The Great Unifier who sacrificed for National Integration

Prof Rasal Singh

rasal_singh@yahoo.co.in

Born on 6 July 1901 in Calcutta, Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee was an ardent patriot who not only struggled for India's independence but also dedicated his entire life to realizing the dream of a united and sovereign India. He was an illustrious son of the nation who exemplified the spirit and significance of the saying, "Janani Janmabhoomishcha Swargadapi Gariyasi" ("The mother and the motherland are greater even than heaven") through his deep love for Mother India. His extraordinary sacrifice, dedication, commitment to the nation, perseverance, organizational abilities, intellectual brilliance, ideological clarity, and exceptional oratory made him one of the foremost national leaders of independent India.

On 5 August 2019, the Government of India took the historic and courageous decision to completely abrogate Article 370 and Article 35A from the Constitution of India. Prior to this, although Jammu and Kashmir appeared on India's map, it enjoyed autonomous status in relation to the Indian Union and Constitution, except in matters concerning defence, foreign affairs, and communications. The state had its own Constitution, its own flag, separate citizenship, its own head of government (known as the Prime Minister or Wazir-e-Azam), and its own criminal code (the Ranbir Penal Code). These separatist provisions were introduced after the accession of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir to India. They were the result of communal appeasement and political short-sightedness.

Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee consistently opposed these divisive constitutional provisions-Article 370 and Article 35A-from Parliament to the streets, and from Delhi to Srinagar. The final and most decisive struggle of his life was aimed at dismantling this very framework. It was in opposition to these provisions that he coined the famous slogan: "One Flag, One Constitution, and One Head." He had unwavering faith in India's unity and integrity, and he ultimately sacrificed his life while fighting for that cause.

Slogans such as "Where Mookerjee laid down his life, that Kashmir is ours," and "Whether Kashmir or Guwahati, it is our nation and our soil," have continued to inspire countless nationalist-minded youth. Many among them today serve as policymakers in the Government of India and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. They are portrayed as the fruits of the ideological legacy nourished by Dr. Mookerjee's sacrifice.

The origins of Articles 370 and 35A date back to the period when the British Government had announced its decision to grant independence to India. Under the Two-Nation Theory, the princely states were given the option to accede either to India or Pakistan, with the final decision left to their rulers. After most princely states had joined one of the two dominions, Maharaja Hari Singh was asked to decide whether Jammu and Kashmir would accede to India or Pakistan. Instead, he chose to keep the state independent, declining accession to either country.

India had no objection to this decision. Pakistan, however, sought from the outset to seize Jammu and Kashmir by force. On the night of 22 October 1947, armed tribal militias backed by Pakistan invaded the state. Witnessing the atrocities and massacres committed during the invasion, Maharaja Hari Singh appealed for Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India. Consequently, he signed the Instrument of Accession, formally agreeing to the complete accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Indian Union.

It is important to note that the Instrument of Accession signed by Maharaja Hari Singh was the same legal document that had been signed by the rulers of other princely states when they acceded to India. The only difference was the date: while most states acceded around 15 August 1947, Jammu and Kashmir's accession followed the invasion on 22 October 1947. Apart from the date, all the terms and conditions were identical to those applicable to other princely states.

However, Sheikh Abdullah, who at that time was engaged in a struggle against the Hindu Maharaja Hari Singh, was the leader of the Muslim-majority Kashmir and a close associate of Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Owing to his political ambitions, he opposed the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India. Therefore, he demanded that Jammu and Kashmir be granted the status of a special state.

Because of the close friendship between Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah, Nehru accepted Sheikh Abdullah's demands and incorporated Article 370 and Article 35A into the Constitution despite the opposition of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee. Consequently, by inserting Article 370 and Article 35A into the Constitution, Jammu and Kashmir was granted special status and placed in a separate constitutional framework. This was considered a major blow to India's unity, integrity, and sovereignty.

Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who was a member of the Constituent Assembly that passed Article 370 and Article 35A, strongly opposed these provisions. He believed that the inclusion of these provisions in the Constitution would prevent Jammu and Kashmir from ever becoming fully integrated with India. He described these provisions as an acceptance of Sheikh Abdullah's "Three-Nation Theory" and, in protest against them, resigned from the Nehru Cabinet.

Thereafter, Dr. Mookerjee openly opposed Article 370 and Article 35A. With the objective of building an integrated India, and inspired by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), he founded the nationalist political party Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1951.

When Pandit Nehru allegedly threatened to crush the Bharatiya Jana Sangh by branding it a "Hindu communal organization," Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee fearlessly declared his resolve to defeat this mentality that sought to suppress the opposition.

History bears witness that the seed sown by Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee in the form of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh grew into the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on 6 April 1980, which has today developed into a vast banyan tree. It is not only the world's largest political party by membership but has also emerged as the dominant political force in India's democracy, securing overwhelming majorities in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections and decisively defeating the Indian National Congress. On 21 October 1951, the first National Committee meeting of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh was held under the presidency of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee. At this meeting, a unanimously adopted resolution pledged the complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India, thereby affirming the goal of India's full national integration. The BJP government has fulfilled the dream of national integration envisioned by its ideological founder, Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee.

