Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s contributions to be included in Bengal curriculum

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said Syama Prasad Mookerjee's contributions will be incorporated into school and university curricula from the next academic year. The state will also publish his biographies, restore his ancestral home and build a 125-foot statue

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday said the contributions of Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee will be included in the state’s curriculum from school to university levels from the next academic year. The decision was taken at the first meeting of a special committee constituted to plan and implement programmes marking Mookerjee’s 125th birth anniversary.

“The School Education Department will include Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s contribution to the country, his far-reaching and development-oriented vision in independent India, and his constructive works in the syllabus from school to university levels,” Adhikari said.

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This is how the next generation will be made aware of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the chief minister said, adding that it has been decided that this will be implemented from the next academic year. The state government will also publish a book on Mookerjee, as part of the programmes planned to mark his 125th birth anniversary, the CM said.

“An organisation with which Syama Prasad Mookerjee was once associated has already prepared a book through the efforts of (BJP leader) Tathagata Roy. We want to publish the book jointly with them. They will now convey their views on the matter,” Adhikari said.

He said the state Library Department had also been asked to publish a comprehensive biography of Mookerjee in both Bengali and English. “I hope the work will be completed within this year,” the chief minister said.

The state government has also decided to erect a 125-foot statue of Mookerjee at Eco Park, one of the largest parks in and around Kolkata, and the bhoomi pujan for the project will be held there, Adhikari said. The Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) briefed the special committee on Thursday about the proposed statue, museum and other facilities planned at the site.

“We have asked them to start the work so that we can inaugurate it on July 6 next year,” Adhikari said. July 6 is the birth anniversary of Mookerjee who strongly opposed Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370. He entered Kashmir in 1953 without a permit, was arrested, and died in detention. The West Bengal government has also decided to restore Mookerjee’s ancestral home at Jirat in Hooghly district, where a library and a museum will be set up.