Tribute on the 125th Birth Anniversary of Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee, Former Chief Minister of Bengal

 Ajoy Mukherjee Born: 15-04-1901, Died: 27-05-1986

Shyamapada Jana : Ajoy Mukherjee was an Indian Bengali freedom fighter and the fourth Chief Minister of West Bengal. He studied at Hamilton School in Tamluk and later at Presidency College. Born in 1901 in Tamluk subdivision of present-day West Bengal, he became one of the principal leaders of the Tamralipta National Government. This parallel government became functional on 17 December 1942 during the Civil Disobedience phase of the Quit India Movement. He was deeply influenced by Swami Vivekananda.

Earlier, he was a member of the Indian National Congress. Later, he founded the Bangla Congress, which jointly governed West Bengal with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the two United Front governments between 1967 and 1971. He served as Chief Minister in both governments. His first term lasted from March 1967 to November 1967, and the second from February 1969 to March 1970. In 1967, he defeated Gandhian leader Prafulla Chandra Sen from the Arambagh Assembly constituency and became Chief Minister. His victory in Arambagh was significantly supported by the then student leader Narayan Chandra Ghosh. In 1968, while visiting several flood-affected areas in Arambagh and Ghatal subdivisions, Narayan Chandra Ghosh accompanied him for several days by boat.

In 1971, Ajoy Mukherjee parted ways with his long-time associate Shri Sushil Dhara and joined the Indian National Congress (R) along with associates close to Shri  Pranab Mukherjee(Ex - President of india ). Prime Minister Indira Gandhi offered him a ministerial post at the Centre, but he declined due to his age and health. Instead, he recommended Shri Pranab Mukherjee for the post, who later became a Minister of State in the Union Cabinet.

In 1977, he was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India.

His brother Shri Biswanath Mukherjee and sister-in-law Srimati Geeta Mukherjee were both members of the Communist Party of India. His niece Kalyani (daughter of another brother) married Mohan Kumaramangalam and was the mother of Rangarajan Kumaramangalam and Lalitha Kumaramangalam.

Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee passed away in Kolkata on 27 May 1986.

At one time, he was the Irrigation Minister. He often travelled to Bankura and Purulia for official work and returned to his home in Tamluk afterwards. However, he never used a government vehicle and did not kept security personel. On one occasion, police informed his neighbour and Congress worker  Mr.Ajoy Malakar that the minister would arrive at Mecheda station at 11 p.m. from Purulia. When the train arrived, the minister called out, “Ajoy, come here, I am here.” After getting down, he worried about how he would return home so late at night. Mr.Ajoy Malakar arranged a taxi for thirty rupees, and the Irrigation Minister returned home by taxi. Before that, he had scolded the escort policemen who had come to help him, saying angrily, “Why have you come to disturb me so late? Go away.”

He travelled by train instead of using official cars. Such an incident is almost unimaginable today. That was the unique personality of Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee. He was both a freedom fighter and later Chief Minister of West Bengal, yet his lifestyle remained simple and modest. At every stage of life, he had to struggle for his ideals and pay the price for them.

His house was in Malijangal, Tamluk, marked by traces of old aristocratic heritage. However, the family were not originally residents of Tamluk; they came from Hooghly. His father Sarat Mukherjee was a lawyer who moved to Tamluk due to his legal profession and later became Secretary of the Tamluk Bar Association.

As a young man, Ajoy plunged into the freedom movement. Tamluk responded strongly to Mahatma Gandhi’s calls for the Non-Cooperation Movement, Civil Disobedience Movement, and Quit India Movement. Ajoy Mukherjee was among the key leaders of these movements in the region. In 1942, anti-British agitation in Tamluk reached its peak with the declaration of the independent Tamralipta National Government on 17 December. He was one of its chief architects. When Supreme Commander Satish Chandra Samanta was arrested by the British police, Ajoy assumed the role of second commander. Later, he too was arrested and was eventually released through the efforts of the ministry led by Prafulla Chandra Ghosh.

