Syama Prasad Mookerjee: Selfless, Patriotic, Visionary

Did he have any interest in sport? He did. Never wrote on sport but the visionary in him made a startling observation on cricket. I heard from my paternal grandfather Amulya Ratan Mukherji, “As early as 1930s Syama confided in us that the inter-community cricket tournaments fuel friction and divisive tendencies and so should be stopped immediately.” Later with MK Gandhi’s intervention the Pentangular inter-community cricket tournament was stopped in the mid-1940s. But rather too late:  by then the partition was a mere formality.

Thankfully the inter-community cricket tournament was banned and the inter-State Ranji Trophy championship became the most prominent cricket championship in the country.

Syama Prasad’s family members never used his name for personal glory unlike the family members of his political adversaries. Syama Prasad himself never took advantage of his father’s name and credentials. The Mookerjees of Sir Asutosh’s family were at the helm of their respective professions through individual merit. My paternal grandfather was his distant cousin. ARM was 5 years senior to SPM and was very close to his elder brother Rama Prasad, a legal luminary, who was of Dadu’s age.

First-class first in graduation. Repeat first-class first in post-graduation. Vice-chancellor of Calcutta University at 33. Forget politicians, wonder how many exceptional scholars anywhere in the world have achieved such exalted academic status so early in life.

Law studies at Calcutta followed by qualifying for the Bar in UK courts. But law was not his main interest. He went abroad primarily to study the functioning of academic education in UK. Although a die-hard patriot, Syama Prasad Mookerjee had the vision to realize that to succeed in the international arena Indians must be exposed to western education, particularly in technology, science and research.

This approach was unique indeed. Most wealthy Indians would go abroad for higher studies to further their own careers. But young Syama was different. He wanted the best of western education to be made available to all keen Indians here in India. This all-inclusive approach makes him an extraordinary personality.

Syama Prasad’s selfless attitude was the principal difference between him and all his adversaries in the Indian political scenario. Syama was stunned by the self-centred nature of political parties of various hues in the sub-continent. Unity was the last issue they had in mind in resistance to the ruling colonial power. Communal ideas, ‘class’ prejudice and provincial bias seemed to be their main concern. He decided that he would get into politics and fight the problems from within the political domain.

He was quick to realize that the colonial power was determined to drive a wedge between the two most prominent communities. He made desperate attempts to make the prominent leaders of all factions in the Indian political scenario to see reason: We must all unite and not let our country be partitioned. But our leaders had different agendas. So ambitious were they that they could not see beyond themselves. For our leaders the appeasement to one particular community overshadowed all reasonable arguments.

 In 1942 the Bengal Famine – artificially created by the colonial power – made SPM dive into social service on a scale rarely seen in India. He came under the influence of Swami Pranavananda, whose Bharat Sevashram Sangha devoted time and attention to the millions of refugees who came to the western part of Bengal to escape the tyranny unleashed on them.

Despite his best and tireless efforts, when Syama found that the partition of India was almost confirmed and that the whole of Bengal would become a part of the new nation of Pakistan, he was at his eloquent and energetic best. Full of logic and analysis he showed the Brits as well as the major political parties that if Bengal would have to be divided then the Hindu-dominated parts of Bengal should have their rightful due. Reluctantly, all the others had to agree that his points were absolutely to the point. Thus Bengal was truncated into West Bengal and East Pakistan.

Without the magnificent presence of Syama Prasad Mookerjee there would have been no State of Bengal on the India map. According to his biographers Anirban Ganguly and Avadhesh Kumar Singh, “It was his forceful leadership and intervention that saved a part of Bengal and the historic and strategically important city of Calcutta from going to the Muslim League-ruled Pakistan. This was arguably the greatest achievement of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee’ life.”

Without him there would not have been West Bengal at all. Syama Prasad’s Bengal was not only for Hindus: it was open to all religions as well as atheists and agnostics. It was not only for the Bengali-speaking population: it welcomed all those who wished to make Bengal their home. This was the vital contribution of this exemplary visionary. I know because my Maharashtrian in-laws while fleeing from riot-torn Lahore, settled down at Calcutta most willingly. Thank God they did!

