Shyama Prasad Mukherjee

Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (6 July 1901 – 23 June 1953) was an Indian politician, barrister and educationist. He served as India's first Minister of Industries and Supplies (now the Minister of Commerce) in Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet.

Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (6 July 1901 – 23 June 1953) was an Indian barrister, educationalist, politician, Hindutva activist, and a minister in the state and national governments, appointed by Nehru even after opposing Congress. Noted for his opposition to Quit India Movement within the independence movement in India, he later served as India's Minister for Industry and Supply (currently known as Minister of Commerce and Industries) in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet after breaking up with the Hindu Mahasabha. After falling out with Nehru, protesting against the Liaquat–Nehru Pact, Mukherjee resigned from Nehru's cabinet. With the help of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, he founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1951. He was also the president of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha from 1943 to 1946. He was arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in 1953 when he tried to cross the border of the state. He was provisionally diagnosed with a heart attack and shifted to a hospital but died a day later. Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the successor to the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Mukherjee is also regarded as the founder of the BJP by its members.