Jogendra Nath Mandal

Jogendra Nath Mandal
যোগেন্দ্রনাথ মন্ডল
Mandal c. 1940
Minister for Law and Justice, Government of Pakistan
In office
15 August 1947 – 8 October 1950
MonarchGeorge VI
Governors GeneralMuhammad Ali Jinnah
Khawaja Nazimuddin
Prime MinisterLiaquat Ali Khan
Preceded byposition established
Ministry of Labour, Government of Pakistan
In office
15 August 1947 – 8 October 1950
MonarchGeorge VI
PresidentLiaquat Ali Khan
Governors GeneralMuhammad Ali Jinnah
Khawaja Nazimuddin
Ministry of Commonwealth and Kashmir Affairs, Government of Pakistan
In office
1 October 1949 – 8 October 1950
MonarchGeorge VI
Governor GeneralKhawaja Nazimuddin
Prime MinisterLiaquat Ali Khan
Personal details
Born(1904-01-29)29 January 1904
Barisal, Bengal, British India (now Bangladesh)
Died5 October 1968(1968-10-05) (aged 64)
Bangaon, West Bengal, India
CitizenshipBritish India (1904–1947)
Pakistan (1947–1950)
India (1950–1968)
PartyMuslim League
Alma materBrojomohun College,
Calcutta law College (University of Calcutta)
OccupationPolitician

Jogendra Nath Mandal (Bengali: যোগেন্দ্রনাথ মন্ডল; 29 January 1904 – 5 October 1968), sometimes written Jogendranath Mandal, was a Bengali politician and Dalit leader who emerged as a prominent figure among the architects of Indian history.[1] Within the 1946–1947 Interim Government of India, he held the portfolio of law. Distinguished as a leader representing the Scheduled Castes, Mandal vehemently opposed the 1947 partition of Bengal. His rationale rested on the apprehension that a divided Bengal would subject Dalits to the dominance of the majority-caste Hindus in West Bengal (India). Eventually opting to maintain his base in East Pakistan, Mandal aspired for the welfare of the Dalits and assumed the role of Minister of Law and Labour in Pakistan.[2] However, a few years subsequent to the partition, he left for India, tendering his resignation to Liaquat Ali Khan, the then-Prime Minister of Pakistan, citing a perceived anti-Hindu bias within the Pakistani administration.

Early life

Jogendra Nath Mandal, born in the Barisal district within the erstwhile Bengal Presidency of British India (later known as East Bengal, East Pakistan, and presently Bangladesh) on 29 January 1904, hailed from the Namasudra community. Demonstrating academic aptitude from an early age, Mandal excelled in his studies. Upon graduating in 1929, he pursued legal studies, culminating in the completion of a law degree in 1934. However, he made a deliberate choice not to embark upon a legal career or conventional employment. Instead, motivated by a commitment to confront the inequities ingrained in the societal framework that marginalized his community, he opted to dedicate his life to the amelioration of the oppressed.[3]

Political career in India (1937–1947)

Mandal began his political career as an independent candidate during the 1937 Indian provincial assembly elections. He contested the Bakharganj North East Rural constituency in the Bengal legislative assembly, securing victory over Saral Kumar Dutta, the president of the district committee of the Indian National Congress (INC).[5][6]

During this period, Mandal found inspiration in figures such as Subhas Chandra Bose and Sarat Chandra Bose. Following Subhas Chandra Bose's expulsion from the INC in 1940, Mandal aligned himself with the Muslim League (ML), the only other prominent national party at the time. Subsequently, he assumed a ministerial role in the cabinet of ML chief minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy.[6]

Mandal collaborated with B. R. Ambedkar in establishing the Bengal branch of the Scheduled Castes Federation.[7] Mandal played an important role in securing Ambedkar's election to the Constituent Assembly of Bengal in 1946.. He also contributed to the framing of the Constitution of India, with Ambedkar seeking his counsel through correspondence.[8][3]

Amidst the political landscape in which the Hindu Mahasabha sought to court the Namasudra community, and the province was marked by the dominance of oppressed Dalit and Muslim populations, Mandal perceived a distinction between communal affairs and political conflicts involving the INC and ML. In the midst of the 1946 riots, he traversed East Bengal, advocating for Dalit non-participation in anti-Muslim violence. Mandal argued that Muslims, like Dalits, were oppressed by upper-caste Hindus, and he believed that aligning with Muslims would be more beneficial for the Dalits than associating with high-caste Hindus. Consequently, he lent his support to the ML.[6]

Upon the ML's integration into the Interim Government of India in October 1946, Muhammad Ali Jinnah nominated Mandal as one of the League's five representatives. Subsequently appointed by King George VI, Mandal assumed the law portfolio within the body.[9]

