Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who ounded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1951,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (June 23, 2025) paid tributes to Bharatiya Jana Sangh’s founding president Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his death anniversary, saying his invaluable contribution in nation-building will always be remembered with reverence.
Mr. Modi said Mookerjee displayed incomparable courage and strength to maintain the country’s integrity.
A former Hindu Mahasabha leader who was included in the first Cabinet headed by Jawaharlal Nehru, Mookerjee quit the government in 1950 and reached out to the RSS to launch a party dedicated to the cause of nationalism and fighting policies of the Congress.
He founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the precursor to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in 1951.
Born in 1901 in Calcutta, now Kolkata, Mookerjee was a well-known academician who made a mark as a politician in Bengal in the undivided India.
An early champion of repealing Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, he joined hands with the RSS to launch Jana Sangh in 1951 and is counted, along with Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, as one of the ideological beacon for the BJP.
An MP, he died in custody in Jammu and Kashmir in 1953 after he was arrested for entering the State without permit, an official requirement he was fiercely opposed to and considered an impediment to the region’s full integration with the country.
Distinguished scholar, a great freedom fighter: Yogi Adityanath
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath too paid tribute to Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his death anniversary on June 23, describing the late leader as a “distinguished scholar, a great freedom fighter, and a visionary.”Mookerjee founded Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the ideological parent organisation of the BJP.
Addressing a gathering in Lucknow, Adityanath said, “Today marks the sacred death anniversary of the great son of Mother India, Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, the founding president of the Bharatiya Janata Sangh. On this very day, in 1953, Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee sacrificed his life for the cause of a united India. Dr. Mookerjee was a distinguished scholar, a great freedom fighter, and a visionary who dreamt of a ‘Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat’.”Adityanath highlighted Mookerjee’s significant role in shaping India’s early industrial policies as the country’s first cabinet minister in post-independence India
He roared like a lion: Delhi CM Rekha Gupta
On his death anniversary, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday said that the Jana Sangh founder roared like a lion and gave the slogan of ‘Ek Vidhan, Ek Samvidhan’. Ms. Gupta on Monday paid tribute on the death anniversary of Jana Sangh founder Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee at the Syama Prasad Mookerjee park in New Delhi.
Union Minister recalls Mookerjee’s sacrifices
Highlighting Dr Mukherjee’s role in advocating for a unified India, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan reflected on his 1953 protest against dual systems in the country, which led to Mukherjee’s brave entry into Jammu and Kashmir.
“For the BJP and the Jan Sangh, Syama Prasad Mukherjee was a visionary whose thoughts still guide the Bharatiya Janata Party and the country. Seventy-two years ago, in 1953, he raised an important issue while protesting that there cannot be two systems within one country. He believed that if India had two separate laws or systems, it could not truly be called united or independent. To prove his point, he risked his life and entered Jammu and Kashmir. That moment became a part of history,” Mr. Pradhan said. He further emphasised that it took 72 years to fulfil his sacrifice, with the historic abrogation of Article 370 by the government in 2019, a tribute to Mukherjee’s enduring legacy
”If we compare both dates, it took almost 72 years to fulfil Syama Prasad Mukherjee’s sacrifice. It was the privilege of the Prime Minister to make his dream come true. On August 5th, 2019, the government made a historic decision to abrogate Article 370, honouring Dr Mukherjee’s vision,”Mr. Pradhan said.
Published – June 23, 2025 11:29 am IST