In the late 1930s Syama Prasad Mookerjee joined Hindu Mahasabha because they were  fighting for the majority of the population in the country. It was obviously not Syama’s fault that the majority of the population in the sub-continent was of Hindu faith and that the land was known as Hindusthan. The Hindu majority population desperately needed a leader and Syama Prasad was the unanimous answer.

Patriots as diverse as Veer Savarkar and Mohandas Gandhi welcomed his presence at Hindu Mahasabha. By 1948 he resigned on a point of principle and formed his own political party Bharatiya Jan Sangh, the forerunner to the BJP. His personal secretary Atal Bihari Vajpayee always admitted that he learnt political etiquette, ideology and administration at the feet of his guru, Syama Prasad.

My Dadu always maintained, “Syama would never say ‘Jan Sangh’. His booming voice would always say with pride ‘Bharatiya Jan Sangh’. He was that kind of a perfectionist. For him the word BHARATIYA symbolized national unity. Great soul.”

Initially in 1947 he was a vital part of independent India’s first cabinet and was given the most important ministry of industries and supplies. In 1952 as a member of his own party – Bharatiya Jan Sangh – he was in the cabinet, again with the industry portfolio. Almost overnight corporations like Hindusthan Aeronautics Ltd, Damodar Valley Corporation, Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, Sindhri Fertilizer Plant, among numerous others, came up. In just two years he concentrated on both private and public sectors and gave India the much needed industrial infrastructure for self-sufficiency that the nation required at the time.

Here it may be of interest to know that Syama did not study at the prominent missionary schools of Calcutta. He preferred the Bengali-medium Mitra Institution, which was close to his family residence at Bhabanipur. His major subject in Presidency College and Calcutta University would surprise every reader. It was, believe it or not, Bengali. Yes, Bengali. Amazing love and respect for the motherland by an academic topper.

In 1953 his gruesome death in Srinagar at just 52 is too well documented for further elaboration. Suffice is to mention that he went into Kashmir (an Indian territory), was jailed in solitary confinement (without medication) and finally God took him away. No enquiry was ever conducted!

Syama’s mother’s fervent request to the then PM for a proper enquiry was not attended to. A cabinet minister died under mysterious circumstances and no enquiry was held!

Syama Prasad’s fault was his rational, unbiased ideology:  India is One Nation, no individual State should receive favoured treatment; and that a common civil code should exist for all Indians of whatever faith.

That’s Syama Prasad Mookerjee in a nut-shell: “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high… “

 

Shute Banerjee and Nawanagar

The Nawanagar State team played in the Ranji Trophy championship in the 1930s and 1940s. In Nawanagar’s first venture into the national championship, they won the coveted Ranji Trophy at Bombay’s Brabourne Stadium in 1936-37 defeating Bengal in the final. They had a strong outfit with Amar Singh supported by the highly talented youngster Vinoo Mankad.

However, Nawanagar resorted to a highly unethical practice in the recruitment of the India all-rounder Shute (pronounced Shutay) Banerjee. Banerjee had gone to Bombay with the Bengal team, his home State, to play against Nawanagar in the Ranji Trophy final. As the premier all-rounder, he was having a highly successful season for Bengal.

 On the eve of the match, the Nawanagar State offered Shute Banerjee a job with the condition that he had to join their service from the next morning itself, which happened to be the first day of the Ranji Trophy final! The offer was couched in such a manner that Banerjee would not be able to play against Nawanagar.

 Unemployed Banerjee was in a quandary. He had little option. He opted for the security of a job thereby rendering himself ineligible for the final against Nawanagar. Thus Bengal was deprived of their main player and Nawanagar went on to win the Ranji Trophy with comparative ease.

Those days the eligibility rules of BCCI were highly elastic and inevitably some petty-minded, influential people like the Nawanagar royalty took advantage of the situation.

Shute Banerjee had a strange career even by the strange standards of selection of India teams in the 1930s and 1940s. The tall and broad shouldered Shute was a genuine fast bowler, ranked just beneath Mohammed Nissar and Ladla Ramji for sheer pace at the time.

In 1936 the young fast bowler toured England with Vizzy’s team. Mohammed Nissar of blitzkrieg pace and Amar Singh of crafty brilliance were the automatic choices in the first XI. But when Jahangir Khan played in all 3 Tests bowling 55 overs without a single wicket, one could make out that considerations apart from cricket skills and form were being given prominence.

