The Untold Truth: What The Liberals Dont Want You To Know
"What Bengal Thinks Today, India Thinks Tomorrow. This is not a cliché but a reality at a point in time in the history of old India. I am not sure in society what qualifies to be awarded as "Leaders & Visionaries" but whatever lens has been used, requires a wider exposure. Our minds have been tuned to a certain historical narrative. It's time to change it. Bengal had a profound contribution to the growth of India as a powerhouse and if there was one family that stands out, that'll be the Mukherjees of Uttarpara. Somehow the modern historian erased this bit of history to suit their selfish agenda.
Whenever reference to Bengal comes, the usual names that appear in the roster are - Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Krittivas Ojha, SP Mookerjee. Leaving Netaji out, were the others really nation builders or did they, in their own way contribute to positioning India on top in their specific fields? To get to the root, it's important to not just ask questions, it's important to ask the right questions. This is an attempt to assimilate and through extensive secondary research add to the tremendous amount of work done by my cousin and our family historian Shri Debashish Mukherjee. He went over and above the several books published on the enlightened family by various top historians across India. Unlike all others, he took the data from literature and traveled extensively through the length and breadth of West Bengal to validate the data. He was kind enough to take me around too and I am obligated to him for opening my eyes to a history that can change the course of "truth" told to us in our history books by a band of opportunistic political class.
Yes, Rabindranath Tagore was the one of the greatest spiritualists/philosophers of our time but what contributions did the other Tagore's really have in "nation building"? Yes, Swamiji's Chicago speech was a turning point in the spiritual rise of India but who was his mentor & guide in Buddhism? It is said Ramkrishna Paramanhsa made Swami Vivekananda & vice versa. But who was the motivation behind Ramkrishna? Maa Sharada. Where was she from? Who funded Swamiji's trip to Chicago and and hosted the felicitation at Kolkata Town Hall? Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a poor man barely able to meet his ends meet. How did he build so many schools and how did he, in 1855, manage to file the expensive petition with the Legislative Council for Widow Remarriage Act garnering signatures of the high and the mighty of Bengal & outside? Why did Bankim Chandra Chatterjee marry his daughters and sister-in-law in one influential Kulin Brahmin family when he could have married them anywhere? Did SP Mookerjee have a role model and training that inspired him to launch Bharitiya Jan Sangh? Why did he visit Nabin Chandra Mukherjee's house so often in Uttarpara? Why was there a Crown Gate in Uttarpara of all the places & why in 1887, King Edward VII of all places in India, first visited Uttarpara? When you ask the right questions you would be surprised what goldmine of hidden suppressed history emerges.
About The Mukherjees of Uttarpara - What makes them exceptional
The Mukherjees of Uttarpara is the only family in India that had several generations of Rajas (equivalent to king), 2 Rai Bahadur's (Rai Bahahadur Pannalal Mukherjee & Rai Bahadur Satyacharan Mukherjee) & 1 Knight Sir Satyacharan Mukherjee, all in the same family in succeeding generations. There are reasons
4) One of the largest public sector banks in India - United Bank of India and two additional banks for last mile banking Uttarpara Co-Operative Bank & Citadel Bank was established by Dhirendra Narayan Mukherjee.
An Address By Former President of India Late Shri Pranab Mukherjee
6) Primary sponsor and the first signatory in the Widow Remarriage Act & was the force behind abolition of Salt Tax.
19) Founding member of Agri Horticulture Society in 1820 along with William Carey
20) Grand Trunk Road was rebuilt in 1804. The only way for people across the Ganga living in Uttarpara to travel to Kolkata was using the waterway. Raja Joykrishna built the Bally Bridge connecting 2 sides of the river in 1846
The points above are just the tip of the iceberg. The Mukherjee's have a documented history of more than 1000 years & are very much a part of the earliest settlers and owners of undivided Bengal. Our genealogy chart is the most detailed family chart that exists today according to Guinness Book contacts and it has found a spot on a wall at Rashtrapati Bhavan (the official residence of the President of India) thanks to our ex Late President Pranab Mukherjee who was also member of the family.
In the early 12th century, another descendent of Vedagarbha, Sisupati Gangopadhyay moved to Nabadwip to serve Maharaja Ballal Sen of the Sen Dynasty. Having evaluated hundreds of Kulin Brahmins, Ballal Sen selected Sisupati as the Chief Priest in his Kingdom because he felt only Sisupati possed the 9 gunas(Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousness) in their entirety. Ballal Sen gifted Sisupati a 16 square mile tax free land along the banks of the Bhagirathi (Ganges) starting from Aryadeep all the way to Bahulapari covering entire Kolkata (as we know it now). Aryayadeep was later rechristened as Aryadaha which in just around Dakshineshwar, a stones throw from Uttarpara. Bahulapuri is now known as Behala and the estate extended much beyond Barisha. This entire stretch of 16 square mile land was called Kalikhetra because it was believed that Maa Kali was buried somewhere in this stretch of land.
At that time there was a very small temporary makeshift temple in Kalighat where some locals used to pray to Maa Kali. The local residents, mostly fishermen and farmers believed that this tiny fragile temple is an abode of Maa Kali herself. Miracles have happened around this inconspicuous temple. At that time there was no deity but a pitch black pyramid shaped stone that was prayed upon by the locals.
We believe that, and this is mostly hand me down information since the time of Sabarna Roychoudhury, that Maa Kali was considered by the general people as "Karta", the master of the house (land) & thus the city assumed the name Kalikata. Historians have different versions of the genesis of the name, but as custodians of this land we believe this to be the root of the name. Subsequently decendents of Sisupati Gangopadhyay moved to Amati village in Burdwan District near Katwah. Around the year 1515, decendents of Parameshwar Gangopadhyay during the rule of Alauddin Husain Shah moved to Chattagram. Parameshwar Gangopadhay was the first person to translate Mahabharata from Sanskrit to Bengali. Since the ruler at that time was Paragal Khan, this Mahabharat was known as Paragali Mahabharat. Ask your ancestors or any decent historian, they would have read this Mahabharat. What is most interesting is that we have been taught that Kasiramdas was the first person to translate Mahabharat into Bengali. It's clearly wrong as Kasiramdas was born about 130 years after Parameshwar Gangopadhyay.
Subsequently Paremeshwar Gangopadhyay moved to Triveni near Saptagram and settled in Gohotto Gopalpur village. Parameshwar Gangopadhyay's eldest son was Panchanan Gangopadhya or Panchu Shakti Khan, Humayun's Chief War Strategist. Panchu Shakti Khan moved with his family to set up what is known as Halisahar or "Haveli ka shahar". Lakshmikanta Roychoudhury was the GG grandson of Panchu Shakti Khan.
Panchu Shakti Khan's grandson was Jia Gangopadhyay. The 21st descendant of this family Jiya Gangopadhyay (1535 – 1620) was a Versatile Sanskrit scholar with gifted talents over the Nayay School of philosophy. He was a Vidya Bachaspati and under his leadership Halisahar became famous in India as a center of classical education only next to none. Jia Gangopadhyay and his wife Padmavati Devi moved from Halisahar to Kalighat around the year 1569 after Padmavati Devi had a vision from Maa Kali herself. She was barren even at 19 years (not ideal in those days) and offered a yagna for Maa Kali. Later that evening on vision Maa Kali gave Padmavati Devi 2 instructions
1) To excavate Maa Kali's toe from underneath "Kalikund"/Black pyramid shaped rock
2) That the son she will bear soon, will actually be the son of Maa Kali herself
In 1570, on the day of Kojaguri Lakshmi Puja, Lakshmikanta Gangopadhay was born. He was named Lakshmikanta because he was born on the day of Lakshmi puja. During childbirth Padmavati Devi contracted Sutika makkal or Peurperal Diarrhoea, a common disease among women and died very early leaving infant Lakshmikanta at the care of his father. Jia Gangopadhyay was so shocked and broken and in fit of rage, left a kinder Lakshmikanta under the care of some sevaks to become a revered ascetic in Varanasi. He was known as Kamdev Brahmachari. Kamdev Brahmachari was very famous in Varanasi in those days for attaining the highest level of attunement/Siddhi.
Once Lakshmikanta came of age, he took up a job with Raja Basanta Roy in Jessore and assisted Raja Pratapaditya Roy with estate affairs. Although Raja Pratapaditya Roy was the nephew of Raja Basanta Roy, the former murdered his uncle to acquire the kingdom. Lakshmikanta had no connect with his father Kamdev Brahmachari anymore until Man Singh met with Kamdev Brahmachari in Varanasi. Man Singh, Akbar's chief war strategist wanted to take a blessing from the most devout ascetic of the period and everyone pointed to Kamdev Brahmachari. Man Singh stayed under the apprenticeship of Kamdev Bramhachari for a few weeks and both grew close. Man Singh was so overwhelmed by Kamdev's acquaintance he request Kamdev to seek any gift he desited. Kamdev requested Man Singh to locate Lakshmikanta and inform him that his father was alive and that he was living the life of an ascetic. Subsequently after Man Singh invaded Bengal and defeated Pratapaditya, he located Lakshmikanta and narrated his entire acquaintance with Kamdev Brahmachari. Obligated to him guru, Man Singh gifted almost 3/4 of undivided Bengal to Lakshmikanta Gangopadhay including Sutanati (North Kolkata) which he took away from Seth's & Basak's, Gobindopur (the entire Behala area) etc. Man Singh additionally gave the title "Majumdar" to Lakshmikanta Gangopadhay and later Jahangir gave him the title "Roychoudhury". So Lakshmikanta Gangopadhay assumed the same Saborno Majumdar Roychoudhury but later dropped the middle name Majumdar.
Once the battle between Man Singh and Pratapaditya intensified, Sabarno Roychoudhury moved back from Jessore to his ancestral home at Halisahar around 1600 where he started the "Saborno Roychoudhury Durga Puja", probably one of the first large scale debuttor Durga puja in Bengal. In 1610 Saborno Roychudhury built a palace in Barisha and moved there.
Mukherjees & Swami Vivekananda
Our family was the custodian of the remains of Gautama The Buddha that were later handed over to Sarnath Temple through Mahabodhi Society. It's all formally documented.
Swami Vivekanada's induction into Buddhism was through Rashbehari Mukherjee, one of the world's greatest ever philosophers and think tank in Buddhist studies & the grandson of Raja Joykrishna Mukherjee. On the 2444th birth anniversary of Gautama The Buddha, there was a massive congregation of world spiritual leaders at Albert Hall, England. Rashbehari Mukherjee was the plenary speaker along with the world renowned Japanese philosopher and monk Ekai Kawaguchi. Beyond Bengali, Rashbehari Mukherjee was expert in 6 languages that included Sanskrit, French, English, German, Pali & Persian. Rashbehari Mukherjee's closest friend was Prince Prisdang, The Prince of Indo China, the grandson of King Rama III. Influenced by the teachings of Gautama The Buddha he decided not to take the throne and instead assumed the ochre to become a monk and started working with Rashbehari Mukherjee in the study of ancient Buddhism and pursued Buddhist studies. They had jointly pursued several archaeological excavations in Nalanda (UNESCO World Heritage Site) & Bodh Gaya, both seats of Buddhism. It is during one of these excavations that they found the remains of Gautama The Buddha & 2 idols of Buddha made of several rare metals. The Prince took one idol and some of the remains back to Bangkok where it is still preserved. The rest remained with our family in Uttarpara. Once Prince Prisdang decided to take up monkhood he was exiled and that's when he started spending considerable time at Uttarpara. Our family subsequently handed over the remains of Buddha to Sarnath Monastery through Mahabodhi Society. The relics were handed over to the President of Mahabodhi Society Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee, father of Syama Prasad Mukherjee.
