Monohar Aich & BJP

Monohar Aich was among the first sportspersons in India to join a political party. Sportspeople devoting time to political ideologies were almost unheard of in the 1990s. Tiger Pataudi and Palvankar Baloo were exceptions.

 In the 1991 general elections in India, actor Victor Banerjee was a BJP candidate for the parliament from Calcutta north-west constituency. Champion body-builder Monohar Aich, winner of Mr Universe title in US, joined BJP and was at the dais during campaigns.

With his world-wide experience, he harped on the issues of ‘one nation; one law’ (as is normal in almost all countries) and the Kashmir problem (Sec 370). The themes in India were of course originally conceived by Syama Prasad Mookerjee (Bharatiya Jan Sangh) and later advocated by his secretary Atal Behari Vajpayee (Bharatiya Janata Party).

At an election campaign in 1991 when the prominent BJP leader Tapan Sikdar was told that Monohar Aich would be one of the speakers, he politely asked who the gentleman was. One man told him, “Tapanda, ooni amader Pocket Hercules.” Parliamentarian Sikdar was taken aback but instantly recovered, “Great news. My boyhood hero. Sorry, I had forgotten his actual name!”

Sorry we are going ahead of the actual sequence of events.

In 1951 when Monotosh Roy returned from USA with the ‘Mr Universe’ title, the Indians were aghast. No one could visualize that an Indian was capable enough to compete with the world’s best and become a world champion at an international body-building contest.

Thankfully Amrita Bazar Patrika of Calcutta – a newspaper involved with the nationalist movement in the pre-independence days – highlighted the news item to show that the Indians were in no way inferior to any other nationality in the world in any endeavour. Independent India actually had a world champion among us in an individual event.

The Olympic hockey gold medal we were used to, but a world champion in an individual contest, especially body-building, was beyond belief. Born in 1916 Monotosh Roy spent a life in total devotion to his worship of the physical self. He knew and preached that a healthy body meant a healthy mind. He was a trail-blazer as a coach to numerous Indian body-builders.

***

 In the following year in 1952 another man from Calcutta, Monohar Aich created a sensation in US. He walked away with the ‘Mr Universe’ title with ease. Extrovert and demonstrative, he held the audience in awe.

Monohar Aich was just under 5 feet in height. Initially the judges were not too impressed because of his height. But when he began to display the supple movements of his muscles, the crowd went into raptures. The judges were unanimous in granting him the title.

The media in United States began to call him ‘Pocket Hercules’. The name stuck and even today people identify him more by his nickname than by his actual name of Monohar Aich. One really cannot blame Tapan Sikdar!

Monohar Aich continued with his worship of ‘body-culture’. Observing his dedication, hundreds of young men began to congregate at gymnasiums. A distinct culture of ‘body beautiful’ emerged.  Monohar Aich maintained his amazing body till his last breath in 2016 at the age of 104.  Hundreds of his disciples as well as his numerous admirers mourned his departure.  

Both Monotosh Roy and Monohar Aich were not recognized by the Government of India for their exemplary service to the nation. Both gave a distinct respectability to the culture of body-building in India by winning the world crown. But their contribution went unheralded. We seemed to have had no time or inclination to honour our genuine world champions.

The stories of Indian champions should be in the text books of children. Only then we shall be able to spread the sports culture to every nook and corner of the country. High time we highlighted our sports heritage.

In the picture Monohar Aich is in the company of Vishnukant Shastri, myself, Sukumar Banerjee (then president of Bengal BJP) and Tapan Sikdar while campaigning for Victor Banerjee at Netaji Indoor Stadium in 1991.

 

 Syama Prasad Mookerjee and West Bengal Day

20^th June is a very significant date for the residents of West Bengal. On that day in 1947 a resolution was passed in the then Bengal assembly that the western part of Bengal would remain a part of independent India.

Prior to this day, a meeting was held in early April at the temple town of Tarakeshwar by the Bangiya Hindu Mahasabha. The leader was the educationist-social worker turned politician Syama Prasad Mookerjee.

My grandfather Amulya Ratan Mukherji – a distant cousin of Syama Prasad and an active member of Bangiya Hindu Mahasabha – attended the meeting at the Shaiva-teertha and remembered the historic date till his last breath.

That particular conference helped to mobilize public awareness among the Hindu population in Bengal and finally led to the creation of the State of West Bengal. Without the great role of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, there would not have been any West Bengal on the India map today.

