New Delhi: Judge Mehr Chand Mahajan of Lahore was set to start a new chapter in the new High Court of East Punjab in Shimla, days after India’s independence, when he received a letter from Tara Devi, the Empress of Kashmir. She reminded him that she had promised to interview her husband, Maharaja Hari Singh, for the post of Prime Minister in the then princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.
A few weeks later, Mahajan went for interviews, was offered the position, and was “practically ordered” by Home Minister Sardar Patel to go to Srinagar, which he did in October 1947. Within a fortnight of Mahajan’s appointment – one in between tribal invasion Backed by Pakistan – Dogra Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession to India. Mahajan is eventually credited with persuading the latter to take this decision.
Now, nearly 75 years later, the contributions of Mahajan, who went on to serve as the third Chief Justice of India, are receiving a fresh round of applause from the BJP.
Last Saturday, BJP leader and Jammu Mayor Chandra Mohan Gupta unveiled Mahajan’s statue at Janipar Chowk in Jammu. “He was a social activist, a renowned judicial figure and played a great role in uniting our country,” Gupta told ThePrint.
Former Jammu and Kashmir deputy chief minister and BJP leader Nirmal Singh said the statue was erected as Mahajan was a “nationalist hero”.
This step has come at a time when Signal That the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir may go to polls later this year, possibly at the same time as in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh – also where Mahajan’s birthplace is. This will be the first assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of the Article. 370 and 35A in 2019.
“Mehar Chand Mahajan had a major role in the accession of Jammu and Kashmir. He tried his best to ensure that J&K, which could have gone to Pakistan, remains with India,” Singh said. “Removal of Article 370 and 35A in Jammu and Kashmir was a process which was started by Maharaja Hari Singh and Meher Chand Mahajan, so we are indebted to them.”
The Instrument of Accession, signed by Maharaja Hari Singh, included a provision that the Indian Parliament had the power to legislate only on defence, foreign affairs and communications. In 1949, Article 370 came into force as a “temporary” constitutional provision, giving limited powers to Parliament in Jammu and Kashmir. Article 35A was added in 1954, empowering Legislature of J&K to define its permanent residents and their special rights/privileges.
According to political analysts in Jammu, the BJP is trying to establish its “heroes” ahead of the elections, and Mahajan is a good candidate.
Rekha Choudhary, a former professor of political science, said, “Since he (Mahajan) played a distinctive role during the merger period and was seen on the Indian side, the move could be seen as a political ramification for the BJP in the coming elections.” can be seen.” Said at Jammu University.
“Mahajan can very well be discovered as a hero in this context. Maharaja Hari Singh is already seen as a hero [National Conference founder] Sheikh Abdullah is a hero for the Kashmiri people. Mahajan represents the school of nationalist leaders and this move to install his statue can be seen as a political move.
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claiming ‘inheritance’
BJP leader Nirmal Singh claimed that although Mahajan’s statue may “reflect politically during elections”, the goal was to “inspire and inspire the spirit of nationalism” in the younger generation.
He said the BJP was also attempting to draw attention to other regional “nationalist heroes” by building a square dedicated to Gulab Singh, a Dogra Sardar who became the first Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, as well as Also a statue of his General Zorawar Singh. ,
Jammu Mayor Chander Mohan Gupta, who unveiled the statue near the Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Saturday, said the sculpture was proposed to be made in 2019.
“Ever since the Jammu Municipal Corporation was formed, we wanted to put up a statue of him. It is the tradition of our party to honor those who have done great work for the country. There is no doubt that the Congress has forgotten its heritage and the true heroes of the country.
Jammu Pradesh Congress Committee President Raman Bhalla said that Congress has also dedicated a park to Mahajan in Gandhi Nagar, Jammu. “We all have a lot of respect for what he has done for the unity of our country. He is above any kind of party politics for us. There is also a park named after him in which his statue,” he said. Such things have been done by all parties in the past,” he said.
According to Bhalla, with an eye on the elections, the intentions of the BJP were political. He said the Congress had put up a statue of Maharaja Hari Singh in Jammu, saying “the allegation that we forget our heroes is not correct”.
Himachal Pradesh Congress Working Committee member Pratibha Singh, who is also the wife of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh, said she had no knowledge of the matter and hence could not comment.
However, Ramesh K Chauhan, a political analyst who teaches political science at Himachal Pradesh University, said the move should not be viewed through a political prism as the Mahajans as a community are not a significant vote bank in Himachal Pradesh.
Family ‘proud’ of statue
Mahajan’s daughter Rama Tandon told ThePrint that the family is very happy about the statue, even though she was neither advised nor invited to the unveiling.
“We are very proud that the statue was finally unveiled, which was long overdue. He had cordial relations with people from all parties,” she said.
The late judge’s son, Prabodh Mahajan, said the family came to know about the statue through a press release, but they were “very proud” and “extremely grateful” to the Jammu Municipal Corporation and the mayor.
