Why did Mahapran Yogendranath Mandal
leave the country and go to India?
Author- Jagadish Chandra Roy.
(Translate from Bengali by google)
I think it is
necessary to look into this issue since the time of partition of the country or
the partition of Bengal. Why did he stay in the country? On whose orders? Or to
fulfill some personal interest? Again, why was he forced to leave the country?
What happened there?
Mahapran Yogendranath Mandal's life is controversial. He has
worked for the backward people of society by sacrificing everything in exchange
for his life. Despite being a minister four times, he did not have a single
leak to speak of his wealth. But despite being plagued by the axe of critics
all his life, he did not deviate from his social work. Even today, that
criticism does not want to stop. Is this because of the lack of proper
evaluation of him?
I think that his indomitable courage and deep love for
humanity have taken him to the peak of his purpose. However, the main reason
for this controversy is that he never bowed his head to anyone unjustly.
Besides, he never thought of serving his own interests for this work. As a
result, his opponents could never weaken him in any way and tried to create a
storm of false criticism from outside.
Why am I saying this? Because, he did not get any bad name
even after forming a cabinet with a certain Haq Saheb. Who later said, ‘Whether
India is partitioned or not, I want Bengal partition.’ But when Yogendranath
Mandal exposed the corruption of that cabinet, when the British leadership
dissolved that cabinet and then formed a cabinet with Haq Saheb (Yogendranath),
then he became Yogen Ali Molla. Why should the name of the one who formed the
cabinet earlier not be like this or why should he not be held responsible for
the partition of Bengal?
Now let us come to the context of the incident.
After the partition of the country, that is, the partition of
Bengal, no leadership was seen to look after the innocent and helpless
non-Muslims of Bengal. Yogendranath Mandal also became directionless. Then he
took refuge in Babasaheb Ambedkar and wrote a letter. Because, he followed
Babasaheb as a political guru. So Babasaheb wrote a letter on 2nd June 1947
about what he should do in such a situation. I am quoting a few lines here.
“The only course left to the Scheduled castes is to
fight for safeguards either in United Bengal or a divided Bengal. ---- I agree
that you should work in alliance with the League and secure adequate safeguards
for them. ----The Muslim League, however, will be ready to give to the
Scheduled Castes separate electorates more probably because they themselves
want separate electorates for their own community. So far as the Eastern Bengal
Scheduled Castes are concerned that no doubt is an advantage.” (Information- Mahapran Yogendranath,
Author- Jagadish Chandra Mandal, Volume 4, pp. 2-4)
As per Babasaheb's
advice, instead of going to India, he stayed in East Pakistan for the benefit
of the poor and helpless people of his society. Unfortunately, most people
still do not know about this letter of Babasaheb or even if they know, they
continue to spread slander by pretending not to know.
Then, after
discussing with the Scheduled Castes and other leaders of East Pakistan, he
joined the Muslim League cabinet of Pakistan on August 15, 1947 as the Minister
of Law and Labor.
After joining the
cabinet, he took various steps in the interest of the Scheduled Castes.
However, his joining the cabinet was not well accepted by others except Jinnah,
Nazimuddin and Surabhdi. Especially Prime Minister Liaquat Ali. From here, the
script for expelling Yogendranath Mandal began.
On October 11, 1947, Yogendranath's explanation of
"Minorities Have Every Right To State Protection" and his enactment
of the law made Prime Minister Liaquat Ali even more intolerant. However, the
Prime Minister could not take any action against Yogendranath because of
Jinnah. Seeing that the Prime Minister was not fulfilling various demands for
the Scheduled Castes, Yogendranath approached Jinnah. He demanded the
protection of the Scheduled Castes in the elections and two minority ministers
from East Pakistan along with the issue of elections. However, Jinnah did not
agree to that. Then the following conversation took place between the two -
Yogendranath - "Let me resign."
Jinnah angrily - "If you think that by resigning you
will be able to serve the Scheduled Castes better, then you can do so
freely."
Yogendranath was also not one to be silenced. He also raised
his voice and said - "It is not a question of serving better. It is a
question of ethics and honor. If I see that my principles and dignity are in
danger, then the only honorable course for me is to resign and return and serve
my people.” (Information- Mahapran Yogendranath, Volume 4, p. 62)
As a result of Yogendranath’s uncompromising demands, Jinnah
reached Dhaka on March 19, 1948. He promised at a public meeting in Dhaka on
March 21 that-
“Any impartial observer will agree with me that throughout
these troubles, the minorities were looked after and protected in Pakistan
better than anywhere else in India. —We have made it clear that the Pakistan
Government will not allow peace to be disturbed.” (Star of India, March 22,
1948)
Jinnah's promise was not well received by the Prime Minister,
any other League minister or the Muslims. From here, the conspiracy against
Jinnah began. Because, it is not possible to establish 100% Muslim rule in
Pakistan as long as he remains. Just a few months later, Jinnah died on
September 11, 1948. Although it is said that he died of tuberculosis. With
Jinnah's death, the death knell of the demand for the interests of the Hindu
Scheduled Castes also rang.
Prime Minister Liaquat Ali then became the supreme ruler of
Pakistan. He removed Nazimuddin from the post of Prime Minister of East Bengal
(then the head of the cabinet was called the Prime Minister) and made Nurul
Amin, a follower of Islam, the Prime Minister.
Surabardike (the alleged Prime Minister of Bengal) also had
to live like a prisoner. He had to move around with the permission of Liaquat
Ali's Home Ministry. (Information- Mahapran Yogendranath, Volume 4, Page 218)
In March 1950, Muslims started atrocities on Hindus in East
Bengal with the support of the state. The atrocities on Hindus increased
further with the Prime Minister's planned speech.
