Former President of India Pranab Mukherjee dies at 84

Former Indian President Pranab Mukherjee breathed his last at Indian Army's Research and Referral Hospital in Delhi on Monday just days after he underwent a brain-clot removal surgery, after which he fell into a deep coma. The veteran Congress leader had tested positive for coronavirus while in hospital, and was also battling a renal infection.

“With a Heavy Heart, this is to inform you that my father Shri #PranabMukherjee has just passed away in spite of the best efforts of Doctors of RR Hospital & prayers, duas & prarthanas from people throughout India! I thank all of You (sic)," tweeted Abhijit Mukherjee, the son of the thirteenth Indian president.

The 84-year old is survived by his daughter, Sharmistha Mukherjee, and sons, Abhijit and Indrajit Mukherjee.

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Mukherjee’s impressive political career spanned nearly five decades during which he served under three different prime ministers and handled portfolios such as defence, finance and external affairs.

A graduate from the University of Calcutta where he studied law, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna last year, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008.

Mukherjee was known in political circles as a number-crunching minister who had an eye for details. He received several accolades for his stint as the finance minister under Dr Manmohan Singh, and, in 2010, was awarded ‘Finance Minister of Year for Asia’ by the daily newspaper of record for World Bank and IMF.

Encouraging Indian entrepreneurs

An avid collector of smoking pipers - he had over 500 of them - social issues such as education, healthcare for the elderly, the safety of women, and grassroots innovation and digitisation were close to the former president’s heart, as was building a sustainable startup ecosystem in India to support and retain entrepreneurial talent within the country.

In a meeting with a delegation of CEOs under The Indus Enterpreneurs (TiE) umbrella a couple of years ago, Mukherjee said:

“It is the job of the government to create the policy environment to encourage entrepreneurship. We have taken too long but nonetheless we have taken that decision. We have woken up," referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Startup India campaign, which he lent support to.

He also said Indian youth were second to none in entrepreneurship, and that educational institutes must work towards creating an innovation and research network that would produce entrepreneurs and nurture innovations.

To delve deeper into solving grassroots issues, he launched a foundation in 2018, in partnership with various private companies, including Tata Trust. The Pranab Mukherjee Foundation focuses primarily on rural development by way of research and education, and aims to “create a sustainable and inclusive development model that can be easily replicated”, as per the trust’s official website.

On several occasions, the former president called for harnessing digital revolution, backed by innovations, to meet the needs of people in the rural areas, and said that one need not wait for big companies or the government to think up solutions to every problem.

Before he followed in his father’s footsteps to join politics, Mukherjee had worked as a college professor and a journalist. He quickly rose through the ranks after he caught Indira Gandhi’s eye, and the two shared a close bond as their careers progressed.

Looking back at the past

In the second volume of his memoir, The Turbulent Years: 1980-96, Mukherjee shared a never-before-heard anecdote of how Rajiv Gandhi reacted to the news that his mother, Indira Gandhi, was shot dead by her bodyguards. Mukherjee, who was with Rajiv at a meeting in West Bengal, first received the message of the then Prime Minister’s death on the police wireless: ‘lndira Gandhi assaulted. Return to Delhi immediately.’

“I suggested that we cancel all other engagements and return to Delhi immediately, and he (Rajiv Gandhi) agreed. I announced to the public gathered for the meeting that we had to go back to the capital urgently and that the rest of the programmes scheduled for the day were being cancelled,” he wrote.

“Immediately after take-off (from Kolkata airport), Rajiv went into the cockpit. After some time, he came back and announced, ‘She is dead.’ There was absolute silence. Tears started rolling down my face, and I wept inconsolably, managing to compose myself only after some time and with great effort.

"Rajiv was exceptionally calm and displayed total control and fortitude, possibly a trait he had inherited from his mother.”

Mukherjee also wrote that when he proposed to him the idea of taking over as the country’s new Prime Minister in Indira Gandhi’s place, Rajiv asked him, “Do you think I can manage?”, to which the Congress loyalist replied "Yes, we are all there to help you. You will have everyone’s support.”

India mourns Pranab

Condolences for the family poured in from all parts of the country.

“India grieves the passing away of Bharat Ratna Shri Pranab Mukherjee. He has left an indelible mark on the development trajectory of our nation. A scholar par excellence, a towering statesman, he was admired across the political spectrum and by all sections of society,” tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Deeply anguished on the passing away of former President of India, Bharat Ratna Shri Pranab Mukherjee ji,” tweeted Home Minister Amit Shah.

“An era has ended. For decades he was a father figure. From my first win as MP, to being my senior Cabinet colleague, to his becoming President while I was CM...so many memories…” tweeted Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal.