Latest news with #SyamaPrasadMookerjee
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
TMC gives Vivekananda reply to BJP's SP Mookerjee demand
1 2 Kolkata: Union minister Sukanta Majumdar on Sunday sought the renaming of Sealdah station as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Terminal. Trinamool, on the other hand, demanded that it be named after Swami Vivekananda, who arrived at the Sealdah station after his return from Chicago. "State govt should send a proposal to rename Sealdah station after Syama Prasad Mookerjee. We will forward that to central govt and get it sanctioned. It should be named Syama Prasad Mookerjee Terminal. It will be a tribute to those who were forced to leave Bangladesh following attacks," Majumdar said after flagging off the first air-conditioned passenger train from the station. TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said: "We have a port named after Syama Prasad Mookerjee. Why not name the station after Vivekananda? Sealdah station has a historical connection with Swamiji. However, changing the name of a station requires multiple permissions and that will not be easy." In 1897, after his return from Chicago via sea route, Vivekananda took a train from Budge Budge and got down at Sealdah station. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata Meanwhile, TMC supporters and INTTUC workers staged protests in front of the Dum Dum Metro station. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Lana Green Is Retiring - Her Final Jewelry Pieces Are 80% Off Artisan Weekly Read More Undo They alleged that BJP was trying to lodge attacks on the Bengali-speaking population in other states. The protests started while Majumdar was flagging off the train. When the BJP supporters tried to counter them, it ended up in a scuffle. Majumdar, who had left the station area by then, came back after getting to know about the scuffle. INTTUC supporters said they would continue to shout 'Jai Bangla' if attacks on migrant workers didn't stop. TMC supporters started shouting slogans against BJP after they saw Majumdar. "We have not come here for any political programme. It is a programme of central govt and this will help thousands of daily passengers. TMC is afraid of Centre as they don't want systemic intensive revision of voter list in Bengal," Majumdar said. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
The Print
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Bengal had a real chance at Hindu-Muslim unity before Partition. It was Syama-Huq govt
Such depictions are not totally correct. They tend to ignore the actual context of Syama Prasad's views and politics, and the fact that he was essentially a secularist who believed in sectarian harmony, but not at the cost of the majority. As a prominent leader of the Hindu Mahasabha, he vociferously opposed the politics of the Muslim League, the principal mover behind the creation of Pakistan. This has been taken to indicate that he mirrored the communal politics of the League. The dominant narrative on the Indian nationalist movement, both in India and in Western academia, has been to portray Bharatiya Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee as a communalist. This is due largely to the fact that after 1946, when the Partition of India was beginning to look more like a reality than before, he vocally called for the separation of the Hindu-dominated areas of undivided Bengal into a separate province of India. A relook at Bengal's last secular government before Partition is required. Also Read: Syama Prasad Mookerjee — the BJP ideologue whose political ideas find echo even today Syama-Huq alliance Recent interest in the politics of pre-Partition Bengal largely revolves around the tragic killings and riots of Direct Action Day (August 1946), and the increasing communal polarisation that accompanied the rise of the Muslim League, which ultimately led to the Partition of the province. Yet, an often overlooked aspect is the effort at communal unity through the formation of the Progressive Coalition government in December 1941. Syama Prasad Mookerjee's coalition government with AK Fazlul Huq, formed that same month, was the last combined Hindu-Muslim provincial government in undivided Bengal. It was a sincere attempt to dilute the hate-filled politics of the Muslim League and its Bengal leadership—particularly that of HS Suhrawardy, later infamous for his role in the Calcutta riots of 1946. Popularly known as the 'Syama-Huq ministry', this alliance—formed while the Second World War was raging in Europe and had reached Southeast Asia—comprised five Muslim and four Hindu ministers. Headed by Huq as premier and with Syama Prasad holding the finance portfolio, it was a genuine effort at communal harmony. Functioning as a loose legislative assembly bloc, the Progressive Coalition prevented the complete vacating of administrative and political space to the divisive politics of the Muslim League. Though Huq also had earlier ties with the Muslim League, his own Krishak Praja Party (KPP) served as an effective secular counterpoise to its vigorous sectarian activities. A secular push against odds While Huq was not without his shortcomings, joining his government was the last chance Bengal had at Hindu-Muslim governmental unity without the League's divisive politics. The League was set on an