As if this was not enough, Mohammed Baqa Jilani was played in the final test at the Oval. Jilani had done precious little on tour in comparison to the highly talented Banerjee. That Jilani abused CK Nayudu under captain Vizzy’s orders to get selected in the Oval Test team is another story, another time!

Back home Shute continued playing for India in the unofficial tests with success, even as an opening batsman! In 1946 again toured England with Iftiqar Ali Khan Pataudi’s team. His pace had come down considerably but the intelligent bowler used the seam to good effect on the grassy conditions in England.

This time in 1946 he even created a world record as a batsman! Both Chandu Sarwate and Shute Banerjee, batting at numbers 10 and 11, scored centuries against a strong Surrey side. But the official Test debut still eluded Shute.

In 1948-49 the West Indies came to India. In the 5^th and last Test match at Brabourne Stadium, India took the field with Saradindu Nath ‘Shute’ Banerjee in the playing XI for the first time in an official Test. Now at 36, the fast bowler was well past his prime and no one expected much from him.

However the ‘old man’ came with his bag full of cunning. He took 5 wickets and nearly helped India to win the Test against all odds. India had to score just 6 more runs when stumps were drawn. Ironically the man who brought India to the threshold of a great victory was never selected to play for India again!

His debut and his swan-song coincided. Before bidding his final adieu, by capturing 5 wickets and bringing India to the door step of a great victory, Shute Banerjee proved to the world how unjustly he was handled over the years.

He was the coach cum manager of the East Zone team in 1973-74. Once when I asked him about the injustice that he had to face in his cricket career, he gave a hearty laugh and said, “Results were not in my hands. Concentrated only on effort.” Only a strong devotee of Swami Vivekananda can say this in such a relaxed manner. A genuine Karma-yogi, it was my privilege to meet and admire.

After serving Nawanagar, he went to Bihar and led them till he retired in 1958 at 47! He happens to be the first-ever cricketer to play Test cricket from Bihar, and not from Bengal as CAB wants you too believe!

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Prof who transformed Indian cricket administration

 Chemistry was his forte. Cricket was his passion. It was his chemistry with the cricket that mattered most to him. He was in his elements with cricket activities, first at the college level, then with MumbaiCA and finally experimented at India’s premier cricket lab, the BCCI. Thank God, Indian cricket found him.

 He was the catalyst as well as the initiator of schemes that transformed Indian cricket administration into a highly professional organization: coaching camps, pension schemes, talent spotters, match referees, computerization, semi-urban venues, north-east teams, match fees, etc. He handled huge loads of work without a sweat. 

With sharp eyes and grim determination his decisions motivated players, officials, office-staff and most importantly the most neglected sections in Indian cricket: umpires, scorers, support-staff and junior cricket. He was full of ideas and his execution was immediate. No long speeches; just super-fast, efficient actions. Highest integrity, sharp intelligence and impeccable manner were his constant companions.

Never gave unnecessary importance to administrators including egoistic presidents and secretaries. Had no time for cronies and parasites who paraded as officials and sponsors. No bravado in front of the media. He concentrated on his job. Full stop. Thank you.

He knew whom to concentrate on. His full attention was on Mr Cricket India, the one and only Polly Umrigar. Preserved and utilized Polly-kaka’s various views including the pension scheme for retired cricketers which lay rotting on the table of various BCCI presidents for 8 long years.

Prof Shetty, as he was universally regarded, came right into the forefront of the national cricket scenario when at the first available opportunity he put forward the well-researched pension scheme to the newly arrived president Sharad Pawar in 2005. Doddering former cricketers – long forgotten – and their families blessed him for the yeoman task he undertook.

No ego stopped him from introducing Mack Waingankar’s idea of talent spotters (TRDO system). Later introduced match referees with very high powers and recruited former cricketer Stanley Saldanha to introduce computerization.

Facilities for junior cricketers improved leaps and bounds during his time. Umpires, scorers, video-analysts, curators, support-staff, etc all received improved facilities and more.

