Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee

Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee

News: The Union Home Minister paid tribute to Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee on his birth anniversary.

About:
• He was an Indian politician, barrister, and academician who served as the Minister for Industry and Supply in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet.
• At the age of 33, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee became the youngest vice-chancellor of Calcutta University in 1934.
• During His term as Vice-Chancellor, Rabindranath Tagore delivered the university convocation address in Bengali for the first time, and the Indian vernacular was introduced as a subject for the highest examination.
• The first Industrial policy of independent India, which came in 1948 was stamped with his ideas and vision.
• For the proper development of cottage and small industries with finance availability and organizational setup - All India Handicrafts Board, All India Handloom Board and Khadi & Village Industries Board were established between 1948 and 1950. There was also a special emphasis by Dr. Mukherjee on indigenization of India’s defence production, in the establishment of four most successful mega projects - Chittaranjan locomotive works factory, Hindustan aircraft factory, Sindri fertilizer factory and Damodar Valley Corporation and other river valley projects. His contribution was significant here.
• He founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), the predecessor of the modern-day Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
• After he left the Indian National Congress due to difference of opinion with the then-Prime Minister Dr Jawaharlal Nehru on Jammu and Kashmir issues, he co- founded Janata Party in the year 1977-1979, which later on became the Bharatiya Janata Party.
• In 1953, to protest against the special status given to Kashmir he tried to enter Kashmir without seeking permission and was arrested. He died in mysterious circumstances during detention.