yatra would be allowed and his goals would be achieved.
The train journey covered many towns and cities, including Shahdara, Ghaziabad, Muradnagar, Meerut, Daurala, Khatauli, Muzaffarnagar, Deoband, Saharanpur, Jagadhari, Barara and Ambala. In many places, the local administration had imposed section 144. At such locations, Dr SPM did not undertake any public meeting, respecting the law of the land. In other places where there no restrictions, he addressed rallies in which several thousands of people participated.
At Ambala, a crowd of over 10,000 had gathered. Each speech by Dr SPM would lead to the crowd chanting “Mookerjee ki jai ho”, “BJS amar rahe”, “Kashmir Bharat ka ang hain” and so on. He addressed the press here and said
“Permits should be imposed on foreigners and especially Pakistan agents, and not for preventing prominent Indian citizens from entering the state. I am a Member of Parliament and it is my right to visit the state and ascertain the true status. This is why I am going to Jammu without a permit”
At Ambala, he also sent a telegram to Sheikh Abdullah and Nehru informing them of their plans. Thereafter he reached Shahbad by road and addressed a public gathering there. He continued onwards to Karnal and then reached Panipat. Talking to a few people there, he expressed some concerns about the intentions of the Government of India. He said
“Strange things happen in this country. Those who wish the unity and growth of the nation are termed communal. On the other hand, those who wish the partition of the land are termed nationalists”
At Phagwada, Dr SPM received a reply from Sheikh Abdullah. It was a cold reply saying “I don’t think anything will be achieved with you going to Jammu”. But no response was received from Nehru. Dr Mookerjee then proceeded to Jalandhar and then started towards Amritsar. In the train bogey, the Deputy Commissioner of Gurdaspur was present. He addressed Dr SPM and said “Although I am not authorized to inform you, I am still telling you that I have been asked not to let you reach Pathankot. I am yet to receive instructions on where to detain you”.
After this, Dr SPM decided to take only a small set of people along with him for the remainder of the yatra. On the 11th of May, Dr SPM started his train journey towards Pathankot. At Batala, the Resident Magistrate entered the train and sat next to Dr SPM. He introduced himself and accompanied Dr SPM till Pathankot. At Pathankot, the Deputy Commissioner wanted to meet Dr Mookerjee. He said “I have received orders from above to let you proceed without permit. There is no limit on how many can accompany you. However, my advice to you is to take along only few people”.
Dr SPM had anticipated that he would be prevented from entering Jammu, latest at Madhopur post. However, given the twist in the tale, last minute preparations were made for entering the state. The officials accompanied Dr SPM till the bridge at Madhopur post. Dr SPM and 7 of his associates were on a jeep. They started crossing the bridge at Madhopur. Midway on the bridge, the jeep was stopped by a few lathi-wielding constables. One of them served an order which read “Since you are intending to disturb peace in the state, you are asked to not enter the state”. Dr SPM reiterated his stance to proceed further and informed them that the Government of India itself had allowed him to enter without a permit.
Then the police pulled out another notice which mentioned that Dr SPM and his associates were being arrested for trying to enter the state with the intention of disturbing peace. Dr SPM, Guru Dutt Vaid and Sri Tekchand Sharma got down from the jeep and were arrested. The remaining 5 returned back.
In the evening, the three of them were put in a police vehicle and they started towards Srinagar. The vehicle reached Udhampur at around 10PM and all of them had dinner there. Once they finished their meals, they proceeded further and reached Batoth around 2AM. The group halted for the night there and restarted their journey at 6AM. Finally, at around 3PM, the vehicle reached Srinagar Central Jail. From there, the three of them were taken to a small cottage near Nishath Bagh.
Arrest in Srinagar
Although the location where the confinement happened was very picturesque, the house was a very small one. There were two small rooms and the three prisoners were made to stay in that smallish place. Behind the house was the ‘Harvan Range’ of mountains. The SP of the jail, Srikanth Sapru and the doctor Ali Muhammad and DM of Srinagar also reached that place. Dr SPM was checked for his vital parameters and his blood pressure was found to be 135/90. The doctor expressed some concern but Dr SPM said that the numbers were normal for him.
