Delhi Assembly unveils collected speeches of Dr Asutosh Mookerjee on his 162nd birth anniversary

New Delhi's Assembly released "The Collected Speeches of Dr. Asutosh Mookerjee" on his 162nd birthday, showcasing his impact on education and constitutional values.

New Delhi: The Delhi Legislative Assembly on Tuesday released “The Collected Speeches of Bengal Tiger Dr Asutosh Mookerjee”, a compilation of 32 legislative speeches of educationist and jurist Dr Mookerjee, on the occasion of his 162nd birth anniversary.

The publication brings together speeches delivered by Dr Mookerjee during his tenure in the Imperial Legislative Council, covering issues such as civil liberties, university autonomy, and constitutional governance. (HT Photo)

The volume was unveiled by Union health minister JP Nadda at the Assembly in the presence of chief minister Rekha Gupta, Assembly speaker Vijender Gupta, Union minister of state Harsh Malhotra, Delhi ministers Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Pankaj Kumar Singh, deputy speaker Mohan Singh Bisht, legislators, academicians and scholars among others.

The publication brings together speeches delivered by Dr Mookerjee during his tenure in the Imperial Legislative Council, covering issues such as civil liberties, university autonomy, administrative accountability and constitutional governance.

Addressing the event, Nadda said Dr Mookerjee’s public life was guided by constitutional reasoning, intellectual rigour and a commitment to India’s civilisational values.

Referring to the publication, the union minister said, “Just as a mobile phone must be recharged every day, public life too requires constant intellectual renewal. Dr Ashutosh Mookerjee’s speeches continue to recharge our minds with constitutional values, reasoned debate and a deep sense of nationalism.”

He said many of Dr Mookerjee’s educational ideas aligned with the objectives of the National Education Policy, particularly its emphasis on Indian languages, value-based education and the decolonisation of the education system.

The minister also urged young people and public representatives to study the volume, saying India’s vision for Viksit Bharat@2047 required future generations to remain connected with the country’s constitutional values and intellectual traditions.

On the occasion, Assembly speaker Gupta said Dr Mookerjee’s contribution to higher education and institution-building continued to shape India’s academic landscape.

“Dr Ashutosh Mookerjee demonstrated that a nation’s true strength lies in fearless scholarship, academic excellence and institutions built on merit,” he said.

Speaker Gupta also said that the publication would enable scholars, students and future generations to engage directly with the ideas of one of India’s greatest institution-builders.

The Delhi assembly is digitising and preserving lakhs of pages of documents and speeches made in the assembly over the years and will be releasing these in multiple volumes, he added.