Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J.P. Nadda on Tuesday said that just as a mobile phone must be recharged every day, public life too requires constant intellectual renewal. Releasing a collection of speeches of scholar Ashutosh Mookerjee at the Delhi Assembly, Nadda said the speeches of the eminent educationist and jurist continue to recharge our minds with constitutional values, reasoned debate and a deep sense of nationalism.
He unveiled “The Collected Speeches of Bengal Tiger Asutosh Mookerjee”, published by the Delhi Legislative Assembly on the occasion of the 162nd birth anniversary of Mookerjee (1864–1924), an eminent educationist, jurist, member of the Imperial Legislative Council (1904), former Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta, at Assembly House, Delhi Legislative Assembly.
The publication was released at a special function organised by the Delhi Legislative Assembly, in the presence of Union Minister of State for Corporate Affairs and Road Transport and Highways, Harsh Malhotra, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta.
The programme also featured screening of a documentary on the Delhi Legislative Assembly, narrated by Padma Bhushan Anupam Kher, and a documentary on “The Collected Speeches of Bengal Tiger Asutosh Mookerjee”. Nadda observed that Mookerjee’s uncompromising nationalism, rooted in knowledge and principle, continues to offer valuable lessons for legislators, policymakers and public representatives.
Congratulating Speaker Vijender Gupta and the Delhi Legislative Assembly for preserving India’s parliamentary and intellectual heritage through such scholarly publications, Nadda said that many of Mookerjee’s educational ideas resonate with the vision of the National Education Policy, particularly its emphasis on Indian languages, value-based education and the decolonisation of the education system.
Urging young people and public representatives to study the volume, he observed that the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047 can be realised only when the younger generation remains connected with India’s history, constitutional values and rich intellectual traditions.
Speaker Vijender Gupta said Mookerjee demonstrated that a nation's true strength lies in fearless scholarship, academic excellence and institutions built on merit. It is because of his unwavering commitment to education, justice and India's self-respect that he came to be revered as the ‘Tiger of Bengal’.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that nation-building is a continuous endeavour carried forward by successive generations and stressed that remembering and preserving the contributions of great institution-builders is essential to strengthening the country's intellectual and cultural foundations.
Referring to the National Education Policy, she noted that its emphasis on Indian languages and value-based education reflects principles that Mookerjee had advocated decades ago.