In such a situation, on June 13, 1950, Yogendranath Mandal
had a long discussion with Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy in Calcutta about the current
situation of Hindus in East Bengal. He clearly informed Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy
that it was not possible for Hindus to stay in East Pakistan and it was not
safe for him to stay in Pakistan either. Because, the Prime Minister of
Pakistan had already ordered that "Mr. Mandal must be given his approval
before publishing any news." (The Statesmen, June 13, 1950/ (Information-
Mahapran Yogendranath, Volume 4, p. 152)
Meanwhile, the Executive President of the Scheduled Tribe
Federation, Mukund Bihari Mallick, was also placed under surveillance by the
Pakistani Home Ministry. He was also prohibited from making any statement.
In such a situation, Liaquat Ali made Dwarikanath Baruri the
Minister of East Pakistan. After becoming a Minister, he and Bholanath Biswas
jointly issued a statement against Yogendranath- “Despite being a member of the
Central Council, Mr. Mandal has personally incited the people of the Scheduled
Tribes to leave East Pakistan. The people of the Scheduled Tribes have fallen
into indescribable misery due to leaving the country. Mr. Mandal is responsible
for this.” (Azad, July 24, 1950/ Mahapran Yogendranath, Volume 4, p. 157)
“By acting against the state and By showing disloyalty, Mr.
Mandal has betrayed the Scheduled Castes of Pakistan, therefore, as a
representative of the Scheduled Castes, he can no longer be a member of the
Union Cabinet.” (Information oi)
Again, some educated Scheduled Caste intellectuals claim,
“Mr. Mandal prevented the Scheduled Castes of Pakistan from leaving the country
and himself fled from Pakistan.” (P. oi)
Yogendranath has been blamed from both sides. This is the
poisonous result of the Scheduled Castes not knowing the correct information
about Yogendranath.
Despite so many conspiracies against Yogendranath, he met
Prime Minister Liaquat Ali to save the Hindus. He said to Yogendranath – “Did
you abuse the Muslims in your speech, calling them robbers, murderers, goons
and miscreants?”
In reply, Yogendranath said, “What else can be said about
those who kill innocently and indiscriminately, loot property, burn houses and
rape and abduct women? But I have also praised those Muslims who have given
shelter to the homeless and frightened Hindus and have tried to provide
security.” (Mahaprana Yogendranath, Volume 4, p. 145). That very day
Yogendranath understood that Hindus in East Bengal would not get security from
the Pakistani administration.
‘After the communal riots in East Bengal, Yogendranath was
disheartened by the scenes he witnessed and the stories of brutal killings he
heard while visiting various areas. As a result of the fiery speeches and
protests he made against this violence, the fear of his life and honour being
in danger in Pakistan constantly came to his mind and tormented him to such an
extent that he could not eat or sleep. He became disturbed thinking about the
future of the Hindus of East Pakistan. Even though he was a minister in
Pakistan, he was unable to protect the Hindus from the oppression and
persecution and when he was unable to help the Hindus of East Bengal from
faraway Karachi and be present among them, the conflict of thoughts whether it
was appropriate for him to continue as a minister in the central government
weighed heavily on his mind and depressed him. He also thought that if he were
a minister in Pakistan, he would have to request the minorities not to leave
Pakistan. Because, as a minister, it was his duty. But he could not give any
assurance about their future security, and yet he would have to request them
not to leave Pakistan - how he could do this in a conscientious manner also
worried him. He realized that it would not be reasonable for him to bear this
responsibility. So he decided that he would resign, saying that "the
future of the minorities in Pakistan is dark." (Tathya-Mahaprana
Yogendranath, author- Jagadish Chandra Mandal, Volume 4, p. 168)
Yogendranath was in a word under house arrest in Pakistan.
The Pakistani government was trying to put him under house arrest on any
pretext. At such a time, on September 15, he was asked to preside over the
Judicial Sub-Committee meeting in Murree, Punjab, West Pakistan. A day before
leaving for the meeting, he received news of the illness of his son Jagadish
Mandal, who was studying in Kolkata. Then he canceled the program and went to
Kolkata. Meanwhile, a telegram came from Yogendranath's office to return via
Karachi. But based on the secret information given by his bodyguard and the
information collected through his own efforts, he realized that if he returned
to Karachi, he could be arrested on charges of treason. And once arrested, he
could die an unnatural death like Jinnah. Therefore, he decided not to return
to Pakistan after consulting Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy.
Finally, in a live interview with teacher and writer Dilip
Gayen, I am trying to highlight his assessment of Mahapran.
He was a great leader. So he should have been given a place
in the textbook. But a group is constantly spreading misinformation against him
and giving wrong explanations. If they had stood in the 19th or early 20th
century and judged the political situation and explained it, then perhaps the
wrong message would not have reached the people. They have thought of
separating him from the world of this movement by giving this wrong message
about him.
He was such a leader that without him we would not have had
Ambedkar. Despite being born in a simple agricultural family, he was skilled in
law and was socially sympathetic. He could have made a comfortable living by
practicing law. But he did not do that. I would like to say about his personal
qualifications-
1) Yogendranath Mandal had personal relations with all the
scheduled leaders in India at that time.
2) Yogendra Mandal had relations with the rulers who were
above the British rulers or he had the ability to talk to them. He would talk
about various issues.
3) Jogen Mandal had the ability to fight with the Brahmin
class or the upper caste leadership, starting from Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose,
Sarat Chandra Bose, or he had the courage to talk to them. (For example – in
1965, he had the then Prime Minister and President cancel the recommendations
of the ‘Nakud’ committee, even without holding any post).
4) He had the ability to talk to the leadership of the Muslim
community at that time. He had the courage.
The evaluation of Jogendranath Mandal is absolutely necessary
in the context of the current society. It will especially progress the backward
society. It is necessary to learn from his life and work.
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