Rashbehari Mukherjee was married to Golapmohini Roy, the aunt (father's own sister) of Biren Roy (Behala Biren Roy Road) He had a son and a daughter. His daughter Sakuntala was married to the Prince of Hetampur, Kumar Brahmaniranjan Chakrabarty. His grandson (son of Shakuntala) was married to Princess Jyotsnamoyi, the daughter of the Queen of Nadia, Jyotirmoyi Devi. Again Pranati, the elder daughter of Jyotshnamoyi was married to the King of Lalgola Raja Birendranarayan Roy.
The narrative and importance of Ram is very much a part of Bengal from ancient times. Krittivas Ojha, the 15th century scholar and poet and the author of Krittivāsi Rāmāyaṇ is part of the lineage. Krittivas Ojha is remembered for its exploration of the concept of Bhakti (devotion), which would later contribute to the emergence of Vaishnavism in Gangetic Bengal and the surrounding regions. Tulsidas, the famous saint & poet admittedly drew inspiration from Krittivas Ojha for most of his work. Our family also traces it's roots to Panchu Shakti Khan (Panchanan Gangopadhyay), the chief war strategist in the court of Emperor Humayun. It was the Emperor himself who gave him the name. No wonder Cambridge University has a research section dedicated to the family and especially the works of Rashbehari Mukherjee.
Did you know Michael Madhusudan Dutta spent his last few months with the Mukherjees?
Michael Madhusudan Dutta one of the greatest Bengali poet was a very private person and little is known about him and his family in public domain. A lot of information is found in the private memoirs of Rashbehari Mukherjee during the poets retreat at the 1st floor of Uttarpara Joykrishna Library.
Tableware used by the great poet is still well preserved
Mukherjees Steering Indian Independence - Role of Amarendranath Chatterjee
Amarendranath Chatterjee (1880-1957) was the son of Upendranath Chatterjee. His most trusted lieutenants were Jatin Mukherjee (Bagha Jatin), Upen Banerjee & Hrishikesh Kanjilal. Under the guidance of Sri Aurobindo, he spearheaded the National Volunteer Movement & was assisting Jatin Mukherjee in running the Poragacha unit in Nadia. They created "Chatra Bhandar" (Student store) and later Sramajibi Samabaya (Workers Cooperative). Amarendranath met Sri Aurobindo in 1907.
Aurobindo's first words (as narrated by Amarendranath in his memoirs) "Surrender yourself to God and in the name of the Divine Mother get along with the service of India. This is my diksha to you. If we want to secure the freedom of this country, we have to sacrifice everything for it and we should be ready to give up our lives for it. If we want to free the country, we shall have to conquer the fear of death. The first edition of Sri Aurobindo's publication "Karmayogi" was published in Allahabad and the the Chief Editor was Amarendranath Chatterjee.
It was Amarendranath who introduced Rashbehari Bose with Sundar Lal. Amarendranath, very much like Netaji believed that non violence could never get us freedom. His methods were far more violent that those of Netaji. The Bengali edition of Karmayogi was launched in Bengal on 27th June 1909 but was banned after he published a violent letter against the British government. An arrest warrant was issued against Sri Aurobindo. Chaandanagar was still under French administration and it was safe for him to escape there. Sri Aurobindo visited Karmayogi office one last time and escaped to Chandannagore with Suresh Chandra Chakrabarty and DhirenBasu. Amarendra to had to go underground and was forced to disguise as a monk at which point he launched Shramajibi Samabaya a limited liability company whose sole objective was to fund the Nationalist Movement. Most of the funds came from Michri Babu (Kumar Rajendranath Mukherjee), son of Raja Peary Mohan Mukherjee. Under the guidance of Sri Aurobindo in 1911 Amarendranath became a leader of a gang of sanyasis in Puri to disseminate sedition. Hiding in Puri, Amarendranath raised funds for the movement by selling a book titled "The Life Of Aurobindo Ghose".
Charles Tegart in his book "A note on Ramkrishna Mission" writes how Amarendranath and team looted and seized funds from government treasury in 1913. He described Amarendranath Chatterjee as "exceedingly active and dangerous conspirator". Tegart goes on to write how Ramkrishna Mission was hand in glove with the Nationalist Movement. In his report dated 22nd April 1914 Tegart writes " .....for instance, on the 79th birth anniversary of Ramkrishna, which was celebrated at Belur on 1st March last, in the presence of a very large gathering, it is reported that Amarendranath Chatterjee, Makhan Sen and Jatin Mukherjee and other prominent members of the revolutionary part, were noticed feeding the poor & generally assisting the authorities of the Mutt in attending to the welfare of the visitors". 133 Lower Circular Road, Kolkata was used my Naren Bhattacharya as a mess however it was also the secret meeting ground of Amarendra and Jatin Mukherjee. General Denham, in his report has in many words described how he kept the mess under close watch. Captain Sealy's reported " In 1915 his very important share in the gun running conspiracy under Jatin Mukherjee and its ramifications came to light but he disappeared and has completely baffled all efforts to trace him.
Disguised as a sanyasi Amarendra went to Pondicherry to re join Sri Aurobindo. Amarendra was disguised as a Sadhu when he entered Sr Aurobindo's room. There was no way to recognize him but the somehow Sri Aurobindo sensed. His first words were " Speeches of Sadhu". Amarendranath was stumped and with tears rolling down his eyes fell on Sri Aurobindo's feet. He could not believe that after 11 years of separation, the saint would 1) recognize him 2) was aware of all the work Amarendranath was doing in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Assam. Amarendranath's new publication for recruiting the youth in the nationalist movement was called "Speeches of Sadhu". This was in major circulation in the entire northern and north eastern belt of India.
