From a Field Reporter’s Diary
‘End of an era’ is a battered cliché when a tall leader passes, but no other phrase fits Pranab Mukherjee being put to rest on 31 August. In the annals of the Indian National Congress, his rise and reign was like an interlude between the post-Independence stalwarts and a new guard that rose from the rank and file. In West Bengal, where Mukherjee meandered into politics as an assistant professor in a government college, he never was considered to be in the league of the barristers or bars-at-law of the Inner or Middle Temple and descendants of historical legends like Hussain Shah.
Even though, Mukherjee’s father had participated in the freedom struggle and had been a member of the state legislative council, he was accused of being bereft of a “mass base” ‒ implying perhaps, that he had not inherited a constituency. Yet his advent to the Rajya Sabha in 1969 was on a ticket of the Bangla Congress he had founded in 1966 and when he fell out of grace with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, he had been able to found a political party of his own, which later merged with the Congress.
A great deal will be said and written of a man who has won many laurels including the Bharat Ratna, written many books and worn many hats. For the tribe of scribes who sought him out, he will always be remembered for his simplicity, erudition and scholarship. In the Cabinet (twice as finance minister) or beyond it, Mukherjee was never known to rest. His painstaking persuasion of industry and civil society of India’s need to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as Deputy Chairperson of the Planning Commission culminated in India being one of the first signatories of the WTO in 1995 ‒ a decision that worked hugely in India’s favour.
As the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee opened the grounds to visitors and revamped the ancient library. In every role he played, Pranab Babu left his unique stamp, an imprint that will be hard to erase.
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