Jogendranath Mandal ( Bengali: যোগেন্দ্রনাথ মন্ডল; 29 January 1904 – 5 October 1968) emerged as a prominent figure among the architects of the nascent state of Pakistan. He served as the inaugural Minister of Law and Labour, as well as the subsequent Minister of Commonwealth and Kashmir Affairs. Within the Interim Government of India, he had previously held the portfolio of law. Distinguished as a leader representing the Scheduled Castes (

Dalits Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for Untouchability, untouchables and Outcast (person), outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called ...

), Mandal vehemently opposed the partition of Bengal in 1947. His rationale rested on the apprehension that a divided Bengal would subject the Dalits to the dominance of the majority caste-Hindus in West Bengal (India). Eventually opting to maintain his base in East Pakistan, Mandal aspired for the welfare of the Dalits and assumed a ministerial role in Pakistan as the Minister of Law and Labour. However, a few years subsequent to the partition, he left for India for safety of himself and his family tendering his resignation to

Liaquat Ali Khan Liaquat Ali Khan (1 October 189516 October 1951) was a Pakistani lawyer, politician and statesman who served as the first prime minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the he ...

, the then

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

, (although he vouched for creation of Pakistan), citing the perceived anti-Dalit bias within the Pakistani administration. But he did not stay back and protest to save the interest of the minority or dalits.

Early life

Jogendranath Mandal, born in the

Barisal Barisal ( or ; , ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal District and Barisal Divi ...

district within the erstwhile

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

(later known as

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

, and presently

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

) on 29 January 1904, hailed from the Namasudra Community. Demonstrating academic prowess from an early age, Mandal excelled in his studies, achieving First Class distinctions in his preliminary education. Subsequently, upon graduating in 1929, he pursued legal studies, culminating in the completion of his law degree in 1934. However, Mandal made a deliberate choice not to embark upon a legal career or conventional employment. Instead, motivated by a profound commitment to confront the inequities ingrained in the societal framework that had previously marginalized his community, he opted to dedicate his entire life to the amelioration of the oppressed and societal enhancement.

Political career in India (1937-1947)

Jogendranath Mandal embarked upon his political journey as an independent candidate during the 1937 Indian provincial assembly elections. He contested the Bakharganj North East Rural constituency in the

Bengal legislative assembly The Bengal Legislative Assembly () was the largest legislatures of British India, legislature in British India, serving as the lower chamber of the legislature of Bengal Presidency, Bengal (now Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal). It ...

, securing victory over Saral Kumar Dutta, the president of the district committee of the Indian National Congress (INC) and nephew of Swadeshi leader Ashwini Kumar Dutta. During this period, Mandal found inspiration in figures such as

Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose (23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945) was an Indian independence movement, Indian nationalist whose defiance of British raj, British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with ...

and Sarat Chandra Bose. Following Subhas Chandra Bose's expulsion from the INC in 1940, Mandal aligned himself with the Muslim League (ML), the only other prominent national party at the time. Subsequently, he assumed a ministerial role in the cabinet of ML chief minister

Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy (8 September 18925 December 1963) was an East Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1956 to 1957 and before that as the Prime Minister of Bengal from 1946 to ...

. Mandal collaborated with Ambedkar in establishing the Bengal branch of the Scheduled Castes Federation. This organization aspired to wield political influence. Mandal played a pivotal role in securing Ambedkar's election to the Constituent Assembly from Bengal in 1946 when Ambedkar faced challenges in securing a seat from Bombay. Mandal significantly contributed to the framing of the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India, legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures ...

, with Ambedkar seeking his counsel through correspondence. Amidst the political landscape where the

Hindu Mahasabha Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha (), simply known as Hindu Mahasabha, is a Hindu nationalism, Hindu nationalist political party in India. Founded in 1915 by Madan Mohan Malviya, the Mahasabha functioned mainly as a pressure group advocating th ...

sought to court the Namasudra community, and the province was marked by the dominance of oppressed Dalit and Muslim populations, Mandal discerned a distinction between communal affairs and political conflicts involving the INC and ML. In the midst of the 1946 riots, he traversed East Bengal, advocating for non-participation of Dalit people in violence against Muslims. Mandal argued that Muslims, like Dalits, were oppressed by upper-caste Hindus, and he believed that aligning with Muslims would be more beneficial for the Dalits than associating with high-caste Hindus. Consequently, he lent his support to the ML. Upon the Muslim League's integration into the Interim Government of India in October 1946, Jinnah nominated Mandal as one of the League's five representatives. Subsequently appointed by

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

, Mandal assumed the law portfolio within the body.

Political career in Pakistan (1947-1950)

Jogendra Nath Mandal emerged as one of the 96 founding figures of the

Dominion of Pakistan The Dominion of Pakistan, officially Pakistan, was an independent federal dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations, which existed from 14 August 1947 to Pakistan Day, 23 March 1956. It was created by the passing of the Indian Independence ...

, aligning himself with the Muslim League (ML). During their inaugural session, which transpired shortly before the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

on 15 August 1947, he was elected as their interim chairman. Notably, as

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pa ...

prepared to assume the role of the first

Governor-General of Pakistan The governor-general of Pakistan () was the Political representation, representative of the Monarchy of Pakistan, Pakistani monarch in the Dominion of Pakistan, established by the Indian Independence Act 1947. The office of governor-general was ...

, he entrusted Mandal with the responsibility of presiding over the session, underscoring his profound confidence in Mandal's foresight and moral rectitude. Mandal was subsequently appointed Pakistan's inaugural Minister for Law and Labour. Regrettably, Mandal's tenure in this esteemed position was truncated due to persistent subjugation within a bureaucracy dominated by the Muslim majority. The situation deteriorated further following Jinnah's demise in September 1948. Confronted with atrocities committed against his constituents, the Dalits, by Muslim rioters supported by the police, Mandal voiced his protest. This principled stance led to discord between him and the

Returning to India (1950)

In 1950, Jogendranath Mandal found himself compelled to repatriate to India, a decision precipitated by an outstanding arrest warrant against him in Pakistan. In submitting his resignation to

, the

at that time, Mandal underscored the perceived failure of the Pakistani administration to address the inaction against rioters responsible for perpetrating atrocities against Dalits and minority communities. His resignation letter delineated instances of social injustice and a purportedly biased disposition towards non-Muslim minorities. Upon his return to India, Mandal encountered a lack of acceptance by any political party. Nevertheless, undeterred, he persevered in his endeavors to aid the rehabilitation of Hindu refugees from

(present-day

), whose influx was rapidly impacting West Bengal. His demise occurred on 5 October 1968 in Bongaon, North 24 Parganas under mysterious circumstances.

References

External links