The family's contribution to attaining freedom is unparalleled. In 1905 Lord Curzon decided to break up Bengal. He said “It’s a settled fact”. S.N. Banerjee commented “We must unsettle the settled fact. The retaliation started with the assassination of Magistrate Kingsford. In 1906 a massive congregation of Congress revolutionaries met in Uttarpara hosted by Amarendranath Chatterjee and the meeting was chaired by none other than Sri Aurobindo. Kshudiram & Prafulla Chaki were paid INR 300 to assassinate the tyrant English Magistrate, Kingsford. The amount was paid by none other than Rajendranath Mukherjee and both the freedom fighters were trained and groomed under Amerandranath Chatterjee.
She was Bengal's first State prisoner. She was a patriot, revolutionary, CI & a trained spy of sorts. Ramchandra Majumdar (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._C._Majumdar) was arrested by the British looking for information on Amarendranath Chatterjee, Sri Aurobindo & Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and was placed in solitary confinement at Alipore jail. R.C. Majumdar was the custodian of the entire garrison of Mausar pistols that Netaji would require to deploy and Amarendranath Chatterjee needed to know where they were hidden. Nanibala Devi was sent to the prison guised as R.C Majumdar's wife. The police suspected her involvement and released a lookout notice. Nani Bala Devi fled to Varanasi (Kashi) where she was arrested. Nani Bala Devi underwent unimaginable torture under the direction of Superintendent of CID Jiten Banerjee. Everyday two CID officers would take Nani Bala Devi to small interrogation room and strip her of her clothes and rub red hot chilli peppers in her private parts stripping her of her dignity and trying to break her. She didn't break! She was eventually transferred from Varanasi to Presidency Jail in Kolkata. Everyday she would be taken at 9 am in the morning to the British officer Goldie's office for torture and released at 5 pm. One day after immense torture Nani Bala Devi agreed to give a written confession on the whereabouts of the freedom fighters. When Goldie handed over the piece of paper, all excited seeing himself a hero in the eyes of the Viceroy, all he got was a one liner "I want to go to Bagbazar to meet Maa Sharada". Goldie was livid and he simply tore the paper and threw it at Nani Bala Devi. This made Nani Bala Devi so angry that she stood up and slapped officer Goldie in full sight of his staff. That's a woman of mettle. Nani Bala Devi was finally released in 1919 after which she became yogi and disappeared from the face of the earth.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's allegiance to Uttarpara had several components.
1) It's was the home of one of the founding father's of Indian National Congress - Raja Joykrishna Mukherjee
2) He was aware that Raja Peary Mohan Mukherjee was one of the chief financiers of the Indian revolutionary movement and his home, Uttarpara a melting pot of all freedom fighters be it Congress, Hindu Mahasabha, Forward Bloc or Jana Sangh
3) Probably the most important binder was Major General AC Chatterjee. (1st General Secretary Indian Independence League, 1st Finance Minister of Provisional Govt of Free India, Governor Designate of Liberated Territories & Foreign Minister of the Provisional Govt of Free India). Major General AC Chatterjee was married to Sabitri Mukherjee. Sabitri Mukherjee was the granddaughter of Rajmohan Mukherjee. Rajmohan Mukherjee was the younger brother of Raja Peary Mohan Mukherjee.
Major General AC Chatterjee
The Historic Battle Of Jalalabad Fought Near Chittagong in Undivided Bengal in 1930 & Chittagong Armoury Raid were turning points in India's freedom struggle. The British government issued shoot at sight against Masterda Surya Sen, Lokenath Bal, Ganesh Ghosh and Ananth Singh took refuge with the Mukherjees. Where were the other illustrious families from Bengal in all this?
Raja Joykrishna was a man beyond comparison. While he was an astute statesman and a visionary, he was trained in warfare as well. Joykrishna played a pivotal role in the army of General Ochtorlony in the recapture of Bharatpur Fort. He just didn't leave his footprints in Bengal, he was part of a force that reclaimed the pride of the Rajputs. Around 1824 Raja Balwant Singh of Bharatpur had one minor son and he feared his brother Doorjun Sal would usurp the throne if & when he died. Raja constituted East India Company as the guardian of the young Maharaja. As soon as Maharaja passed away, Doorjan placed the baby and the queen in confinement and usurped the throne. General Octerlony remonstrated with the usurper but he ignored. The E.I Co in the past lost an earlier battle to the Rajputs in 1820ish and thus needed a formidable force. He received significant support from Raja Joykrishna Mukherjee. Interestingly all the allies of Raja Balwant Singh backed out - King of Jaipur, Gwalior, Indore, Peshwar & Mysore. They were all afraid of the fearless Jat fighters under Doorjun A fierce battle was fought and Bharatpur Fort was recaptured and the little Maharaja reinstated. Bengal lost many brave soldiers for the cause of Rajasthan. Bengal stood tall again.
In 1937, Raja Joykrishna Mukherjee was instrumental in the creation of Landholders Association along with Dwarakanath Tagore. It was the first step towards formation of Indian National Congress and a stepping stone for young Bengalis in the politics of India.
Sometime between 1840-1850,with his own private funds he opened 6 free Medical facilities across Bengal. This was over and above being the primary sponsor of 2 of India's most coveted healthcare facilities - Calcutta Medical College and R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. With his personal wealth, Raja Joykrishna built 37 free schools across Bengal & out of those 7 were English medium school for girls. Calcutta University produced some of the best brains in the world. Had there been no Raja Joykrishna Mukherjee, there probably would have been no Calcutta University. As seed money, he paid INR 5000 and it's documented. Somewhere in some corner in the University library, his name appears on a plaque. If you looked up Wikipedia, it reads as " University of Calcutta, state-controlled institution of higher learning founded by the British in India in 1857". The country has done a great disservice to the founding fathers by not even recognizing their selfless effort to give us a pedestal. Raja Peary Mohan was the first graduate from Calcutta Universty. His name does not even feature on the website. His graduation certificate bears evidence to the claim though.
