Kolkata's Suhrawardy Row Rekindles A Forgotten Story: When Nehru Stepped In Amid Tax Troubles
Kolkata's Suhrawardy Row Rekindles A Forgotten Story: When Nehru Stepped In Amid Tax Troubles Reported By, Edited By Last Updated: June 22, 2026, 15:24 IST
Kolkata's Suhrawardy Row Rekindles A Forgotten Story: When Nehru Stepped In Amid Tax Troubles Reported By, Edited By Last Updated: June 22, 2026, 15:24 IST The letters dated December 12, 1948, show Nehru taking up the grievances of Suhrawardy, who complained of 'excessive & unfair income-tax assessments' running into nearly Rs 50 lakh Rapid Read Barely a year after Independence and Partition, Nehru found himself personally examining Suhrawardy’s complaints against Indian tax authorities. A heated argument is raging both online and offline over Kolkata’s Suhrawardy Avenue being renamed as Gopal Mukherjee Road. A closer look, however, reveals that the avenue was not named after Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, remembered by many in India for his controversial role during the Direct Action Day riots of 1946, but after his uncle, Hassan Shaheed Suhrawardy, a noted Bengali academic, art critic and institution-builder. In fact, Hassan Shaheed Suhrawardy had also stopped revolutionary Bina Das from shooting Governor Stanley Jackson on February 6, 1932, for which he received knighthood. Yet, in public memory, the distinction has often been blurred. The shared surname has meant that debates over the road’s name have repeatedly circled back to Huseyn Suhrawardy and the deep scars left by Partition-era violence in Bengal. That renewed focus on Huseyn Suhrawardy’s legacy also throws up a lesser-known chapter from the early years of independent India. Correspondence published in The Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru reveals an intriguing episode in which then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru personally intervened in a major tax dispute involving Suhrawardy, one of the most polarising political figures of the Partition era. The episode offers a rare glimpse into how the Indian government dealt with a man who remained a deeply contentious figure in the country, even as he sought to rebuild his political career across the border after Partition.
The letters dated December 12, 1948, show Nehru taking up the grievances of Suhrawardy, the former Premier of undivided Bengal, who had complained of what he described as excessive and unfair income-tax assessments running into nearly Rs 50 lakh for the assessment years 1945-46 and 1946-47. Suhrawardy’s name remains deeply intertwined with one of the darkest chapters in Bengal’s history. As Premier during the infamous Direct Action Day of August 1946, he has long been accused by critics of failing to prevent the planned Hindu carnage followed by communal violence that engulfed Calcutta and left approximately 4,000–5,000 people dead. Yet, barely a year after Independence and Partition, Nehru found himself personally examining Suhrawardy’s complaints against Indian tax authorities. NEHRU WRITES TO FINANCE MINISTER In a letter addressed to then finance minister John Matthai on December 12, 1948, Nehru forwarded Suhrawardy’s representations regarding the income-tax proceedings against him. The prime minister noted that Suhrawardy believed the assessments were excessive and suggested that the matter deserved careful scrutiny. More significantly, Nehru warned that any appearance of “high-handed" treatment by government authorities could have wider political implications. “He informs me that he has been assessed for an income-tax of 50 lakhs of rupees for two years, probably 1945-46 and 1946-47. He sent no return and some kind of an arbitrary assessment was made. The income-tax people were undoubtedly justified in making their own assessment in the circumstances. But 50 lakhs is a very big figure and requires looking into. Suhrawardy of course says that it has nothing to do with his income," Nehru wrote. PARALLEL LETTER TO BC ROY Nehru’s intervention did not stop with the finance ministry.
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