Political career in Pakistan (1947–1950)

Mandal emerged as one of the 96 founding figures of the Dominion of Pakistan, aligning himself with the Muslim League. During their inaugural session, which transpired shortly before the partition of India on 15 August 1947, he was elected as their interim chairman.[10] Notably, as Jinnah prepared to assume the role of the first Governor-General of Pakistan, he entrusted Mandal with the responsibility of presiding over the session, underscoring his confidence in him. Mandal was subsequently appointed Pakistan's inaugural Minister for Law and Labour.[11]

Mandal's tenure in this position was truncated due to persistent subjugation within a bureaucracy dominated by a Muslim majority.[12][13] The situation deteriorated further following Jinnah's death in September 1948. Confronted with atrocities committed against his constituents, the Dalits, by Muslim rioters supported by the police, Mandal voiced his protest. This stance led to discord between him and the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan.[14]

Return to India and death (1950–1968)

See also: 1950 East Pakistan riots

In 1950, Mandal found himself compelled to return to India, a decision precipitated by an outstanding arrest warrant against him in Pakistan.[15][16][17]

Upon his return to India, Mandal encountered a lack of acceptance by any political party. Nevertheless, he persevered in his endeavours to aid the rehabilitation of Hindu refugees from East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), whose influx was rapidly impacting West Bengal. He died on 5 October 1968 in Bangaon, under mysterious circumstances.[18]

References

  1. ^ Heyworth-Dunne, James (1952). Pakistan: the birth of a new Muslim state. Cairo: Renaissance Bookshop. p. 79. OCLC 558585198.
  2. ^ Sen, Dwaipayan (30 June 2018). The Decline of the Caste Question. Cambridge University Press. p. 172. doi:10.1017/9781108278348. ISBN 978-1-108-27834-8. S2CID 158407103.
  3. ^ a b Apurva, Ankita (5 October 2021). "Remembering Jogendra Nath Mandal's Unwavering Fight for the Oppressed". Feminism in India. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  4. ^ विस्वास, A. K. Biswas एके (29 September 2016). "Hindu casteism led to the creation of East Pakistan". Forward Press. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  5. ^ Sen, Dwaipayan (26 July 2018). The Decline of the Caste Question: Jogendranath Mandal and the Defeat of Dalit Politics in Bengal. Cambridge University Press. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-108-41776-1.
  6. ^ a b c Sharma, Arnav Das (1 April 2017). "Selective Memory: The historical figure both the BJP and the BSP tried to claim during the Uttar Pradesh election". The Caravan. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  7. ^ Gaikwad, Dr. Dnyanraj Kashinath (2016). Mahamanav Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (in Marathi). Riya Publication. p. 301.
  8. ^ Paswan, Sudarshan Ramabadran & Guru Prakash (15 April 2021). "This book recounts the lives of Dalit leaders, many of them half-forgotten like Jogendranath Mandal". Scroll.in. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  9. ^ Ahmad, Salahuddin (2004). Bangladesh: Past and Present. New Delhi, India: APH Publishing Co. p. 77. ISBN 978-81-7648-469-5.
  10. ^ Tan, Tai Yong; Kugaisya, Gyanes (2000). The Aftermath of Partition in South Asia. Routledge. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-415-17297-4. On 10 August ... the Pakistan Constituent Assembly held its inaugural session where it elected Jogendranath Mandal ... as its temporary chairman ... he came forward to sign the roll as a founder-member ... In all the Assembly had sixty-nine members.
  11. ^ "Pakistan Cabinet: Distribution of Portfolios to Ministers". Amrita Bazar Patrika. Vol. 79, no. 31. 21 August 1947. p. 4. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  12. ^ Munsi, Sharanya (29 January 2019). "Jogendra Nath Mandal, a Bengali Dalit leader who went on to become a Pakistani minister". ThePrint. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  13. ^ Balouch, Akhtar (4 November 2015). "Jogendra Nath Mandal: Chosen by Jinnah, banished by bureaucracy". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  14. ^ "History Headline: Pakistan's Ambedkar, and two stories far apart". The Indian Express. 1 March 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  15. ^ "Eye on Uttar Pradesh polls, BJP showcases Pakistan Dalit minister who 'came back disillusioned'". The Indian Express.
  16. ^ "5 noted personalities who left Pakistan for India". The Express Tribune.
  17. ^ Mandal, Jogendra Nath (8 October 1950). "Resignation letter of Jogendra Nath Mandal". Wikilivres.
  18. ^ Sen, Dwaipayan. "The uncanny death of Jogendranath Mandal". Academia.edu.

Further reading

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