Context:

Prime Minister paid tribute to Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his death anniversary on 23rd June.

About Syama Prasad Mookerjee 

• Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, born into a Bengali Brahmin family on July 6, 1901, in Calcutta. He was a multifaceted personality-  politician, barrister, and academic.
• He served as the Minister for Industry and Supply in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet.    
• At the young age of 33, he became the youngest vice-chancellor of Calcutta University in 1934. 
• During his tenure, Rabindranath Tagore delivered the convocation address in Bengali for the first time, and Indian vernaculars were introduced for high-level examinations.
• Mookerjee played a significant role in Indian politics. In 1946, Mukherjee advocated for the partition of Bengal to prevent Hindu-majority areas from being included in Muslim-dominated East Pakistan. 
• He opposed the 1947 proposal for a united but independent Bengal by Sarat Bose and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy.
• As a member of the Constituent Assembly, he gave transformative suggestions regarding language and culture
• October 21, 1951, Mookerjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in Delhi and became its first president, precursor to the modern Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
• A strong proponent of national integration, he vehemently opposed the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir. He famously used the slogan "Ek Nishan, Ek Vidhan, Ek Pradhan" (One symbol, one constitution, one leader) to advocate for national unity.
• In 1953, Mookerjee was arrested in Kashmir for attempting to enter without permission
• He died on June 23, 1953, under mysterious circumstances during his detention.