Initially Syama Prasad was against the partition of Bengal from the Union of India. Despite his best and tireless efforts, when Syama found that the partition of India was almost confirmed and that the entire State of Bengal would become a part of the new nation of Pakistan, he was at his eloquent and energetic best.

Full of logic and courage, analysis and authority, he declared that if Bengal would have to be divided then the Hindu-dominated parts of Bengal should also have their rightful due. Thankfully the majority of the political personalities involved concurred with him. Thus the State of Bengal was truncated into West Bengal and East Pakistan.

Without him there would not have been any West Bengal at all. Syama Prasad’s idea of West Bengal was not only for Hindus: it was open to all religions as well as to atheists and agnostics. It was not only for the Bengali-speaking population: it welcomed all communities and faiths who wished to make Bengal their home. This was the vital contribution of this exemplary visionary.

In the late 1930s Syama Prasad Mookerjee joined Hindu Mahasabha who were fighting for the Hindu majority of the population in the country. Later he 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 patriot. For him the word BHARATIYA symbolized national unity. Great soul.”

 Cricket followers may be reminded that Syama Prasad was among the first to raise his voice against inter-community cricket championships in India, which was ultimately banned in 1946. It began in 1892. For him the inter-religious faith competition went against the basic concept of national ethos.

This year – thanks to the political progeny of Syama Prasad – on Saturday the 20^th of June the birthday of West Bengal will be officially acknowledged for the first time. It took us 79 years to celebrate our own birthday!

                                                                                 

 

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… “

 

Bande Mataram & Cricket

Bande Mataram is in the news. Cricket always is. The twain – the highly inspiring ode and the crazy game – once did meet and cause an everlasting flutter. British Raj’s favourite sport had a very deep influence on Bharat Mata’s national song. Amazing, yes; but true.

In the early 1870s Bankim-babu was a highly placed government official as the Deputy Magistrate of Brahmapur (Baharampur) in Bengal. On 15 December, 1873, a drama unfolded which was to have wide-reaching influence on India’s nationalist movement. The Indian DM was seated inside an enclosed palanquin as the vessel-carriers took a short-cut through a field in the then cantonment area where some Britons were playing cricket.

One British player, Colonel Duffin by name, was so furious at the intrusion of the palanquin on the field that he vigorously pushed the passenger in full view of the players and spectators. Bankim Chattopadhyay was not a man to take an injustice lying down. He approached the court with a charge of assault. Although the British judge realized the crime committed, he did not want to punish his countryman. Instead he requested Bankim-babu to withdraw the allegation and settle the dispute through mediation.

Highly principled Bankim Chattopadhyay agreed on one condition that Duffin would apologize in full view of the hundreds of Indians who had gathered at the hearing. To save himself from a prison sentence, Duffin had no other option. He shook Bankim-babu’s hand saying, “With the same hand now I extend my sincere apologies to you, Sir.”  The multitude went into raptures.

The field known as Barrack Square or Parade Ground still exists. In 2007 the place was recognized as a heritage venue. In 1993 the Bengal-Assam Under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy cricket match was held on this ground. I happened to be the Bengal coach.

Even as a government administrator, Bankim-babu was always a social activist of the highest order. Moreover he was an exceptional writer and edited a magazine named Bongo Darpan. Most of his essays reflected his own wide experience of people and places; issues and incidents. This particular incident left an indelible mark on the multi-dimensional personality. He began to write against the British Raj more often and with more venom to inspire generation of freedom fighters.

One day the magazine Bongo Darpan required some more written material to fill space. The working editor asked for an article and BC promised to write one that very day. In the meantime the working editor saw a poem on a piece of paper lying on the Bankim-babu’s desk. Promptly he read the piece and mentioned that the poem was good enough for the moment.

Immediately Bankim-babu took away the piece of paper and told him not to worry at all. The genius concluded by saying that after his death the patriotic Indians would learn to appreciate the sentiment involved in the poem, where Sanskrit and Bengali were beautifully twined.

What a prophecy it turned out to be. The awe-inspiring words “Bande Mataram” became the clarion call of thousands of Indian freedom fighters around the country. The lyrics were an ode to his Motherland. In 1882 Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay included the poem in his book Ananda Math, a novel based on the Sannyasi Movement in India against the British crown.

To me Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay will always remain a Rishi in the most appropriate sense of the term. His immortal ode Bande Mataram would probably have materialized anyway, but the strange encounter with cricket surely had a highly catalytic moment.