agenda of communalising the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, as well as Calcutta University, and on dominating the educational, governmental, and administrative apparatus to Islamise Bengal and steer it on a separatist track. In Bengal, the growth of communal Muslim politics was mainly owing to an alliance between elite landowning groups and a vast Muslim peasantry. The Congress, meanwhile, represented the professional middle classes and the largely Hindu zamindari landowners. From the 1930s onwards, however, the rise of Huq's Krishak Praja Party, which championed the interests of rural Muslim peasants in eastern Bengal, brought a new twist to the political paradigm. At the forefront of Huq's agenda was the abolition of zamindari landholdings, which made his tie-up with the Muslim League difficult to sustain. Though the League and KPP formed the first provincial government in 1937, the internal contradictions of class interest quickly made the alliance turbulent. Although elected as a Congress member to the Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1929, Syama Prasad was independent-minded and increasingly diverged from his party's line, especially on Bengal politics. A pragmatist, he had possibly realised that the only way to prevent the ceding of legislative and administrative space to the Muslim League was to ally with Huq when the League-KPP government collapsed in 1941. He was also determined to stymie the increasingly divisive role played by the colonial British rulers, who pandered to the Muslim League. Measures such as the Communal Award of 1932—which ostensibly sought to expand electoral rights by granting separate representation to different Indian communities— ended up deepening fissures on religious lines. In a province like Bengal, where elite landowners and the urban professional class were predominantly Hindu, while the Muslim population was mostly agrarian, this had serious ramifications for communal unity. At a time when Congress had officially resigned from government, it was Syama Prasad's prescience that ensured at least an effort was made to build a non-League political formation. In an assembly of 250 seats, this alliance commanded a sizeable majority. The Bengal Congress did not oppose the government, but stayed neutral. To his credit, Syama Prasad had recognised the League's long game. With Congress absent from governance, he played a major part in keeping the non-League coalition alive and ensured Hindu interests were not overlooked. However, the Muslim League, led in the Assembly by Khwaja Nazimuddin but directed behind the scenes by Suhrawardy, launched a campaign accusing Huq of 'betrayal of the Muslim cause'. 'Doctrine of benevolent trusteeship stands exploded' The government did not last beyond a year, brought down by the shrill opposition of the Muslim League, aided by the tacit support of the British colonial governor, JA Herbert. With his help, the League started a mass offensive to discredit the Progressive Coalition. Suhrawardy, in particular, tried to turn Muslim students against Huq and stir communal hatred through 'Kafela' tours , according to contemporary sources as well as academic works like Muslim Politics In Bengal (1937-1947) by Shila Sen. League mouthpieces like The Star of India, Azad, and The Morning News upped their inflammatory rhetoric, branding Huq a 'ghaddar'—traitor. Despite the unrest being created by the League, Governor Herbert refused to heed warnings from even senior British ICS officers in the districts, reportedly saying, 'It would be inexpedient at present to restrain Suhrawardy'. Increasingly frustrated by British policies and disregard, Syama Prasad resigned from the government on 16 November 1942. In his resignation letter to Herbert, he stated in unequivocal terms: 'You, as Provincial Governor… have interfered with the work of the Ministry and have rendered so-called provincial autonomy into a meaningless farce. The doctrine of benevolent trusteeship stands exploded and you can no longer throw dust into our eyes.' Also Read: Lion of Bengal AK Fazlul Huq eclipsed Jinnah, fought for tenant farmers What history forgets Revisiting this period of Bengal's history is important for several reasons. Firstly, a rebalancing of historiography is essential. While it is true that academic histories are often rooted in what EH Carr designated as the 'historian's craft' to cherry-pick historical facts, present-day researchers need to take into account the entire context of tumultuous events. Secondly, ordinary readers must also make greater efforts to understand the entire backdrop before arriving at conclusions. For this, an exhaustive reading of a variety of sources presenting diverse views is required. Thirdly, instead of creating artificial binaries between 'academic' and 'popular' histories, the quest should be to refer to as many records and documents of an era as are available. If popular history is able to do so, and also bring greater ease and clarity to mass audiences in understanding complex events, it should be encouraged rather than denigrated. There could be no better way to honour a stalwart nationalist leader like Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee than by diligently searching for the whole historical truth, not fragments of it. As India stands on the cusp of 80 years of independence, it needs to confront its past with confidence, and not treat history as a mere project. Sayantani Gupta Jafa is a writer and policy analyst. She has served as a civil servant with the Government of India in cross-functional areas, including environmental sustainability. Views are personal. (Edited by Asavari Singh)