First saw him at a Calcutta hotel where the BCCI-appointed talent spotters were asked to meet BCCI officials including Brijesh Patel and Dilip Vengsarkar. That was at the end of the 2^nd season of the TRDO (talent scout) system, my first as talent scout.

At the meeting the east zone TRDO chief found faults with my reporting. I insisted that the BCCI officials themselves have another look into the reports I had submitted over the past few months. They did and found no problems at all. In fact both Brijesh and Dilip were glad that I had mentioned the prominent young talents of various state teams.  A pair of bright eyes from BCCI sitting at one extreme end read my reports and gave me a long stare. No, no, no love at first sight!

Next season the east zone chief was out and I remained! Surely that bright stare was the culprit! Following season I became one among the just introduced match referees panel with the dual task of talent scouting.

Too many very strict decisions of a frail, ‘oldie-beardie’ upset a lot of unruly influential cricketers and officials in Indian cricket. In time, for me the ICC (Asia Region) followed as the first non-Test cricketer to be an international match referee from India.

Then came the IPL invitation, another first for a non-Test player. I do not know how many battles Prof Shetty had to fight to keep the ‘smiling assassin’ sitting on those chairs for ten long years.

In between, the two profs – chemistry and sports management – combined to tread on many influential toes! The sole intent of both was not for anyone’s delight but for NATIONAL INTEREST.

Thanks, Prof, for discovering the match ref in me. A job I genuinely relished. May God keep blessing you: a role model for all sports administrators.

  

 

Two selfless, patriotic members of royal families

In 1932 the Indian cricket team set sail for Britain to play their first-ever official Test match. The chosen captain of the touring team was the Maharaja of Porbandar, Natwarsinhji. His deputy was Kumar Shri of Limbdi, Ghanashyamsinhji.

  They were cricketers of very little merit. But at the time, in the 1930s, it was felt that leaders could only come from the princely classes. Hence the two members of the royalty were given the top two posts in the Indian cricket team to play in India’s inaugural Test. Obviously all the players were Test debutants.

 Thankfully both Natwarsinhji and Ghanashyamsinhji were educated, liberal, magnanimous souls, in the most appropriate sense of those words. They were pragmatic enough to understand that if they were in the playing XI, the national team would become weak.

 Both declined to play in the inaugural Test at Lord’s. That Test match being the sole Test of the series, they never got to play for India again. They played just 4 and 11 first-class matches respectively on the full tour.

 Skipper Natwarsinhji and his deputy Ghanashyamsinhji decided that the best choice to lead would be the ‘commoner’ CK Nayudu. Accordingly India’s first-ever Test captain was Cottariya Konkaiya Nayudu, a magnificent all-rounder and a born leader of men. CK’s elevation to the top was not because of the selection committee, but because of the magnanimous gesture of two princely gentlemen.

 The chief reasons for highlighting this extraordinary event are quite a few. To begin with, this particular issue has not yet seen the light of day. Indian authors and historians could not decipher the magnitude of the gesture of two men who sacrificed immortality for the just cause of the nation. Both Natwarsinhji and Ghanashyamsinhji deserve our salute.

 Secondly, in the annals of international Test cricket such a unique sacrifice has never been seen. No captain-elect of any nation has ever relinquished his debut captaincy in this magnificent manner.

 Thirdly, this is a very significant issue in the light of modern thinking. At a time when ‘commoners’ in BCCI are fighting among themselves for every bit of crumb on the table, we in India have had ‘royal’ people who knew how to sacrifice self for the benefit of the nation by giving the deserving men their due.

Natwarsinhji and Ghanashyamsinhji are names that even the top Indian cricketers and administrators are unaware of. In fact they do not want to know about them. As one former supposedly erudite India captain recently observed, “…why bother about what happened earlier; all that is in the past!”

 Today where is the time for chivalry and magnanimity in the quagmire of corruption?  Now the whole emphasis is on money and power; power and money. Nothing else matters. Only I, me and myself. Full stop.

 

 

 

 

The man who held the Indian flag high

No Indian has written for more foreign and Indian journals on sport than Gulu Ezekiel. Numerous articles of his have been published in the best of publications worldwide.

For sheer orbit and depth of research, Gulu has few parallels in India and abroad. He has not restricted himself to his favourite sport of cricket but has deviated into diverse sport disciplines. Football, hockey, athletics and tennis have received almost as much attention.