There was a small lawn in the cottage. Dr SPM used to regularly sit in the lawn under the chinar trees. The three prisoners used to have regular discussions on various topics in that lawn. Subject to the limitations of what was available in Srinagar, Dr SPM and the two associates used to get whatever food they liked to have. A sub-inspector, one head-constable and eight constables were deputed to guard Dr SPM. The place also had one servant and one cook.
Dr SPM tried to maintain a strict regimen at the place in order to take care of his fragile health. He used to get up by 5, freshen up, and take a walk in the lawn for about 20 minutes. Being an ardent devotee of Durga, Dr SPM used to chant the Durga/Kali Path after his walk. Breakfast used to be around 8AM followed by a lot of discussions on nationalist topics. At noon, lunch used to be taken, after which Dr SPM would rest for a while. Post the siesta, Dr SPM used to engage in a lot of study followed by evening tea and light snacks. The SP of the jail used to come regularly during tea.
In the evenings, Dr SPM used to attend to his mail and respond to the necessary ones. However, all his mails used to be scrutinized by the police, and inevitably the letters would reach him very late. The letters Dr SPM wrote to his mother in Calcutta would be in Bengali and therefore would be censored by the police. Some of the letters from his friends would reach him after 12 to 14 days! Even newspapers would be provided only 2 or 3 times a week.
Dr SPM was an avid walker. Long walks were the reason for his reasonable health, in spite of the earlier issues he had had with heart related problems. He started to miss the long walks during confinement. He complained to the Inspector General of Jails about his need for longer walks. The IG promised to obtain the necessary permits to allow Dr SPM to go out of the cottage for his walks. But the permits never came. Soon Dr SPM and the other two realized that they would not be allowed to go out, irrespective of the wishes of the jail staff there. Similarly, the Superintendent had once promised to arrange a radio for Dr SPM to listen to national news. However, the same never materialized.
Once Dr SPM was informed that a few of his relatives had arrived in Srinagar and that they would be allowed to meet him. But the meeting never happened. The reasons for denying the meeting were never made known. Even Sardar Hukum Singh, who wanted to meet Dr SPM as a friend, was denied permission. Dr Umashankar Trivedi, an advocate of the Supreme Court of India, who wanted to file a Habeas Corpus petition in the J & K High Court wasn’t allowed to meet Dr SPM. However, after an order by the High Court, he was eventually allowed access.
A very strange incident happened once. One evening, along with the Superintendent, a sadhu arrived. He had a big moustache, long beard and looked like a typical baba. Dr SPM asked him what he wanted. The baba mentioned that he had come to take the advice of Dr SPM to help his nephew who had been sentenced to death for some crime. The baba kept blabbering for a long time and eventually left. None of the people there understood what had happened. However, seven years later, it came to be known that the baba was the father of a BJS secretary and had come there only to see Dr SPM and report his condition to his followers!
In this way, around 6 weeks of confinement happened.
Discussions with Dr Mookerjee
For six weeks, Guru Dutt Vaid engaged with Dr SPM on a number of topics of national importance. As a result of this, the views of Dr SPM on many issues became clear.
On Sardar Patel
Dr SPM considered Sardar Patel as the iron man of India and greatly appreciated his courage, intelligence and sense of strategy. Dr SPM, however, felt sad about how Gandhiji used to control Patel. He narrated the incident of Sardar initially opposing the transfer of Rs 55 crores to Pakistan till the settlement of the problems. However, Gandhiji managed to veto Patel’s objections and made him yield.
Dr SPM also greatly admired the co-ordination between Patel and Nehru in spite of their differences.
On Dr B R Ambedkar
Dr SPM considered Ambedkar as a genuine intellectual and had great respect for him. He felt Dr Ambedkar wanted the very best of the constitutions of the world to be incorporated into the Indian constitution. However in the end, the result became quite different from the original goal.
Dr SPM wanted Ambedkar to join his party – the BJS. He mentioned that the two of them had even discussed it once. He felt Ambedkar’s bitterness towards Hindu religion was because of his personal experience. But he dearly hoped to co-ordinate and work with Ambedkar in the future.
