By V. Sundaram April 05, 2006.

Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee (1901-1953) was a great scholar, an ardent Hindu nationalist and an outspoken Parliamentarian. He was born on 6 July, 1901 in a Brahmin family with a very high social standing in Bengal. From his parents Sri Asutosh Mukerjee and Jogmaya Devi, Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee inherited a splendid saga of erudite scholarship and fervent nationalism. Both of them inspired him to live a pure, dedicated, selfless, totally fearless and manly life. His father who was perhaps the most distinguished Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University gave him the following message early in his life: "To have lived long does not necessarily imply the gathering of much wisdom and experience. A man who has pedalled 25,000 miles on a stationary bi-cycle has not circled the globe. He has only garnered weariness". No wonder Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee packed into his short life of 52 years unsurpassed exertions and unremitting toil of several lives.

Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee had a brilliant academic record in Calcutta University, taking his Honours Degree in English and securing the first position in the first class from the Presidency College in 1921. He also took his M A degree in Indian vernaculars. In 1924 he took his B L degree from Calcutta University again topping the list. He went to England to pursue further legal studies and was called to the Bar in 1927 from Lincoln"s Inn. Though he was fully qualified for it, he never practiced law as a profession. He became the youngest Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University in 1934 at the age of 33 and continued in that position till 1938. Calcutta University conferred on him D Litt and Benares Hindu University honoured him with LLD in 1938.

Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee"s political career was marked by his deathless commitment to his ideals of burning patriotism and selfless service. His political career began in 1929 when he became a member of the Bengal Legislative Council.

He was elected as a Congress candidate from the university constituency. He acted as a watchdog for the Calcutta University in the Council. But in response to the Congress call for boycott of Council, he resigned, but later re-entered it as an independent member for the sake of the university when he was re-elected in 1937. As a firm believer in Hindutva and Sanatana Dharma, he became president of All India Hindu Mahasabha in 1939. That did not come in the way of his becoming the Finance Minister of Bengal in 1941 in the hectic days of the II World War. Even while remaining in the government, he actively opposed the British government when the leading Congress leaders were arrested after the Quit India Resolution was passed in Bombay on 9 August, 1942. When his views on the patriotism of the Congress leaders went unheeded, he resigned from the Ministry as a protest against the British policy of oppression and suppression of civil liberties in India.