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Kolkata. During his speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to veteran lawyer and Hindu Mahasabha leader Shivendu Shekhar Rai for his role in the inclusion of Malda in India during Partition. After this, political discussion started in West Bengal regarding Rai. Shivendu’s son and ruling Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Sukhendu Shekhar Roy has expressed a restrained reaction.
Malda saved due to efforts of Shivendu Shekhar
Modi began his speech at a public meeting in Malda on Saturday by paying tribute to Shivendu Shekhar. He recalled the contribution of Shivendu Shekhar in 1947 when the future of Malda remained uncertain amid demands by the Muslim League to include the district in the then East Pakistan. The Prime Minister said, “First of all, I pay my respects to the great son of Malda, Shivendu Shekhar Rai, whose efforts saved the identity of Malda.” Many people present in the audience were astonished by his statement.
Earlier in the day, the West Bengal unit of the BJP presented a framed photograph of Shivendu Shekhar Roy to Modi as a memento earlier in the program. The photo, given to the Prime Minister by state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya and Union Minister Sukant Majumdar, attracted people’s attention as Shivendu Shekhar Roy’s son is a Trinamool MP.
Shivendu Shekhar was an associate of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.
Shivendu Shekhar Roy, an eminent civil lawyer of pre-independence Malda and leader of the Hindu Mahasabha, was known for his wide popularity irrespective of political ideologies. He was a close associate of educationist and Mahasabha leader Syama Prasad Mukherjee since his university days and played an important role behind the scenes during the partition talks.
His son Sukhendu Shekhar Rai says that when the possibility of Malda being included in East Pakistan appeared imminent, his father initiated efforts to challenge the move by contacting the eminent barrister NC Chatterjee, father of former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.
According to Sukhendu Shekhar Roy, since N.C. Chatterjee was busy securing South Bengal and Kolkata, Shivendu Shekhar Roy then contacted Syama Prasad Mukherjee, who advised him about further action and cooperated with him in personally presenting the historical, demographic and administrative case of Malda before the Bengal Boundary Commission.
The Rajya Sabha member said that scholars like Bidhu Shekhar Shastri and historian Sir Jadunath Sarkar also helped in preparing the memorandum presented before the Commission. Responding to the Prime Minister’s remarks, Sukhendu Shekhar Roy spoke in a restrained but emotional tone. “This is history and there is no scope for denying it,” he said.
He said that Malda remains in India because his father had led the movement to retain it in India. He said, “Any political party can try to mold or reject history as per its own wishes, it has nothing to do with me. But as the son of a man who played a historic role in retaining Malda in India, should I be sad if the Prime Minister pays tribute to him? no way.”
He said, “Not just me, but my siblings, relatives and all the family members feel proud. Just because I am associated with Trinamool Congress, should I be sad? This would be sheer absurdity.” Modi’s mention of the Trinamool MP’s father from the BJP platform may have been politically significant, but Sukhendu Shekhar Roy thought it better to present it as a long-awaited historical recognition rather than a contemporary political message. He said, “This is a chapter in the history of Malda’s partition period which should be remembered beyond today’s political differences.”