The first ever political party in India was not the Indian National Congress. 32 years prior to formation of INC, Raja Joykrishna founded the British Indian Association in 1851. The first meeting of this association was help at the Town Hall on 8th October, 1853 to discuss the India Bill. It was the first time in India that more than 10,000 people participated in a conference. The first speaker at this mega conference was Ramgopal Ghosh while the second speaker none other thank Joykrishna Mukherjee
The relationship between Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar & Raja Joykrishna Mukherjees of Uttarpara is well documented. He spent considerable time at the Uttarpara palaces consulting with Raja Joykrishna Mukherjee on how to make Bengal a seat of culture and education in India. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar set up several free medical dispensaries and schools across Bengal. But ask yourselves, how could, a simple man, barely living on subsistence possibly afford to build scores of schools? Raja Joykrishna Mukherjee was the silent bedrock beside him. They shared tremendous mutual admiration and respect. Raja Joykrishna Mukherjee could have easily named these schools after himself or members of his families but he didn't. His humility and intent didn't permit. He always named these schools after the villages or towns they were built in because his mantra was "nation is bigger than self". Ishwarchadra Vidyasagar's reformist thoughts were embodied in his two famous works - Bidhababibaha Prachalita Haoya Uchit Kina Etadvisayak Prastab, 2 volumes (1855) on widow remarriage and Bahubibaha Rahit Haoya Uchit Kina Etadvisayak Bichar, 2 volumes (1871) on the abolition of polygamy. Polygamy, widow remarriage, child marriage were sensitive issues, because these were supported by the Hindu religion. Vidyasagar did not mean to hurt the religious sentiments of the common people by directly attacking the evils. The snoot Babu's of Kolkata refused to rub the powerful Brahmins the wrong way & enjoyed the social construct. Raja Joykrishna Mukherjee, a sighted liberal Kulin Brahmin from the lineage of Bharadwaj, Maa Sharada & Krittivas Ojha didn't care much about the social norms. He sponsored the appeal, was the first signatory in the appeal, garnered hundreds of like-minded persons put their signatures to the appeal, which facilitated the passing of the law promoting the practice of widow remarriage. The enactment of the Act of 1856, legalizing widow remarriage on 26th June 1856 and Civil Marriage Act of 1872, restricting bigamy and child marriage and encouraging widow remarriage, owed a great deal to Vidyasagar & Raja Joykrishna Mukherjee. The latter erased from the Bengali history.
Dear women of India, did you know that in 1855 Vidyasagar was given the added responsibility of Special Inspector of Schools for the districts of Hooghly, Burdwan, Midnapore and Nadia? Raja Joykrishna Mukherjee, his good friend suggested that, in order for the nation to progress it was imperative that the women be taught English.
Samabad Kaumudi was a leading Bengali publication started by Raja Rammohan Roy. In an edition in 1931 an article by Ram Madhab Mitra discussed the pitfalls of educating Indian women echoing the British sentiments and the sentiments of Kolkata celebrity babus. Around the same time leading thinkers and educationists across India met at the country's capital Kolkata, to fundamentally agree on opposing female education.
Joykrishna and his brother Bijoykrishna realized that neither they can expect any support from the British government nor from the so called custodians of Kolkata In the same year Joykrishna Mukherjee and his brother Bijoykrishna Mukherjee sent a formal proposal with the British government proposing setting up a female education institution in India. It was immediately rejected. A request was again sent in on 4th April, 1849 to J.D. Bethune. An excerpt from the proposal is provided here
It was rejected yet again. J.D. Bethune reverted back with 2 words "premature and expedient".
Frustrated with the lack of cooperation from the British government Joykrishna Mukherjee presented a formal proposal with J.D. Bethune to establish a school for girls way back in 1856. In 1848 J. D. Bethune was the Law Member of the Governor General's Council. Bethune, in his capacity as the President of the Council of Education, turned down the proposal thinking that it would be impossible to have an English medium school for girls in Uttarpara when the Babus in Kolkata were reluctant to even send their daughters to schools. Joykrishna Mukherjee was relentless in his pursuit and forced J.Bethune to set up the first English Medium School for Girls in India. Raja Joykrishna Mukherjee funded the project despite the backlash from the Kolkata coterie of snoot Zamindars. That's the man of character but unrecognized!
Joykrishna Mukherjee's frustration with the British government had it's roots in 1934 when he attempted to set up Vernacular Schools across Bengal. The attempt was thwarted by the Governor. So he went on a spree to distribute Ramayan, Mahabharat, slates, books, pens and pencils for free across hundreds of villages. The first Subscription School in India came up in 1834 in Hoogly. The concept of the educational endowment was not a western concept as we have been made to believe. Rich landlords had to mandatorily commit a certain fund to education. These landlord/zamindars hated Joykrishna for this. Students across India enjoy educational grants today. With you know that it was Joykrishna Mukherjee who introduced the concept with Sir Charles Hardinge. It was in 1854 under the stewartship of Hardinge that "Grant-in-Aid" was introduced in India.