He began life as a sport journalist with leading newspapers. In time he realized that his canvas would be broad and more meaningful if he went alone. That’s exactly what he did.

As a freelance researcher and exemplary analyst, Gulu dived into the ocean of sport history to unearth unsolved mysteries and to tackle improbable issues. Without a single godfather whether in the media or in the world he created a trail of his own. Therein lies the exceptional quality in this most unassuming of all men. Quiet yet confident he knew he was born to uphold the national flag on international podiums.

Gulu knows how to write. He knows how to convince from a position of strength. He knows how to reveal the truth. He knows how to uphold justice against odds. He cares only for what is good for the nation and is not bothered about any province or community or individual. His is an insular existence.   

When the Olympic historian David Wallechinsky mentioned that Norman Pritchard represented Britain in the Paris Olympiad of 1900, the nationalist in Gulu Ezekiel went up in arms. Promptly he took out his sword and slashed Wallechinsky’s logic into shreds. He brought back the two silver medals won by Norman Pritchard to India.

Gulu in characteristic fashion showed the world what his blood was all about. He would never accept injustice, no matter the opposition. He gave a blow by blow account of Norman Pritchard’s birth, education and employment at Calcutta and the man’s stardom in various fields in three continents: Asia (athletics), Europe (stage acting) and North America (Hollywood hero). The world was transfixed to find how one man stood up against the unjust appraisal and acknowledged his victory.

As a cub reporter he suffered at the hands of his superiors. But never gave up. Confident of his own potential, he silently fought on and showed his critics his actual worth. Today to foreign publications he is the most sought after sport historian of India.

So engrossed was he with sport that he married cricket and did not regret the decision. His collection of books, periodicals and memorabilia would put to embarrassment many a library. Literally in thousands, well indexed and lovingly preserved. 

First met him at Calcutta, through Rajan Bala. Unassuming and modest, the trainee journalist drew my attention.Very next moment he was transformed into an absorbing conversationalist of remarkable cricket knowledge. From that very day we became close, really close. As co-conspirators! Gulu spent his early life in three distinct seats of learning: Pune, Calcutta and Chennai.

His penchant for the written word is an ancestral influence of his famous poet-uncle, the esteemed Nissim Ezekiel. His mother’s – a Marathi-speaking Parsee – liberal vision made Gulu the generous and remarkably conscientious soul that he is. On either side of his family are exceptional talents in various fields.

Voracious reader, prolific writer, outstanding analyst, Gulu’s elephantine memory resides between those dark eyebrows on his handsome widening forehead. He never needed any help from any quarter but the magnanimous self is ever willing to help all and sundry. I can vouch as a beneficiary myself.

An asset he is to India’s sports cavalcade.

 

 

 

 BB Nimbalkar: victim of a ruler's inferiority complex

The small territory of Kathiawar based in the western part of India in the Gujarat peninsula had a ruler whose heart was as small as the land he governed. He was known as the Takore Sahab of Rajkot, Pradumansinhji.

Kathiawar was included among the teams for the Ranji Trophy championship in the season 1948-49. The Kathiawar cricket team travelled to Poona to play against the might of Maharashtra at the Poona Gymkhana ground, which was known to be a bowler’s graveyard. Mammoth totals were recorded on this ground over the years.

Winning the toss, the Kathiawar captain Pradumansinhji decided to take the first strike. Considering the reputation of the docile pitch, newcomers Kathiawar recorded an unimpressive total of 236, which included a dashing 77 by the skipper.

When Maharashtra came to bat one could feel the difference in strength and strategy between the two teams. While the debutant Kathiawaris appeared disoriented and the leadership hesitant, Maharashtra adopted the no-nonsense approach as exemplified by their mentor-captain-guru combined, Prof Dinakar Balwant Deodhar.

The two openers, MR Rege and Kamal Bhandarkar attacked the weak opposition bowling from the beginning and raced to 81 when Rege left. Now, the prolific Ranji Trophy run-getter BB Nimbalkar appeared on the scene with his trademark handkerchief around his neck.

Bhandarkar and Nimbalkar added a world record score of 455 runs for the 2^nd wicket in just 300 minutes. After Bhandarkar (205) left, Bhaosahab Nimbalkar continued with his judicious stroke-play.