After Independence, the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru appointed Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee as the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supply in his all-party Cabinet. In fact, Dr. Mookerjee's inclusion in the Union Cabinet was hardly surprising. His distinguished performance in the Constituent Assembly, political foresight, exceptional oratory, and profound knowledge and experience of parliamentary procedures had already earned him extraordinary stature. His political influence was equally remarkable.

However, his nationalist ideological convictions were incompatible with politics based on compromise and self-interest. Consequently, because of ideological differences, Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee did not remain a member of the Cabinet for long.

Distressed by the religious persecution and atrocities being committed against Hindus, Sikhs, and other minorities in Pakistan, and dissatisfied with what he considered the inadequate implementation of the agreement concluded between Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan's Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee resigned from the Cabinet on 6 April 1950.

Subsequently, after receiving inspiration and guidance from Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar ("Guruji"), the Sarsanghchalak (Chief) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Dr. Mookerjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in Delhi on 21 October 1951 and became its first president. Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee was a staunch advocate of the unity and integrity of the Indian nation. For this reason, he strongly opposed the special privileges granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370. He went so far as to describe Article 370, as incorporated in the Constitution, as detrimental to the nation. From the very beginning, Dr. Mookerjee opposed Jawaharlal Nehru's policy on Kashmir, which he regarded as one of communal appeasement.

While delivering the presidential address at the Fifth Arya Mahasabha Conference held in Delhi in 1944, Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee clearly stated that preserving India's unity and integrity after independence would be one of the country's greatest challenges.

Following India's independence, Jammu and Kashmir was granted special status and privileges after its accession to India in 1948. Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee was completely unwilling to accept this special position of Jammu and Kashmir within an integrated India. In opposition to this arrangement, he coined the famous slogan:

"One nation cannot have two flags, two constitutions, and two prime ministers."

Under Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir enjoyed special constitutional privileges. Dr. Mookerjee opposed these privileges throughout his life and described the provisions of Article 370 as leading to the "Balkanization of India." Emphasizing his foremost objective of achieving the complete integration of India, he declared at a massive rally held in Jammu in August 1952:

"Either I shall secure the application of the Indian Constitution to you, or I shall sacrifice my life for this cause."

Apart from advocating the complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India, there was another issue that Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee brought to the attention of the entire nation. The Dogra community, the second-largest linguistic group in Jammu and Kashmir, was reportedly facing severe hardships under the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah. Under the leadership of Prem Nath Dogra, the Praja Parishad Party had already been struggling for the dignity and rights of the Dogra community.

According to several documents, Sheikh Abdullah wanted all Dogras to leave Kashmir and abandon their lands and homes for those (Muslims) whom he regarded as his own supporters. This was described as an extreme example of communal discrimination and persecution. B. N. Malik, the then Director of the Intelligence Bureau, also discussed this matter in detail in his book My Years with Nehru.

Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee extended his full support to the Dogra movement. It is also noteworthy that he maintained an extensive correspondence for nearly six months with Jawaharlal Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah regarding the alleged discrimination and mistreatment of the Dogra community by the Abdullah government in Jammu and Kashmir. Through this correspondence, he urged them to take cognizance of the persecution and second-class treatment allegedly being meted out to the Dogras. This clearly reflected Dr. Mookerjee's faith in democratic methods.

When the Nehru government failed to take any action, Dr. Mookerjee proposed visiting Jammu and Kashmir himself to understand the situation and help resolve it. When this proposal also received no response, he decided to oppose the permit system then in force in Jammu and Kashmir.

Under this system, no person from outside Jammu and Kashmir could enter the state without obtaining a permit. To protest this arrangement, Dr. Mookerjee planned to enter Jammu and Kashmir without a permit in May 1953. On 8 May 1953, at 6:30 a.m., Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee left for Jammu via Punjab along with his supporters. From Jalandhar, he boarded a train to Amritsar. In a statement issued at Jalandhar on 10 May 1953, he declared that the Jammu and Kashmir government had deprived Indian citizens of their right to move freely into the state. The very next day, on the evening of 11 May 1953, Dr. Mookerjee was arrested at Lakhanpur, about two miles inside the Jammu and Kashmir border. After crossing the Madhopur check-post, he was arrested midway across the bridge and, via Udhampur, was taken to a house near Nishat Bagh, far from Srinagar, where he was kept in detention.

His contact with the outside world was completely severed. Many letters addressed to him were withheld, and he was not permitted to meet either friends or relatives. From the morning of 22 June, his health reportedly deteriorated considerably. He was subsequently admitted to the Government Hospital. On the morning of 23 June, while still under detention, he passed away under what the passage describes as unusual circumstances. Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee's sudden and untimely death led to persistent questions from the opposition, and demands for an inquiry arose across the country. However, according to the passage, the then Congress government neither initiated any investigation nor took any action in the matter.

Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee's policy regarding Jammu and Kashmir was unequivocal. Under no circumstances did he support granting special privileges to the state, and for this cause he launched several movements, "from Parliament to the streets." He believed that slogans advocating an independent Kashmir in Pakistan could not alter India's geo-cultural map.

Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee is generally remembered as the founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and as a leader who spearheaded the movement concerning Jammu and Kashmir. However, his personality and contributions extended far beyond these roles. Besides being a committed nationalist, he made significant contributions to nation-building both before and after India's independence.

(The author is a Professor at Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi)