Prof. Hiren Mukerjee Memorial Annual Parliamentary Lecture

Prof. Hiren Mukerjee, a parliamentarian par excellence, was a member of the Lok Sabha for five consecutive terms from 1952 to 1977. An eminent historian, a prolific writer and a brilliant orator, Prof. Hiren Mukerjee used the floor of the House as an effective channel of communication to give eloquent expression to his profound thinking on very many issues of critical concern to the nation. His perception and perspectives reflected the profundity of learning and the depth of scholarship, which was his forte. He was also the first Honorary Adviser of the PRIDE.

As a humble tribute to Prof. Hiren Mukerjee, whose profound perspectives and commitment to parliamentary democracy are highly inspiring to every conscientious parliamentarian and citizen, the Prof. Hiren Mukerjee Memorial Annual Parliamentary Lecture, the first of its kind in the history of our Parliament, was instituted by the Hon’ble Speaker of Lok Sabha in 2008. The Inaugural Lecture was delivered by Nobel Laureate, Prof. Amartya Sen, on Demands of Social Justice on 11 August 2008 in the Central Hall of Parliament House.

The 2^nd Prof. Hiren Mukerjee Memorial Annual Parliamentary Lecture was delivered by Nobel Laureate and Founder/Managing Director of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, Professor Muhammad Yunus on 9 December 2009 on the theme Social Business: A Step Toward Creating a New Social and Economic Order. Professor Jagdish Bhagwati, University Professor of Economics and Law at Columbia University and Senior Fellow in International Economics at the Council on Foreign relations, USA, delivered the 3^rd Prof. Hiren Mukerjee Memorial Annual Parliamentary Lecture on the theme Indian Reforms: Yesterday and Today on 2 December 2010.

The Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bhutan, H.E. Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley, delivered the 4th Lecture on “Gross National Happiness: A Holistic Paradigm for Sustainable Well-being” on 20 December 2011.