97-year-old Sarkar, among the seniormost BJP functionaries in Bengal, still continues to serve the party and its organisation despite his advanced age
In a moment filled with political symbolism at the oath-taking ceremony of the first BJP government in West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday touched the feet of 97-year-old party veteran Makhan Lal Sarkar.
Sarkar was an associate of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, founder of the Jan Sangh, and has remained linked with the BJP since the party’s establishment in 1980.
In 1952, Sarkar was detained in Kashmir while accompanying Mookerjee during the campaign to hoist the Tricolour in the Valley. Mookerjee’s journey to Kashmir formed part of a movement spearheaded by him to press the Centre for the complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India. It was during this agitation that Mookerjee died following a cardiac arrest while being kept in a cottage eight miles from Srinagar, leading to the popular slogan: “Jahaan hue balidaan Mookerjee, wo Kashmir hamara hai; jo Kashmir hamara hai, wo saare ka saara hai (Where Mookerjee was martyred, that Kashmir belongs to us; the Kashmir that belongs to us is the whole of Kashmir)”.
Sarkar worked as the coordinator for the then West Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri, and Darjeeling districts. Within a year, he managed to enroll 10,000 members, helping establish the foundation for the party’s present influence across North Bengal.