Shyama Prasad Mukherjee

Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (July 6, 1901 - June 23, 1953) was a nationalist political leader of India, and is considered the godfather of modern Hindutva and Hindu Nationalism. Mukherjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the first Hindu nationalist political party of its kind, and was also the leader of the Hindu Mahasabha and closely associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The Bharatiya Jana Sangh (abbreviated BJS, and often known simply as the Jan Sangh) existed from 1951 to 1980, whereupon it was succeeded by the Bharatiya Janata Party, one of India’s largest political parties. Its name means Indian People’s Alliance in Hindi. After August 1947, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee was made a part of the Jawaharlal Nehru cabinet and given the office of the minister for industry and supply. Having worked with the Indian National Congress before, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee was a favorite with several within the party. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee was taken under house arrest on May 11, 1953. Keeping him locked inside a decrepit house did not help to better pleurisy and coronary problems which he was already suffering from. There is hardly any scholarly work on this remarkable political figure and statesman. This book,which fills in substantial gaps in one’s knowledge of this highly momentous and complicated period of modern Indian history, should prove to be a seminal contribution to the burgeoning body of literature on the subject.