Former President of India and stalwart of politics Pranab Mukherjee’s death has created a huge vacuum for us as he was one of the most tested and trusted friends of Bangladesh. He was a powerful orator, scholar and a statesman.
He played a vital role during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.In 1971, Mukherjee, then serving in the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was sent to world capitals to drum up support for the Bangladeshi cause. He was awarded with Bangladesh Liberation War Honour in 2013 for this effort.
When Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid him a courtesy call at RashtrapatiBhaban in New Delhi in 2017, the 13th Indian President said,“He was very much touched personally with the gesture of the Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasina as she had taken the trouble to visit India to convey her compassion after demise of his wife Suvra Mukherjee.”
During his Bangladesh visit as Indian President in 2017, Pranab Mukherjee said, “A close neighbour and with which we share a lot in common, Bangladesh is India’s closest friend and relationship between the two countries is exemplary in many ways.”
“India and Bangladesh share a common bond of history, language, culture and strong people-to-people ties. This shared history unites us in unique and special ways,” he further said. The great politician was conferred Padma Vibhushan in 2008 and Bharat Ratna in 2019 for his enthusiasm and dedication to his work.
Mukherjee got his break in politics in 1969 when the then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi helped him get elected to the RajyaSabha, the upper house of Parliament of India, on a Congress ticket.Mukherjee was re-elected to the house in 1975, 1981, 1993 and 1999.
Pranab Mukherjee served his country as Minister of Defence, Minister of External Affairs, Commerce Minister and Finance Minister.
Mukherjee died on 31 August 2020, aged 84. During the COVID-19 pandemic, on 10 August 2020, Mukherjee announced on Twitter that he had tested positive for COVID-19 prior to his surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain. He was admitted to the hospital after accidentally slipping and falling in his bathroom. He was on ventilator support and in critical condition at the Army's Research and Referral (R&R) hospital in Delhi.
On 13 August the hospital reported that Mukherjee was in a state of deep coma after he underwent a brain surgery, however his vital parametres remained stable.
On 19 August, the Army's Research and Referral hospital said that the health condition of Mukherjee has declined as he had developed a lung infection. On 25 August, his renal parameters became "slightly deranged," with the condition worsening days later.
Confirmation of his death came in a tweet from his son Abhijit Mukherjee on the evening of 31 August.