News18
17-07-2025
- Politics
- News18
Paschimbanga Diwas: The Day Bengal Chose Her Soul
Paschimbanga Diwas is not just a political date. It is the heartbeat of the soil that once gave India her greatest reformers, artists, thinkers and martyrs There are dates in history that shine not with fireworks but with the quiet glow of conscience. June 20, 1947 was one such day, a day when Bengal, bloodied and bewildered, stood at the edge of oblivion and made a fateful choice. It chose India, civilisation over surrender, memory over amnesia. This day, now observed as Paschimbanga Diwas, marks the moment when Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee stood like a solitary flame in a storm, refusing to let the ambitions of the Muslim League devour Bengal. As the architects of Partition redrew borders in haste and indifference, Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee invoked not maps, but moral memory. His resistance was not loud, it was luminous. In 1947, amidst the chaos of impending Partition, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, then Premier of Bengal, proposed the idea of a 'United Bengal", an independent sovereign state that would remain undivided and separate from both India and Pakistan. This idea, echoed with Muhammad Ali Jinnah's Two-Nation Theory and was widely seen as a strategic attempt to create a Muslim-majority country under the guise of unity, with Kolkata as its capital. Syama Prasad Mookerjee emerged as the strongest voice against this plan. Recognising the danger it posed to Bengal's Hindu population and India's national interest, he vehemently opposed Suhrawardy's proposal. Dr. Mookerjee mobilised public opinion, warned the Congress leadership and argued forcefully for the partition of Bengal to ensure that its Hindu-majority regions, including Kolkata, remained part of India. He warned it would be a 'virtual Pakistan," a land where the soul of Bengal, its temples, poets, women, and identity would be erased. It was not merely a political stand, it was a civilisational intervention. His efforts were instrumental in derailing the United Bengal scheme and securing West Bengal's inclusion in the Indian Union, thus safeguarding its cultural and civilisational heritage. Yet today, as West Bengal marks another year of existence, the state government refuses to remember, seeking to erase this date, rewrite identity, and obscure sacrifice. Paschimbanga Diwas is replaced by Poila Boishakh, a cultural celebration repurposed as political camouflage. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose once warned, 'The greatest crime is to compromise with injustice and accept wrong as the norm." This warning echoes hollow in the actions of Mamata Banerjee's government. Mamata Banerjee's regime, in its eagerness to appease and recalibrate identity politics, has abandoned the very legacy that saved Bengal from cultural annihilation. By rejecting 20th June, it rejects the sanctity of memory, the pain of Partition and the fierce foresight of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee. We must ask, Is this historical innocence or deliberate amnesia? Let us recall, it was Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee who, after the genocide of Direct Action Day, refused to play by the rules of fatalism. He warned Lord Mountbatten, debated Jawaharlal Nehru, opposed Suhrawardy and appealed directly to the people of Bengal. His voice was not communal, it was existential. It was the luminous defiance of a civilisation that refused to be erased. What he salvaged was not merely a province, it was the dream of Bengal. Not the Bengal of geography, but of poetry and pride, the Bengal of Chaitanya's kirtan, Vidyasagar's reform, Tagore's song and Subhas Bose's fire. A Bengal whose rivers flow with memory and resistance, not just water. Paschimbanga Diwas, therefore, is not just a political date. It is the ethical inheritance of every Bengali. It is the heartbeat of the soil that once gave India her greatest reformers, artists, thinkers and martyrs. As Rabindranath Tagore wrote: 'Bipode more rokkha koro e nohe mor prarthona, bipode ami na jeno kori bhoy" (Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them.) Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee did more than pray, he acted. Let Bengal seek its heart again. Let this not be nostalgia, but necessity. In remembering 20th June, we do not glorify Partition, we sanctify the resolve to survive it with dignity. Today, as West Bengal contends with violence, unemployment, and cultural erosion, it must look to 20th June not as history, but as instruction. Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee was the son of Bengal's soil, and 20th June marks the day when this son reclaimed the rights of his motherland. In this moment of drift, we must turn to the compass of conscience. And 20th June, luminous with sacrifice and foresight, is that compass. Let us rise, as Bengal once rose, choosing India, choosing civilisation, choosing the soul over silence. On Paschimbanga Diwas, Bengal must speak again. And this time, the world must listen. Dr Sukanta Majumdar is the Union Minister of State and President of BJP's West Bengal unit. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18's views. view comments Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: News opinion Opinion | Paschimbanga Diwas: The Day Bengal Chose Her Soul Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