After independence, in 1952, during the first by-election of the country, he contested from the Tamluk Assembly constituency as a Congress candidate. Ironically, he had to face his own brother Biswanath Mukherjee, who was the Communist Party candidate. Ajoy Mukherjee became Minister for Irrigation and Waterways in the cabinet of Chief Minister Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy. He initiated restoration work of rivers and canals across rural Bengal. Canals such as Jagannathkhali, Soyadighi, Pratapkhali, Gangakhali, Payratungi, and Banpur were renovated, helping agricultural development in undivided Midnapore district.

Through his efforts, a 125-bed sub-divisional hospital was established in Tamluk in 1962 at a cost of twelve lakh rupees, benefiting the people of Tamluk and present-day Purba Medinipur. After the death of Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, he retained the Irrigation and Waterways portfolio in the cabinet of Prafulla Chandra Sen. However, during this period, corruption and other issues led to a decline in the popularity of the Congress.

Under the Kamaraj Plan, it was decided to reduce cabinet sizes and assign senior leaders to organisational work. Mukherjee had to step down from the ministry. He then began holding meetings in villages to restore public confidence in the party. However, factional conflict intensified. He was removed from the district and state Congress presidency, which led to the birth of the Bangla Congress in February 1966 at a workers’ conference in Shyamsquare, Kolkata. Consequently, he lost his Congress membership.

In the 1967 election, the Bangla Congress joined three other parties to form the People’s United Left Front. Under his leadership, the first United Front government was formed in West Bengal. However, the government did not last long. In the subsequent mid-term election, he again became Chief Minister. At that time, the state’s situation was grave. Disturbed by lawlessness, he called his own administration “a government of barbarians” and sat on a hunger strike at Curzon Park on 1 December 1969 with Bangla Congress workers. He declared: “If law and order do not improve, I shall throw away office like a torn shoe. But I shall not betray my ideals.” He later resigned, saying in a radio address: “To cling to power in such circumstances would be a betrayal of the people.”

His parliamentary career also faced many obstacles. At one time, he contested against Jyoti Basu, then Deputy Chief Minister in his own cabinet. He lost to Basu in Baranagar but won from Tamluk. In 1971, he became Chief Minister for the third time, but the government collapsed in only 83 days. He later returned to the Congress. In 1972, he again won from Tamluk as a Congress candidate, but gradually withdrew from active politics. In 1977, after losing the Lok Sabha election to fellow freedom fighter  Shri Sushil Kumar Dhara, he retired from politics and moved from Tamluk to a relative’s house in Kolkata.

His lifestyle remained austere. He was vegetarian, wore simple slippers, khadi cloth above the knees, and sleeveless shirts. His brother Mr.Biswanath Mukherjee held leftist views, and his wife Srimati Geeta Mukherjee was also a prominent political figure. All of them lived in the same house. Despite political differences, family affection remained strong.

In his final years, he was cared for by a tribal nurse named Tiru from Ranchi, whom he regarded like a daughter. In one of the last photographs of his life, the former Chief Minister is seen lying on a bamboo bier tied with rope. Beside him stood Srimati Geeta Mukherjee, Shri Subrata Mukherjee, and Shri Pranab Mukherjee.  Mr.Haripada Dolui, who used to cook at the Tamluk Congress office, recalled that on the day of the funeral, Pranab Mukherjee gave fifty rupees from his pocket to buy the bier, which was brought by Shri Subrata Mukherjee. However, his body was not brought back to Tamluk.

Tamluk had responded powerfully to the Quit India Movement. Among the leaders of that struggle was Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee. The Tamralipta National Government, declared on 17 December 1942, became one of the remarkable examples of parallel self-rule during British rule. Along with Shri Satish Chandra Samanta and Shri Sushil Kumar Dhara, he led this extraordinary experiment in self-governance.

Ajoy Mukherjee was not merely a politician; he was a visionary leader who played a vital role from the freedom struggle to democratic politics in independent India. His name remains unforgettable in the history of Tamluk and Bengal. He was a great patriot and public leader whose life continues to inspire generations. His contributions are not confined to the pages of history but remain alive in our collective consciousness.

Writer : General Sectetary, Medinipur Samanway Sanstha, Mo - 8420311730