In 1953, on this very day Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee passed away in Srinagar under mysterious circumstances. Considering the demerits of special favours given to Jammu and Kashmir, he gave a call to the country for the complete integration of J&K State into the Indian Union. Today its the right time to remember what a great leader he was. Following article is the editorial written by the then Editor of Organiser KR Malkani as a tribute to him in the issue dated June 29, 1953.?
Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, president of the Bhartiya Jan Sangh, is no more. With his passing away the lone star that guided the foot-steps of a fumbling people in the encircling gloom of political folly has been blotted out. If our dismally pseudo-secular Bharat needed any one most direly it was the President of the Jan Sangh. Among the political leaders of the country today it was this solitary man who realized that sound politics of the nation could not exist but as a part of national culture, and was determined to bring this truth to the people in spite of the leaders whose one business in life has been to mislead. In taking away such a son of Bharat Mata the Lord Almighty has been cruel beyond our comprehension.
And the circumstances in which the death of the Jan Sangh President occurred heighten the tragedy. This man who struggled relentlessly for the fullest freedom of every one privileged to be a Bhartiya died behind the bars of the prison. And the regime that saw him die in fetters is morally so bankrupt that it told us of his illness for the first time after he had died. Enquiries into the ghastly ad mysterious tragedy have been demanded, and demanded rightly. But our grief is no enquiries however detailed and explanatory, can bring back to us the leader we, a tragically leaderless people, have lost.
Few men are blessed with as full a personality as was Dr Mookerjee. An erudite scholar, a life-long educationist, easily the best parliamentarian of our times, a speaker as logical as fiery and trenchant, one of those rare souls today who were never prepared take things for granted without a searching scrutiny, an uncompromising nationalist and above all a leader who could not only move the minds of men with grand words but also their hands to work- all these and many more aspects graced Dr Mookerjee’s personality.
In his Presidentship of the Bhartiya Jan Sangh, there had been a very blend of leader and party. A small but determined band of selfless sons of the Mother reaching after the glory destined for them had in him the right man knowing the right path to the destiny. Hence in the death of Dr Mookerjee the Jan Sangh has suffered an irreparable loss. It was Dr Mookerjee’s marvelous leadership that raised the Jan Sangh from the status of an infant of two years to the most formidable challenge to Congress mis-rule.
That the party will not lose the dogged determination instilled by its late lamented leader we are sure. As the prime representative of the Jan Sangh, Dr Mookerjee symbolised the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. In an age of falsehood it was a razor’s age, sharp, straight and narrow that he walked. But he would have truth and nothing else. And for that he walked into jail and into the jaws of death. Those whom he led must keep up this glorious tradition of sacrifice and dedication, full and complete, till the goal is reached.
The sons and daughters of this land have lost the symbol of their political salvation. But the spirit that has been released must now fill every heart and lead to action. That is the one way to honour the memory of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee. May our fulfillment of his cause enable his soul to rest in eternal peace.
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