India.com
14-07-2025
- Politics
- India.com
Why Voter List Revision In Bihar Has Put West Bengal, BJP In Focus
The Opposition parties have moved the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission's move to update and revise the voter list in Bihar only months ahead of the polls. While the opposition parties are smelling a conspiracy behind the move, the Election Commission has now asked Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of all states to prepare for Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Reports indicate that poll officials have discovered Bangladeshi, Nepali, and Myanmar nationals in Bihar during the poll revision. Amid the ongoing tussle and SIR exercise, there has been a concern among the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal as well. While the Election officials say an investigation is underway in the incidents of the finding of foreign nationals in Bihar, the Trinamool Congress has alleged that the SIR move is aimed at disenfranchising lakhs of voters that will ultimately benefit the BJP, the saffron party leaders have claimed that intensive revision, as mandated under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, is necessary for weeding out illegal migrants. Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders have voiced concerns that the Election Commission's (EC) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is covertly targeting West Bengal. An Indian Express report notes that leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) see this exercise as potentially pivotal for their party's success. West Bengal's Chief Minister and TMC chairperson, Mamata Banerjee, has accused the EC of acting as a 'stooge of the BJP' by rushing the SIR in Bihar. She has questioned whether this is a clandestine way to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC). For the BJP, West Bengal is a critical state in its quest for national political dominance. Party leaders acknowledge this, also highlighting the state's symbolic importance as the birthplace of the Jana Sangh founder, Syama Prasad Mookerjee. The BJP has long alleged widespread illegal immigration in West Bengal, claiming that the ruling TMC has allowed it to secure more votes. BJP leaders reportedly believe that choosing Bihar as the first state for the SIR was a strategic move, allowing them to work out any issues before a more 'compact' exercise in West Bengal. Since Bihar is an NDA-ruled state, the EC and the Central government can maintain that their motives are entirely 'transparent'. TMC MP Mahua Moitra described the exercise as a tactic to disenfranchise millions of voters. She told The Indian Express that Bihar SIR is a ploy to disenfranchise crores of marginalised voters who will certainly not be able to provide documentation in time. "The BJP is using the EC as its special election machinery, and this exercise will be the absolute burial of an already dying free voting system," she said. In response to the TMC's allegations, BJP MP Raju Bista noted that such a revision of electoral rolls is mandated by the Representation of the People Act, 1950, to ensure their accuracy. Bista alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government is trying to create fear among minorities to hold onto its vote bank.
The Hindu
11-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Abrogation of Article 370 was a correction of historic blunder, says Governor Ravi
Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi on Friday said the abrogation of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was a correction of a historic blunder. Speaking at the 125th birth anniversary celebrations of Syama Prasad Mookerjee (founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh) at Raj Bhavan, Mr. Ravi said the country, under British colonial rule, suffered severe economic, military and educational exploitation. Mr. Ravi spoke in detail on how Syama Prasad Mookerjee had opposed granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir after Independence. 'He was also instrumental in ensuring that at least a part of Bengal remained with India during Partition,' he said. The Governor pointed to key events like the 1905 Bengal partition and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre as sparks that stirred nationwide resistance. He noted that leaders such as Tamil nationalist V.O. Chidambaram Pillai played an active role in these movements. The Governor also said that Mookerjee became a martyr fighting for Kashmir and his dream was fulfilled in 2019. He also added that reclaiming Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is the next step, which he said, will happen. Earlier, he paid floral tributes to Syama Prasad Mookerjee's decorated portrait. H.V. Hande, former Tamil Nadu health minister, and P. Kanagasabapathi, secretary and trustee of the Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation, were among the participants.