Did you know that Raja Joykrishna Mukherjee was considered as the father of modern pharmacology and pharmacoviligence? However his name is conspicuously missing from all literature. There's much we have to be thankful to him for. As a close friend of the likes of Madame Curie, Charles Darwin & AJC Bose, Joykrishna had exemplary knowledge of medicine. He was an avid reader that was reflected in his setting up Asia's firs free circulation library. He started the library with approximately 50K books and manuscripts, some rarest of rare. He was a believer that modern scientific approach to treatment can me meshed with native drugs and treatment methodologies mentioned by Charaka, Sushruta and Lokman. Joykrishna felt that by combining both lines of treatment could cater to the best interest of the country. He felt that as a nation we failed to preserve the sanctity of the ancient works of medicine built on acute reasoning and sound deductive generalization on therapeutic deliverance. As far sighted as Joykrishna Mukherjee was, in 1870 he realized that his proposal will probably enter into an unnecessary debate of ego between the British government and the local medical body so he suggested that he would fund such research program with a monthly commitment of Rs 1000 thus laying the foundation for research in physiology and pharmacodynamics in India. His thoughts & vision were well captured in his letter to Calcutta Journal Of Medicine
Page 3: Letter from Joykrishna Mukherjee to Calcutta Journal of Medicine
It is quite amusing that in 2020 while Baba Ramdev and Indian Medical Association are in loggerheads in an one upmanship game of ego, the greatest Indian scientists agreed to follow a 2 pronged approach to medical science 1) Reinvestigation of drugs already in use recommended in our ancient texts or Hindoo Works of Medicine 2) New investigation, or rather discovery of newer more scientific drugs to tackle modern diseases
The relationship between Joykrishna Mukherjee, James Long & William Hunter is well documented. One of the longest roads in Kolkata is named after the Irishman, James Long, but very little is known about him in public domain. Reminiscences can be found from the memoirs of Joykrishna Mukherjee. James Long was born in Ireland in 1814 and was the one to introduce William Hunter to Joykrishna Mukherjee. Long arrived in India in 1837 when he was 23 and spent 30 years fighting for the rights of Indigo cultivators. He spoke fluent Bengali, French, Parsi & Russian. A famous petition was filed with Indigo Commission against some top British officers like Ashley Eden. The two primary signatories, other than the cultivators were James Long & Joykrishna Mukherjee. James Long and Joykrishna Mukherjee set up the Vernacular Literature Society. This society was established to expose Indian students to English language. The organization was also responsible to translating classical English literature to Bengali. Book Registration Act was instituted in India in 1869. Both Joykrishna and James Long were instrumental in creating the famous catalog of all published Bengali books. The catalog was titled "A Descriptive Work Of Bengali Works".
William Hunter was born in 1840 and was much younger than Joykrishna. Since he was of a similar age as Raja Peary Mohan Mukherjee, they were closer friends. However, Hunter had tremendous admiration and respect for Joykrishna Mukherjee. Hunter was expert in Latin & Greek and was educated in Mathematics, Astronomy & Political Science/Policy Administration. He ranked 1st in ICS and as his first job arrived in India with the role of Assistant Magistrate & Collector in Birbhum. His seminal work "Annals of Rural Bengal" was published in London in 1868. The report is still considered as the most accurate & comprehensive account of the British rule in India. The research and analysis covered every aspect of governance - from legislature to law & order (expenses income & policy). Hunters greatest work however Statistical Accounts Of Bengal & Imperial Gazetteers of India. In 1882 he launched the elaborate statistical survey covering 240 districts of India. The survey was released over 90 volumes of 55,000 pages. The Imperial Gazetteer of India was a gazetteer of the British Indian Empire, and is now a historical reference work.
Raja Peary Mohan Mukherjee batted for Netaji to be nominated as the President of INC India. Ask yourselves, why Gandhiji, of all places, was constantly coming back to the small town of Uttarpara? Because like his father Raja Joykrishna Mukherjee, Raja Peary Mohan wanted the right person to lead INC - Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Mahatma Gandhi had some one else in mind.If you read "My Experiments with Truth" Mahatma Gandhi's Autobiography, he mentions his inability to secure Raja Peary Mohan's time repeatedly. Few people in India had the grit to turn down Gandhiji, Raja Peary Mohan was one such righteous son of India. We suppose Raja Peary Mohan's main point of discontentment with Mahatma Gandhi was his alliance with the Ali brothers (Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali) to participate in the Khilafat movement at a time when poison of disunity among Hindu's and Muslims were at their peak as a result of Lord Minto's decision to have separate electorates for Hindus and Muslims.
This is one reason probably why the history of this absolutely great family was wiped out from our history books despite their sacrifices to build this great nation of Bharat
The Great Bengal Famine & The Mukherjees
Recently a super cyclone ravaged through Bengal leaving it paralyzed still. An entire government machinery in unable to recover from the aftermath in 2020 where we have contemporary technical prowess. The entire reconstruction cost of the massive cyclone that tore through Bengal in 1864 & the famine of 1873-74 was borne by Raja Joykrishna Mukherjee. In 1943 a massive famine broke out in Bengal which was almost as bad as the one in 1770. Corpses from malnutrition and starvation were becoming common sight all across Bengal. The Municipal Corporations of Kolkata & Uttarpara failed to contain the situation. The Mukherjee’s of Uttarpara set up something called The Free Gruel Kitchen to feed approximately 2000-3000 people per day/meal for more than 6-8 months. It takes extraordinary will to commit to such social causes where self takes a back seat and nation comes first.
Uttarpara is & was one of the most well developed townships in Bengal (undivided or otherwise). Uttarpara or Uttarpara Kotrung is a city and a municipality of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA. Uttarpara is located at 22.67°N 88.35°E, within 10 km from Kolkata (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uttarpara). The other major townships before and after Uttarpara were Konnagar and Bally. To ease the lives of people in Uttarpara and ensure safety, Kumar Panchanan, the grandson of Raja Peary Mohan Mukherjee not only donated the land but with the fund from the estate built a new railway station which is now called Uttarpara Station. How many millionaires, billionaires, philanthropists selflessly contributed to the betterment of human lives and growth of a nation? It's one thing just donating money, it's another thing building the infrastructure while funding it. It's creation!
Other distinguished members of the Mukherjee family
Heritage properties of the Mukherjee's that were systematically dismantled
Mukherjees sowing the seeds of Industrial Growth in India
In their zeal to build the nation, Mukherjee's overlooked the importance of industrial growth. They realized that business was not their forte so they gave progressive visionary businesses men opportunities to set up businesses that would later make Birla's & Vijay Mallaya famous. Did you know that that Hindustan Motors was India's first and Asia's largest car manufacturing company around 1940? On 11th February the Birla's entered into a Joint Venture with Morris and set up the first factory in Gujrat. In 1946 they approached the Mukherjee's for land that had access to waterway and the rest is history. Their first make shift office was a floor at the Joykrishna Library. (Image below)
The Mukherjees and the fabric of Indian Education System - The Truth About Calcutta University
If you browsed through the Calcutta University website, you will not find any mention of Raja Joykrishna Mukherjee, his brother Bijoy Krishna Mukherjee and his son Raja Peary Mohan Mukherjee so let me give you proof that all the history we are taught in schools & colleges in more or less junk. They were all written by a certain vested political class and we need to fix it.
