Former India President, Pranab Mukherjee, dies at 84

By Andrea Samuel

A former President and stalwart of Indian politics, Pranab Mukherjee, has died aged 84.

Mukherjee’s demise was announced by his son, Abhijit Mukherjee, on Monday.

The veteran politician was found to be coronavirus positive when he went to Army Hospital for treatment.

At the hospital, he underwent surgery for a blood clot in the brain.

“With a heavy heart, this is to inform you that my father, Pranab Mukherjee, has just passed away in spite of the best efforts of Doctors of RR Hospital and prayers, duas & prarthanas from people throughout India,” Abhijit tweeted.

A quintessential Congressman for five decades, the seven-time parliamentarian had worked as a teacher and journalist before taking his first steps in politics. His first stop in Delhi was the Rajya Sabha in 1969, the House that re-elected him four more times before he won his first Lok Sabha election from Bengal’s Jangipur in 2004. He was re-elected in 2009.

Mukherjee, who was seen as a formidable political strategist, draftsman and parliamentarian with an astute legal mind, prospered in Delhi. He first made it to Indira Gandhi’s council of ministers in 1972 and never looked back, going on to hold some of the most powerful portfolios – finance, commerce, external affairs and defence – in Congress governments. Pranab Mukherjee was considered the sharpest mind and the prime troubleshooter in the government led by Manmohan Singh, who he had appointed as RBI governor in the 1980s.

His last stop in public life was Rashtrapati Bhavan. A nominee of the Congress-led UPA coalition, Mukherjee was elected India’s President in 2012. By the time he exited Rashtrapati Bhavan in 2017, he left the legacy of a president who spoke his mind to the government and yet, kept the bridges and friendships intact.

Like when President Mukherjee, six months before his term was to end in 2017, accepted the mercy petitions of four death-row convicts for the 1992 Bara massacre against the advice of the home ministry, the Centre honoured his decision. In January 2019, Mukherjee was also named for the country’s highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who described him as the “outstanding statesman of our time.”