Dr. N C Bhowmik
Pranab Mukherjee had an important role in Bangladesh’s Liberation War in 1971.
He was the first foreign national who proposed recognition of the Bangladesh government in exile on June 15, 1971, during a budget session on the floor of the Rajya Sabha.
Then prime minister Indira Gandhi, of course, led to victory and fought off hostile foreign powers. The Indian who was considered emotionally closest to Bangladesh in the last few decades was former president Pranab Mukherjee.
He was religious but secular. He performed his puja at his simple ancestral home in Birbhum. Essentially a family man, but always busy, he had little time for his wife when she was ailing for long and died in 2015 when he was the president.
As president, he worked with two prime ministers, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi. Mukherjee repeatedly stressed the need for social harmony and everyone working for an inclusive India.
Upholding his position, he maintained a good relationship with the Modi government and others. Though it is being discussed with different outlooks, he visited the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Nagpur, where he made a speech on India’s pluralism that was developed in thousands years.
Mukherjee was conferred the Bharat Ratna – the nation’s highest honor – in 2019 when political circles noted that the honor was given to him – a lifelong Congressman – by a BJP government. It may be mentioned India has world-class democratic institutions, so political parties and leaders have consensus not only in values of the constitution and democratic norms and state policies but also in major decisions of the government and state.
This message, for one and all, was the need for India to be a harmonious, inclusive and pluralist society, despite political and ideological differences between individuals and organizations.
Pranab Mukherjee joined politics way back in the year 1969. Right from the beginning young Pranab became closely intimidated with legendary Indira Gandhi. Right from the prime phase of his political lives, Pranab Mukherjee was a member of Rajya Sabha which is regarded as the upper house of the Indian Parliament. He was elected to Lok Sabha twice from the Murshidabad district. In the organizational activities of the Indian National Congress, Pranab Mukherjee was always active and solved innumerable problems of the party. He is rated as crisis manager of the Indian National Congress. It had been proved in different times.
The government of India and all sections of the people pay homage to him. President of India Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited his residence and paid their last respects to the former president by placing wreaths at his portrait.
Former President of Indian National Congress Rahul Gandhi also visited Mr. Mukherjee’s residence and paid tribute to him.
PM Sheikh Hasina in her condolence message said, “He (Pranab Mukherjee) is our guardian and family friend. He always gave courage to us in any crisis”. PM added, “With his death, India lost a wise and patriotic leader, while Bangladesh a close person,”.Terming Pranab Mukherjee a celebrated politician of this sub-continent, she said he will remain alive as a glittering star in the politics of the sub-continent.
Though Mukherjee always remained the second-in-command, he was by far one of the most powerful ministers and influential politicians in the Congress. He was the member of Congress Working Committee, the apex decision-making body for the grand old party, for 23 years and had friends cutting across party lines. Within the Congress, he was famous for his consensus-building ability.
Being dropped from the cabinet in 1984 was a shock, and after parting ways with Congress, he returned six years later. When the time came, he proved a dependable guide for Sonia Gandhi as she stepped into a new political role, entering Parliament in 1999.
If he continued to rise, it was because Mukherjee was a manager par excellence who worked across the non-secular, secular, socialist, capitalist and formed part of a group that did not have enemies but only rivals in politics.
For all his political friendships, Mukherjee was a dyed-in-the-wool Congressman, a key planner and strategist irrespective of whether the party was in office or Opposition. He had drawn Indira Gandhi’s attention and she brought him to Rajya Sabha, making him deputy and minister of state for economic portfolios before he became finance minister in 1982. He never forgot his debt to his mentor, often recalling her as India’s greatest PM.
Mukherjee continued to hold important assignments in the Narasimha Rao government as deputy chair of the Planning Commission and then as a cabinet minister. He was Rao’s choice for political tasks, too. His report on the Tamil Nadu situation ahead of the 1996 polls proved prophetic. He advocated an alliance with DMK, advice that Rao ignored, leading to G K Moopanar and P Chidambaram forming Tamil Maanila Congress. TMC and DMK swept the state, making a crucial difference for Rao and Congress.
Later, Mukherjee accepted Sonia’s choice of Manmohan Singh as PM but was never shy of asserting himself. Officials waiting outside cabinet meetings would recall that his loud tones often filtered out, indicating he was doing most of the talking.
Bangladesh always held a special place in his heart not just because his wife Suvra Mukherjee was from the Bhadrabila village in Narail, but also because of the close bond his family built and nurtured with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana and their children. During the darkest phase of Hasina’s life after the brutal assassination of Bangabandhu on August 15, 1975, Mukherjee and his wife were guardian angels to them in New Delhi where the two sisters had taken asylum. Mukherjee’s close relations with Jyoti Basu helped work out the Ganges water-sharing treaty with Bangladesh in 1996.
He was a strident critic of communalism, a stand he never deviated from. But that did not prevent him from pursuing what he thought was an inclusive political philosophy that includes all shades of opinion not only within the Congress but also in national politics in a diverse country like India.
Your support towards our Liberation War in 1971 was for the cause of humanity and justice…your support gave us courage and motivation,” President Zillur Rahman said after handing over a crest of the award to his Indian counterpart.
Terming the occasion as historic, Zillur said Pranab’s support for the Liberation War is written in golden letters in history and the nation always recalls the contribution with due gratitude.
“It’s a symbol of modest gratitude to you [Pranab] on behalf of the entire nation,” he added.
Addressing the occasion, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina described Pranab Mukherjee as a real friend of Bangladesh who played a big role in mobilizing the support of the international community for independence.”As a nation, it’s an immense pride for us to have (this) opportunity to confer the Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sammanona on you,” she added.
I met with him in 2005 and at that time, he was a defense minister and he advised me to work for unity and rights of the minorities keeping in touch with the mainstream democratic and political force. Immediately after that, I met with opposition leader L K Advani. He asked me regarding the conditions of minorities in Bangladesh. He also mentioned that Mujib’s daughter Sheikh Hasina met and talked to him and India has the support for Bangladesh. At that time, I visited some of the leading universities of India and when I moved to Delhi, I got the opportunity to meet two prominent leaders of India. When I came back to Dhaka, General Secretary Abdul Jalil of AL called me on the telephone to meet Awami League president Sheikh Hasina.
Then I narrated the discussions with the two prominent leaders to Sheikh Hasina in the presence of Abdul Jalil. I got the opportunity to meet with him at other times also in Nepal in 2011 as well as his last visit to Bangladesh in 2017. It may be remembered politicians, intellectuals, leaders of professionals used to meet him for his guidance and that helped us to strengthen our democratic process.
His role in South Asian politics was remarkable. Pranab Mukherjee was a legendary politician of the subcontinent. He always considered Bangladesh with love and good wishes. In his words “in my mind, it is Bangladesh, the birth of a nation of seven crore people in 1971″. He mentioned Bangabandhu as a great, brave leader of all time. He worked for democracy and pluralism. In his farewell address on 24 July 2017 Mukherjee said ” the soul of India recites in pluralism and tolerance”. He delivered two remarkable speeches in Dhaka University convocation in 2013 as well as in Bangla Academy in 2017. He was our close friend and we remember his contributions with gratitude.
The writer is an academic, former ambassador, leader-student action committee 71 and freedom fighter.