On Jawaharlal Nehru
Dr SPM considered Nehru a bundle of energy. He considered Nehru to have been greatly influenced by European culture and beliefs, yet had great respect for him. He used to frequently say that it would have been very good for the nation if Nehru was educated a little on Hindutva. He felt Nehru compromised on Congress’ ideals for the sake of appeasement of minorities.
On Indian National Congress
Dr SPM felt that a great amount of progress was made by the nation during Tilak’s phase of Congress. He in fact considered that from 1921 to 1945 the political development of the country actually underwent a setback.
Dr SPM spoke in great detail about the roles of Gandhiji, Subhas Chandra Bose and others in Congress and in the freedom movement. He also expressed dissatisfaction at the appeasement politics of Congress towards minorities.
In addition to these, the discussions of the three prisoners also revolved around the importance of education, the role of revolutionary fighters, creation of jobs, agriculture, bharatiya culture and numerous other topics.
On Bharatiya Jana Sangh
Dr SPM explained to the other two prisoners the reasons behind founding the Jana Sangh. He earnestly wanted the nation to get rid of caste and communal politics. He wanted the Government to treat all its citizens equally, without bias towards, or against, anyone on communal lines. He wanted to strengthen the unity of the nation and ensure it never again fell into the hands of any foreign power.
Dr Mookerjee felt that patriotism in the Indian context necessarily meant affection and love over Hindu culture. He felt Hindu culture was the only way sarva-dharma-samabhav could be really achieved.
These were the primary reasons he established the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
Death of Dr Mookerjee
The incarceration of Dr Mookerjee started on the 12th of May 1953. On the 17th of May, Dr SPM experienced considerable pain in his legs. The doctor was intimated and he came the next day and applied a Beladona plaster. This brought some relief from the pain. He had mild fever too, and the doctor prescribed some syrup. After three days, Dr Mookerjee recovered from the pain and fever.
He kept complaining during the stay that he had to go for long walks as otherwise his health would get affected. He said that because of lack of walking, his appetite was gradually reducing. The Superintendent kept assuring that the permit for his walks would come, but it never did. Once the Superintendent ordered the sub-inspector to depute two constables and take Dr SPM for long walks. However, the sub-inspector remained adamant on having a written order from the Government. That order never came, and so the walks never happened.
On the 4th of June 1953, the pain in the leg recurred. Again, the plaster was applied and after four days he became fine. But his appetite reduced further. When Sardar Hukum Singh visited him, Dr Mookerjee raised the issue of his walks and appetite again. It appears that Hukum Singh raised the issue with Sheikh Abdullah. On the 17th of June, the DM informed the Superintendent, over phone, to allow Dr SPM to take longer walks. But the sub-inspector once again refused permission without written orders! Finally, the written orders arrived on 20th of June. However, by this time, Dr SPM’s health had completely deteriorated and he was not in any position to walk.
On the night of 19th June, Dr SPM developed severe pain in the back. He had fever the next morning. Dr Ali Muhammad visited him that afternoon and decided to give him an injection of Streptomycin. Dr SPM objected saying that his family doctor had told him not to have Streptomycin as it is not suitable for his body. The doctor asked when such an instruction was given. On being told that it was in 1946, the doctor over-ruled the objections saying a lot more was known now about those medicines.
Dr SPM used to experience some relief every time medicines were given. However, this time no such relief was observed. The next day, another doctor came and Streptomycin was administered again. Guru Dutt Vaid asked the doctor if aspirin was also being administered. The doctor, however, just laughed and didn’t answer. That day, on the 21st of June, Dr SPM felt some relief and also slept for a few hours. He was consuming very minimal food. At around 11PM in the night, his back ache increased severely and he could no longer sleep. At around 4AM on the 22nd of June, he complained of chest pain and he had difficulty in breathing. He woke Guru Dutt Vaid after struggling alone for half an hour. He was sweating profusely and his body was getting cold.
There were no medicines in the cottage and it was still early morning. Guru Dutt Vaid made him some tea using Dalchini, Elaichi and Lavang. This brought some relief and his perspiration stopped. His temperature also returned to normal. At 5:30AM, the Superintendent was called on phone and was asked to bring a doctor. The doctor arrived at 7AM. Dr SPM was given an injection of Coramine. The doctor called up the Superintendent and told him that it was necessary to shift Dr SPM to a hospital. The Superintendent talked to the DM and got the approval.
The other two prisoners wanted to come along, but permission was refused. At around 11:30AM, a taxi arrived there and Dr Mookerjee was taken to a hospital. Guru Dutt Vaid got a phone call at 7 in the evening and was told that Dr Mookerjee was feeling better than earlier. Sri Umashankar Trivedi, his advocate, was in Srinagar that day and he visited Dr SPM and stayed with him for one hour. Dr SPM was responding well and told his advocate that he had sent a telegram to his family about his condition.
It is told that around 11PM in the night, Dr SPM’s health deteriorated completely. The medicines started to fail and the condition only worsened. At 4AM in the morning on the 23rd of June, Guru Dutt Vaid, Sri Tekchandra Sharma and Pandit Premanth Dogra were all woken up and asked to head towards the hospital. Upon reaching the hospital, they were informed that Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee had passed away.
At 5AM, the three of them were allowed to see the body of Dr Mookerjee. Unable to bear the grief, they rushed out of the room and met the nurse who was attending him. The nurse, upon inquiry, revealed that the death had occurred at 2:30AM.
Meanwhile the habeas corpus petition filed in the High Court had progressed painfully slowly, due to numerous delays by the Government. The arguments were finally completed on the 22nd of June and the judgement was expected on the 23rd. However, earlier in the day, Dr SPM passed away.
Post Death
The co-prisoners were taken back the cottage-jail, where they packed their belongings, and that of Dr SPM, and came back to the hospital. The plan was to take the body to Delhi on an Air Force plane. But the decision was changed and the body was to be taken to Ambala. In this confusion, nothing was done till 10:00AM. Midway during the flight, instructions were received that the body was to be brought to Jalandhar. But at Jalandhar, permission to land was not granted. Finally the plane landed at Adhampur airport. There, an INA plane was waiting and body was shifted to the same.
The journey towards Calcutta began. At 5PM, the plan stopped at Kanpur for refueling and then continued its journey. The body reached Calcutta airport at around 8:50PM. There was a massive crowd of supporters at the airport. People had thronged the entire path from the airport to his home at 77, Ashutosh Marg and the body reached home only at 5 in the morning!
The next day, 24th of June 1953, the final procession of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s body started at 11AM and the final rites were performed at 3PM, according to traditional Hindu rites.
In this way, the nation lost one of its great sons. Naturally, a number of questions came up, none of which have been answered satisfactorily till date.
- Why was Dr Mookerjee allowed to enter Jammu at the last minute?
- Why was Dr Mookerjee arrested as soon as he stepped into Jammu and Kashmir, in spite of there being no violence or provocation?
- Why were the repeated requests of Dr Mookerjee for permission to undertake longer walks not approved, in spite of him visibly deteriorating due to the same?
- Was there medical negligence knowing the entire history of medical conditions Dr SPM had had for over a decade then?
- Why was he not moved to the hospital earlier? Couldn’t there have been better medical facilities arranged for him, such as an ambulance to transport him to the hospital instead of an ordinary taxi?
These, and many other, questions will perhaps never be answered. The unfortunate reality, though, is that one of India’s greatest patriots and achievers was lost at a very early age. His contributions to nation-building must never be forgotten. His ideals must never be forsaken.
Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee must always remain in our thoughts and his ideology must always figure in our efforts at nation building.
References:
1) Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee ki Antim Yatra, Guru Dutt Vaid, Hindi Sahitya Sadan, 2013
2) The Life and Times of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Tathagata Roy, Prabhat Prakashan, 2014
3) Bharatiya Jana Sangh, The Development of a Political Party in India, Prabha Sharma, 1969
4) Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation - http://www.spmrf.org/
5) Sardar Patel’s Correspondence Volume 1, Navajivan Publishing House
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