Both Tandon and Prabodh Mahajan suggested that they believe the Congress sidelines the veterans associated with it.
“Nowadays the condition of the Congress party is very sad, and it started after the demise of Indira Gandhi. After the demise of my brother (Vikram Mahajan, a three-time Congress MP in the 1970s and 1980s), I don’t think anyone from the Congress has been in touch with the family,” Tandon said.
Prabodh Mahajan further said: “Even though my brother Vikram Mahajan was associated with the Congress, it does not mean that the entire family is associated with the ideology of the Congress. We are a non-political family, and our father’s contribution to the nation should be seen beyond politics.
However, he also added that the BJP has done a better job than the Congress to honor his father, including releasing a postage stamp in his name in 2018.
“The BJP is doing a great job by honoring those who have been sidelined by the Congress. However, no one sidelined my father because he was not a politician but from the judiciary. We are not in touch with any party, be it BJP or Congress,” he said.
Asked why the family was not invited for the unveiling, the mayor said it was “raining” and the ceremony was “short” and at a “busy crossroads”. He said the family would be invited to future events.
How Mehr Chand Mahajan Architect Helped In J&K Merger
Born in 1889 at Tika Nagrota in the Kangra region of Himachal (then a part of Punjab), Meher Chand Mahajan solidified his legal reputation in Gurdaspur and Lahore, where he served as the President of the High Court Bar Association from 1938 to 1943. did.
He was working as a judge in the pre-independence Punjab High Court when Maharani Tara Devi first visited Lahore in May 1947 to consider interviewing for the post of Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, according to her memoirs. Contacted him at the restaurant. Look back, He then turned down the offer, but said he would consider it at a later date.
Tara Devi kept her promise to him at a time when Kashmir, a Muslim-majority princely state with a Hindu Maharaja, was in a precarious position. According to various historical accounts, Hari Singh and his advisors were grappling with three possibilities: joining India, joining Pakistan, or remaining ‘independent’.
At this juncture, Hari Singh had recently sacked his prime minister, Ram Chandra Kak, who was described by Mahajan as having “pro-Pakistan leanings” and as a man who was “who is a member of Pak politicians”. with the promise of Kashmir in a plate”. Writing himself, Kak stated that he felt that the princely state should not be involved in any dominions).
“Kak had a slightly different inclination. Maybe he wanted more autonomy. In contrast, Meher Chand Mahajan was pro-India,” Nirmal Singh told ThePrint.
It was an idea that probably belonged to Sardar Patel as well. In Look backMahajan describes seeking permission to take Maharaj’s job offer.
“I saw Home Minister Sardar Patel on 19 September. He not only encouraged me but practically ordered me to accept the offer and asked me to go to Srinagar immediately. He said he would give me eight months leave (from the High Court). I was also allowed to serve in the state of Kashmir, which he thought was in the interest of India under the circumstances,” Mahajan wrote.
Mahajan was formally sworn in on 15 October 1947. It was a time of turmoil, with communal tension rife. “What happened in East Punjab and West Punjab is now happening in Jammu,” wrote Mahajan. Meanwhile, “drenched in arson, loot and murder”, the tribals of Pakistan began to push towards Srinagar.
26. Toth In the same month, Mahajan and Sardar Patel’s right hand VP Menon flew from Jammu to Delhi and met Nehru. Mahajan insisted on immediate military aid, he wrote, but Nehru was reluctant. Mahajan then drew out his last card: “The army must fly to save Srinagar this evening or else I will go to Lahore and have a talk with Mr. Jinnah.”
Nehru was outraged, but Patel and National Conference leader Sheikh Abdullah, who was a close friend of the then PM, supported Mahajan and Indian troops were dispatched.
The next day, 27 October 1947, Mahajan requested Nehru to “write down the conditions on which military aid was given to the Maharaja”. Nehru did so, his conditions were: accession to India, democratization of internal administration, and a share of power for Sheikh Abdullah. Finally Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession that day. Mahajan served as the prime minister of the state till March 1948.
Mahajan was also made a member of the Radcliffe Commission, which was tasked with demarcating the India-Pakistan border on the basis of religious demography, strategic roads, irrigation patterns and other such factors. Mahajan persuaded the commission to give Gurdaspur to India instead of Pakistan.
“It was an important task as the way to Kashmir goes through Gurdaspur. Had Gurdaspur gone to Pakistan, there would have been no way to reach Jammu and Kashmir via India,” his son Prabodh Mahajan, a businessman and vice chairman of the managing committee of DAV College, said. This achievement was also noted in a document Issued by the Department of Posts when it issued a postage stamp on Mahajan in 2018.
Mahajan became the third Chief Justice of India from 1950 to 1954. in famousRomesh Thapar vs State of MadrasHis bench in the Supreme Court said that freedom of speech and expression can be curtailed only if its practice undermines the security of the state.
In Brij Bhushan Vs State of DelhiHis bench declared that a pre-censorship order, passed against the RSS publication, Organizerwas unconstitutional.
(Edited by Aswari Singh)