Former President and Bharat Ratna Pranab Mukherjee passed away Monday at the Army Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi where he had undergone surgery earlier this month. He was 84. At the hospital, he also tested positive for Covid-19. He was operated upon for removing a blood clot in his brain.
Probably no Indian politician can match Mukherjee’s enviable record as a long-distance runner. He had a ringside view of Indian politics for some five decades, though in his four-part memoir, he hid more secrets than he revealed of his eventful life.
If there was a quintessential seeped-in-Congress-tradition, a towering public figure who bridged the past with the future and strode with aplomb on the present, it was Pranabda, as he was called, both affectionately and with respect.
During his long career, he held various ministries, including such high-profile ones as defence, external affairs and finance, before he became President of India in 2012 for a five-year term.
Though he was affiliated to the Congress for most of his career, he did fall out with the party once, leaving it to form one of his own. He later merged it with the grand old party. After he left the Rashtrapati Bhavan, he made it plain that he saw himself above party politics. This was among the reasons he reportedly gave for attending a function of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the political mentor of the Bharatiya Janata Party and bête noire of the Congress, a visit that raised eyebrows in his former party for the kind words he had for the organization. While in government, he was widely hailed for the role he played in getting the Indo-US nuclear deal through and earning India a rule-exemption from the Nuclear Suppliers Group. He also faced criticism. The retrospective tax he introduced as finance minister in Singh’s government stirred up a major controversy. But his critics will likely remember him most for his failure to withdraw a stimulus programme started in response to the global financial crisis a little over a decade ago. The fiscal overruns we saw in its wake, year after year, led to double-digit inflation and worse for India’s economy. It was only after P. Chidambaram took over the Union finance portfolio that the fisc began to be reined back in, but it was too late to fix the mess. Mukherjee’s tenure as India’s first citizen was far more successful, as politicians on either side of the political aisle will attest. His leadership will be widely missed.
Pranab Mukherjee was conferred Padma Vibhushan in 2008 and Bharat Ratna in 2019.
Indira Gandhi brought in the ‘little master’ to the Rajya Sabha as a member of the Bangla Congress, a breakaway Congress group formed in the state back in 1966. It merged with the Congress in 1970. Mukherjee received his first ministerial assignment in the Indira Gandhi in 1973, first as junior minister of industrial development. Within two years, he was elevated as a deputy minister with independent charge of revenue and banking departments. Mukherjee quickly made headlines with a crackdown on the then Bombay smuggling underworld don Haji Mastan. Known for his sharp memory, clarity of thought and grasp over issues, Mukherjee has the rare distinction of serving as foreign, defence, commerce and finance minister. He was also a Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission.
His body has been kept at his residence in the national capital. His last rites will be performed at the Lodi Road crematorium at 2 pm. The country is observing a seven-day morning period till September 6. Mukherjee’s death was announced by his son Abhijit Mukherjee.
“Sad to hear that former President Shri Pranab Mukherjee is no more. His demise is passing of an era. A colossus in public life, he served Mother India with the spirit of a sage. The nation mourns losing one of its worthiest sons. Condolences to his family, friends & all citizens. Endowed with perspicacity and wisdom, Bharat Ratna Shri Mukherjee combined tradition and modernity. In his 5 decades long illustrious public life, he remained rooted to the ground irrespective of the exalted offices he held. He endeared himself to people across the political spectrum,” President Ram Nath Kovind said in a message.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “India grieves the passing away of Bharat Ratna Pranab Mukherjee. He has left an indelible mark on the development trajectory of our nation. A scholar par excellence, a towering statesman, he was admired across the political spectrum & by all sections of society.”
Bollywood celebrities took to social media to pay a tribute to the veteran politician. Priyanka Chopra posted a throwback picture from the time when she received the prestigious Padma Shri award from Pranab Mukherjee and wrote, “A visionary, leader and the former President of India Hon Shri Pranab Mukherjee Sir. Your contributions towards the growth of our nation will forever be remembered.Heartfelt condolences to the family.”
Surjitt sahani
