Magazine : 
Always in Our Heart - Pranab Mukherjee, the Bharat Ratna & a Great Soul
An era comes to an end with the demise of one of the greatest leader of the nation’s history - Pranab Kumar Mukherjee, the former President of India and stalwart of Indian politics. Pranab Da (Da means elder brother, as he was called, both affectionately and with respect) who was 84, breathed his last on Monday, 31st August 2020.
Early Life
Pranab Da was born as Pranab Kumar Mukherjee in Mirati, West Bengal in 11th December 1935. He was an Indian politician who served as the 13th President of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Pranab Da was a senior leader in the Indian National Congress and occupied several ministerial portfolios in the Government of India. Prior to his election as President, Pranab Da was Union Finance Minister from 2009 to 2012. He was also awarded India’s highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna in 2019 by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind.
Pranab Da’s father, Kamada Kinkar Mukherjee was deeply involved in India’s struggle for independence from Great Britain in the first half of the 20th century. A longtime member of the Indian National Congress (INC or Congress Party), Kamada Kinkar Mukherjee spent several years in prison as a result of his activities opposing British rule. However, after the independence of India, he held a seat in the state legislature of West Bengal. Pranab Da pursued his education from the Suri Vidyasagar College (then affiliated with the University of Calcutta). Later he earned an advanced degree in history and political science as well as a law degree from the university. In 1963 he accepted a teaching position at a small college near Calcutta (now Kolkata) that was associated with the university. He also became editor of a Bengali-language monthly periodical and, later, worked for a weekly publication.
Political Role & Stint in Politics
Pranab Da got his break in politics in 1969 when the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi helped him get elected to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament of India, on a Congress ticket. Following a meteoric rise, he became one of Indira Gandhi’s most trusted lieutenants and a minister in her cabinet in 1973. Pranab Da’s service in a number of ministerial capacities culminated in his first stint as Finance Minister of India in 1982-84. He was also the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha from 1980 to 1985.
“If Pranab Da had been the PM instead of Rajiv Gandhi, the country would have been a better place,” this is what PM Narendra Modi quoted while rallying in Calcutta a few years back. PM Modi meant former president Pranab Kumar Mukherjee was sidelined from the Congress during the premiership of Rajiv Gandhi. That darkest reality will always be remembered as the nation mourns on the passing away of a great soul. In 1979, Pranab Da became the Deputy Leader of the INC in the Rajya Sabha, and in 1980 he was appointed Leader of the House. He was also considered as the top-ranking Indian cabinet minister and he presided over cabinet meetings in the absence of the Prime Minister. However, Pranab Da was sidelined from the INC following the assassination of Indira Gandhi. Although Pranab Da was much more experienced in politics than Indira Gandhi’s son, Rajiv Gandhi, it was Rajiv who gained control. Also, it is widely believed that Pranab Da viewed himself (and not Rajiv Gandhi) as the rightful successor to Indira Gandhi following her assassination in 1984. This way, Pranab Da lost his position in the cabinet and was sent to manage the regional West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee. Thenceforth, he formed his party, the Rashtriya Samajwadi Congress, which merged with the Congress in 1989 after reaching a consensus with Rajiv Gandhi.
Under P.V. Narasimha Rao (who served until 1996) and the party’s Manmohan Singh (who became prime minister in 2004), Pranab Da held most of the major ministerial portfolios in the cabinet: commerce (1993-95), external affairs (1995-96 and 2006-09), defence (2004-06), and finally back to finance (2009-12). He also occupied several important legislative posts, including leader of the Rajya Sabha (1980-84), Congress Party whip in the upper house (1996-2004), and leader of the Lok Sabha (2004-12). In addition to his government activities in India, Pranab Da was involved with a number of prominent international organizations, most notably occupying seats on the boards of governors of the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank during his two stints as finance minister. In June 2012 the Congress Party chose Mukherjee as its candidate for the Indian presidency. Because the office is nonpartisan, he resigned from the Lok Sabha and the party. He easily won the 19th July election and was sworn into office six days later. The presidency is viewed as a largely ceremonial post. However, observers noted that Pranab Da, with his decades of experience in government and politics, was more engaged in governance than most of his predecessors. In 2017 Pranab Da’s term as president ended, and he was succeeded by Ram Nath Kovind.
The nuclear agreement with the US
In the early 1980s, Pranab Da was the Finance Minister, and the grip over economic actors that he gained would remain handy for the rest of his life. He held the three of the four big portfolios - Defence, Finance and External Affairs. He signed the nuclear agreement with the United States in 2008. As the key interlocutor of the UPA with its allies on the issue, he carried the Left along until the last milestone. After the Left withdrew support to the government, the Samajwadi Party came to its rescue.
Bharat Ratna
In 2018, the Government of India announced Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honor of the country, for him. After being selected for India's highest civilian award, he expressed his gratitude on being conferred with the Bharat Ratna saying “I’ve received much more from the people and from this country than I have given to it”.
Around the same time, he addressed a gathering of the RSS in Nagpur, in a stunning reincarnation of a man who had never let his intense religiosity impede his secular vision. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had pleaded with him to address the organization’s conclave as President, but Pranab Da waited until after he left the office. He made a speech to RSS volunteers on nationalism that had a Rashomon effect on listeners - it was an endorsement of Hindutva nationalism and a critique of it at once. One could take what one wants.
Little about His Personal Life
Daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee lived with him in the last days. His wife Suvra Mukherjee had passed away in 2015. His son, Abhijit Mukherjee, was elected a Lok Sabha member once but his political career did not take off. Another son, Indrajit Mukherjee, has no public profile. A Bangla cultural aficionado, Pranab Da was extremely popular in Bangladesh also. He maintained close personal ties with Sheikh Hasina. Pranab Da’s ability and willingness to offer counsel to others extended to non-Congress leaders, including Narendra Modi when the latter was the Gujarat Chief Minister and after he became the Prime Minister too. Congress leaders have not been usually treated very kindly by PM Modi but ‘Pranab Da’ was an exception.
Pranab Da once quoted “As Indians, we must, of course, learn from the past; but we must remain focused on the future. In my views, education is the true alchemy that can bring India its next golden age”. Though the nation has lost a true leader, there is still much left for us to learn from him.
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