The 1st ever letter drafted towards establishing a state of the art University in India in lines of Oxford and Cambridge was drafted than none other than my GGGG grandfather Raja Joykrishna Mukherjee in 1846.
The above image is the first page of the handwritten proposal. For anyone seeking evidence, here is the entire letter and everything that you need to validate is available at Uttarpara Joykrishna Library. So here's the sequence of events in the run up to establishing one of the best Universities in the world and how one single family saved the Indian education system from calling into the hands of Muslim League
In 1846, Raja Joykrishna Mukherjee sent a basic proposal to Cecil Beadon on his vision of the first of it's kind University in India much in the lines of Oxford and Cambridge . Same year a detailed proposal (attached below) was sent to the Viceroy signed by Joykrishna Mukherjee, his younger brother Bijoykrishna, Rasamoy Dutta, Prasanna Kumar Tagore and a few more. They were the core members of the Council Of Education.
The proposal was presented at the London Court of Directors. The Directors sent a letter informing the Council that they were not in a position to consider sanctioning establishing an University in India. The British never wanted to rule over an educated India. However Joykrishna was was relentless. He presented the detailed proposal again in 1852 with signatures from Radhakanta Deb and a few more very powerful eminent members of our society. In the meantime Joykrishna was also the Chair of British India Council, one of the most powerful positions any Indian could hold under the Crown. The British authorities didn't move a needle that necessitated that another proposal be presented to Sir C.H. Cameron on 18th April 1853 again. Joykrishna had a very good relation with Sir Charles Wood and it was important that this proposal reached him. It finally did in 1856 and Calcutta University was established in 1857 after the relentless 10 years of effort from 2 brothers - Raja Joykrishna Mukherjee and his younger brother Bijoykrishna Mukherjee.
Initially there was no provision to teach vernacular languages. Joykrishna had the highest regard and love for his nephew Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee and advised his son Raja Peary Mohan Mukherjee to extend any support required to keep control over Calcutta University while Raja Peary Mohan focused on the Western Banks of Ganges - Uttarpara
Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee followed the footsteps of his uncle and cousin Raja Peary Mohan Mukherjee. Sir Ashutosh was elected as a Fellow in Calcutta University in 1889. He used this position to in turn be elected at the Bengal Legislative Council in 1899. Lord Curzon appointed him the Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University in 1904. Sir Ashutosh was one of the brightest minds India ever produced. Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee became a member of the London Mathematical Society while he was still in school. Even while in school, he would solve complex mathematical and geometry problems meant for Post Graduate students and researchers. Some of his unique solutions were accepted in England as original contributions to mathematical studies and were named "Mookerji Theorems"
Sir Ashutosh saw a big flaw in the University manifesto. Although the government had given permission to set up an University, they had not given permission to teach vernacular language. The British wanted to create a supply chain of English speaking bureaucrats and clerks and keep the masses uneducated. Sir Ashutosh defied the diktats of the British government and introduced Bengali as a subject at the University in 1906. He instituted the M.A. Degree in 1914. Every student studying at the University appearing for MA had to take a vernacular language besides Bengali.This model was later replicated in University of Bombay and University of Madras. The 4 Mukherjee's of the same family did what millions of "pre-eminent" Indians could not do - they broke the British spine and will to control the minds of India. The result? Calcutta University produced Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose, Megnad Saha, Acharya Prafulla Chandra, CV Raman, Rabindranath Tagore Abandindranath Tagore, Satyendra Nath Bose, Amartya Sen, Abhijit Bhattacharya and hundreds and hundreds of great Indian minds.
In conclusion I would like to say that what goes up comes down and nothing stays down forever. My father, my hero, Late Shyamal Kumar Mukherjee was born and bred in a palatial house with more than 100 aids running errands, food served on plates made of gold with a Buick, Rolls Royce, a battery of Victorian horse carriages & a few Dutch boats waiting to transport the family anywhere. He narrated stories of how 10,000 poor people would be served every weekend and more than 80,000 each day during festivities often extending to 5 days straight and all the boys from the family would have to serve the food. After India attained independence around 1950-52 the government brought about landholding regulations through the Zamindari Abolition Act that did away with idea of "Nobility"/"Rulers". The government entered into an agreement with the Mukherjee's that they will be compensated aptly for all their estates and will be relocated to their place of choice. My grandfather was a simple man and was tricked by the government (Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy) to sign on certain papers that brought this mighty family to the streets almost to the point of begging.
Our government of India does not even know about Dr. Sudeshna Mukherjee Fisch. In 2019, even before the governments of the world were aware what catastrophe awaits them, as the Associate Director of Cardiovascular Physiology Core at Harvard Medical, Sudeshna was tirelessly working on the antibody trials. Her teams work was instrumental in understanding and presenting the gene sequence that would subsequently help develop various vaccines today. As someone trained at Harvard and MIT, she heads the global Precision Medicine research at Pfizer. Anyone in the Healthcare and Lifescience industry would know how niche and prestigious the field is.
In 2019 Sudeshna wanted to reach out to the Indian government through me and warn them on what's coming. No one was interested except for one valiant journalist and anchor Sourav Sanyal from NewsMobile India. Had our sitting health minister at the center listened, India could have saved many lives.
Here's the interview link : https://fb.watch/bRv9K2v4KX/
In conclusion, I think unless we recognize our past we will always falter with the future. My intent is not to express some misplaced pride over a legacy that I had little to do with. It's to present the reality of life and the dilemmas and challenges it presents. Tables can turn rapidly but with a solid foundation, it's possible to prevail & excel, be it the self or the nation. Keep the faith!