When Nimbalkar’s individual score had reached 443, the Kathiawar captain Pradumansinhji decided that his team would not take further part in the match!

There was no earthly reason behind the strange decision. Except that the prolific Bhaosahab Nimbalkar was on 443 just 9 runs short of  Donald Bradman’s the then world record of 452. It was a most unsportsmanlike decision on the part of the Kathiawar captain, Pradumansinhji. 

Nimbalkar was denied a world record by his own countryman. It appears that so enamoured was Pradumansinhji by the supposed ‘superiority’ of white-skinned people that he did not want a fellow dark Indian to overhaul the white man’s achievement.

Just goes to show that ‘royals’ are no different from people who are not born with the supposed ‘blue’ blood. They have the same weaknesses, the same mean-mindedness and the same failings as the ‘commoners’. Magnanimity, humility, integrity have nothing to do with one’s genes, environment, financial background or academic accomplishments.

The pathetic gesture happens to be a blot on Indian cricket.

 

 

Subroto Sirkar: walking encyclopaedia of cricket

Left a thriving family jewellery empire. Let go of foreign bank and nationalized bank jobs. The sophisticated young man’s overwhelming interest in sport, particularly cricket and tennis, overshadowed every other worldly matter.

The young reporter was a perfectionist from the first day. Subroto Sirkar would go about his work in his own distinguished style and manner, whether at the desk or on the prowl.

He had the knowledge of different eras of cricket in different lands and the wisdom to analyze that mere comparisons between eras are odious. Hundreds of years of cricket history  are stored in his elephantine memory.

In the 1970s he brought forward a new perspective: a fresh vision of accepting the past and the present in equal measure. He understood the actual value of values. With a johuree’s vision, he could easily identify genuine gems from fakes.  

In time he was at Lord’s media box or Wimbledon centre-court in the company of the top journalists of the sports world. And be rated highly by his contemporaries.  Leading publications looked forward to his reports, especially on tennis. I remember Dicky Rutnagur’s and Rajan Bala’s high praise of Subroto Sirkar. 

He was a year senior to me in school and college. We never spoke for 14 years, just exchanged courtesy smiles! Even watched matches at Eden Gardens and Mohun Bagan ground without exchanging a word!  Two reticent fools were probably waiting to be formally introduced!

However in 1972 – my ‘first-class’ debut season – after the match against Maharashtra, while returning by train he walked up to my seat to inform that I had equalled a world record!

I was flabbergasted. Who I, are you sure? A soft nod, “With your first delivery in first-class cricket you have taken a wicket. Very few bowlers have done so.” No wonder! I now realized the reason for Chandu Borde, the Maharashtra captain, to give me that ball at the end of the match.  That’s Subroto Sirkar for you. And Rana for me.

Next morning when not a single leading newspaper in India had any idea of any new world record equalled, he was ready with his report. That’s  journalism put to the test, and Rana came out the best. He remains the walking encyclopaedia of cricket.

To win victories like these calls for wide and deep study, sharp memory, high intelligence, writing skills and sensitivity. Very few can do so as easily as Rana does, without any fuss.

His personal collection of books, periodicals and journals is in thousands. Vintage editions. Rare copies. All neatly kept and lovingly nurtured. But newspaper cuttings or drafts of his own writings he just cannot locate! Makes no effort to search as well! The unassuming, introvert still prefers to be totally invisible behind a self-imposed exile! Never bothered to write a book, although he aids others to do so without getting any credits.

Not a single selfish bone he has in that handsome intelligent self of his. Was born with a golden spoon to distribute largesse in style and splendor. Most magnanimously he does give away his knowledge, his wisdom, (even his books!) to all and sundry. But never in style and splendor. He wraps it up as softly and as quietly as possible. No credit asked for, none given!

But what makes him an exceptional person is his generosity. Willingly he will answer every query. Most magnanimously he will add information to your subject, if you need. I know for sure as I have been a regular recipient. Don’t have enough words to express my gratitude. Only hope he does not get upset in finding himself in print!

Genteel and gentle,  a most generous and gracious gentleman. A great credit to unbiased sports journalism.