2002 - Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee | Commemorative Coin

The first commemorative coin for the year 2002 was released on occasion of the Birth Centenary of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee.

Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee (July 6, 1901 – June 23, 1953) served as a minister in Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's Cabinet, holding the portfolio for Industry and Supply. However, due to ideological differences with Nehru, Mookerjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1951.

Educated at the University of Calcutta, Mookerjee achieved academic excellence, graduating in English in 1921 with the first position in first class. Subsequently, he earned his MA in 1923 and BL in 1924, becoming a fellow of the Senate in 1923. Following his father's demise, he enrolled as an advocate in Calcutta High Court in 1924. Mookerjee pursued further studies in England at Lincoln's Inn, earning the status of a barrister in 1927. Remarkably, at the age of 33, he assumed the role of the youngest Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta from 1934 to 1938.

On October 21, 1951, Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) after parting ways with Nehru. The BJS, closely aligned with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), emerged as a political embodiment of Hindu Nationalism. Its stance opposed appeasement of India's Muslims, advocated free-market economics over Nehru's socialist policies, and supported a uniform civil code for both Hindus and Muslims. Additionally, the BJS sought to ban cow slaughter and end the special status of the Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir, thus pioneering the Hindutva agenda as the broader political expression of India's Hindu majority. In the 1952 general elections, Dr. Mookerjee and the BJS secured three seats in the Parliament of India.

Tragically, on May 11, 1953, Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee was arrested upon entering Kashmir and subsequently confined in a deteriorating residence. Suffering from dry pleurisy and coronary troubles, he was hospitalized one and a half months later due to complications arising from his health issues. Despite informing the doctor-in-charge of his penicillin allergy, he was administered penicillin, leading to his untimely death on June 23, 1953.

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