[2] Patent - In the early 17th century King James I was raising GBP 200,000 a year from granting patents
[3] Rai Bahadur abbreviated R.B., was a title of honor bestowed during British rule in India to individuals for faithful service or acts of public welfare to the Empire. From 1911, the title was accompanied by a medal called a Title Badge
[4] Quit India Movement 1942 - A collection of documents - Govt of West Bengal
[5]Special acknowledgement: Mr. Debasish Mukherjee, the resident family historian. a mobile encyclopedia and the architect of the world's most comprehensive family tree. He is a man with 4 highly acclaimed books under his belt
[6] United in Philanthropy: Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar and Baboo Joykissen Mookerjee, Jolly Das & Prof. Rathindra Chattopadhyay, former Head of the Department of Bengali, Raja Peary Mohan College, Uttarpara
[7] Contemporary influences and the philanthropic contribution towards the establishment of Uttarpara Joykrishna Public Library: a study; Kaustuv Chakrabarti, Nilima Yasmin &Adwitiya Patra
[8] Several books published by various historians over the years as per their academic and research pursuits
9) Uttarshakkhar, Uttarpara Joykrishna Library
10) Ekti Alokprabaha, Prabuddha Chatterjee; Barun Chatterjee, Uttarpara Joykrishna Library
11) My Experiments With Truth - Mahatma Gandhi
12)
13) Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee Memorial Institute Research Material;Kolkata (Courtesy: Justice Chittotosh Mukherjee & Debdutta Mukherjee)
14) Asutosh Mukhopadhyay and his Mathematical Legacy - Satyabachi Sar retired as Head of the Department of Mathematics, MBB College, Agartala, Tripura.
Dada, it is thrilling to read account of such extraordinary men, who had such immense contribution and dedication to a cause of a race and country as a whole. What's not surprising is, how such greats were forgotten by the proletariat for sheer ignorance, but why did the intelligentsia associated and many of them being compatriot then and leader later chose to suck up the shame of their triviality and chose to put self befor race and country. Those such are the ones who have been the cause of degradation of a race which believed in logic, reason and way in every disagreement.
ReplyDeleteAlas , I ponder will I ever see the rise of my race and country before I leave this earth.
It also makes me think about the possible causes of such deterioration, which would be according to me not being able to identify the wolf in the sheep's skin. Another would be our over dependence on Idols of yesteryear and not finding relevant changes and struggles in society as a potential for revolutionary societal changes.
Thanks for reading. I feel happy that you took the time to read & comment. The first step in the right direction is to read unadulterated history in its raw form. When I started researching & writing the only intention was to present the truth, not someone's else's truth, but truth from the words of the people who brought change. These great people didn't bring change because they wanted to make a name, they just loved the country & saw her great potential. They were in touch with ground realities & their education came from the purest hearts & mind. It was always Country before Self. If you asked me, I think India achieved her greatness because of few people so patriotism got encapsulated within few. A subset of that is, people who really wanted to investigate the past. That's me. The rest may not have been interested or didn't have the luxury. I can't answer the logic to the causation. Patriotism cannot be taught, like honesty or empathy. It is in some sense inate & a bit developeds through observation, a function of the macro & micro value system.
ReplyDeleteWonderfully narrated. Being a Bong from Calcutta, heard a little about Uttarpara story. I believe, it needs to find its true place with a little toned down version.
DeleteBTW, unable to see the Google account in the dropdown option
Reading the whole story, as a tamil brahmin I feel happy to see a Bengali brahmin family having such an impact upon the society. All that said n done, what dismayed me is the current condition of Bengali brahmins. They are not taking up Vedic education, not doing their Nitya karma's, marrying shudras n dalits, eating beef etc. This article is filled with nostalgia, but will this help thr future cause of thr Bengali brahmin community? Or has it ceased to exist? I do not see any brahmin here in Calcutta feeling any sense of caste affiliation. Is it due to western education and resultant degeneracy? Is eating beef the measure of progress? Michael Madhusudhan and Deroziana have much to ponder!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing in detail the reality, but some points and details are missing, like you mentioned about gandhi, then nothing specific about how he suddenly emerged as a leader when so many active members where there giving their soul. Reading about Naina ji made me shiver, why exide entered into the picture.
ReplyDeleteJust a curious mind asking for details, nothing intentional. Salute to the sacrifices made by them. Overwhelmed reading this thread when we are celebrating Svatantr ka Amrith Mahotsav. Jai Hind
Banumathi Ganesan
From Hyderabad
I had sketchy idea about my maternal grandfather's legacy. However, reading through I was truly surprised. Very good compilation of the history of a great Bengali Family.
ReplyDeleteThanks. What an awesome read; our nation’s history needs to be re-written. Need to get into this more. But fully agree; Bengalis always led the nation. Sad to see the phases from East Bengalis splitting from the heritage and then the communists leading the masses away from the heritage. Hope the Grace of Mother makes those two things as aberrations just like the settler and extractive colonial rules for over several centuries. Our time has come.
ReplyDeleteGreat read.
ReplyDeletePresently the house of Raja Pyari Mohan Mukherjee is being vandalised. We, the family members are trying in every possible way to protect the 163 years old building of such an immense historical value. Though the government is fooling people by saying that the building is being renovate, but already many structures of the building have been pulled down. The triangular pediment and the roof above the central hall have been completely demolished. A team of TOI has confirmed the facts and has published the news in their 25th May edition. One can read the full report from this link- https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-share?article=25_05_2023_002_011_toikc_TOI . I cordially appeal every one of you history lovers to share this news to as many people as possible and help us to protect yet another historical landmark from becoming the prey nefarious syndicate.
ReplyDeleteIs one of the Mukherjee buildings in Uttarpara named "Happy Valley"?
ReplyDeleteYou have an incredible legacy Kaushik. This is a story the world needs to know. Having lived in Bengal for 17 years I have never read about it’s history till today. Hope you are able to reach out to a larger audience. Now is the time and we are in history renaissance. Hope you tag Vikram Sampat and fihcr. Will read ‘experiments with truth’ for more insights. Thank you for sharing this with me
ReplyDelete