Pranab Mukherjee, a numbers man and a teacher who chose khadi over school

KOLKATA: For some, he was a phenomenal politician, for others he was an astute academic. Pranab Mukherjee had always been an awe-inspiring character in Indian politics who could deliberate on tax reforms, skiff across election results and recite ‘Meghaduta’ in Sanskrit in the same breath.


Mukherjee’s friend for nearly seven decades and former principal of then Presidency College Amal Mukhopadhyay says he has never seen a reader as voracious as him. “His brilliance and wisdom from multidisciplinary studies are unmatched. I have rarely come across a person who had such a phenomenal memory,” he said.

But Mukherjee had another weapon in his arsenal — his moderate temperament. A follower of Mahatma Gandhi, Mukherjee wrote in his biography, “a few moments of peace will achieve far more than years of war”.

“He would not even take a harsh step against those who were his staunchest critics, whether at the Pradesh Congress or at the national arena. President George W Bush, who was a bit cold to him initially, would talk to him for longer hours when he was working on the India-US civil nuclear agreement,” recounted Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, a Trinamool Rajya Sabha member.

His self-composure during crisis was unmatched. In his biography, Mukherjee briefly touched upon how he got the news of his expulsion from Congress in 1986 when he was having a discussion at former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kamalapati Tripathi’s residence. Though his personal relation with Rajiv Gandhi was “always good”, Mukherjee spent “sleepless nights” trying to figure out what exactly went wrong.

“Dada’s biggest asset was his unperturbed nature, which was never shaken even during the toughest times,” Roy said.

Former non-official director of United Bank of India Srenik Sett had worked closely with Mukherjee since 2005.

According to Sett, the former President, who started his career as a teacher of political science between 1963 and 1968 at Vidyanagar College in South 24 Parganas, always remained more of a teacher. “Perhaps that teacher in him prompted Pranabda to remain the chairman of Indian Statistical Institute from 2004 to 2012. That’s what prompted him to help set up Aligarh Muslim University’s Jangipur campus,” recounted Sett.

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