Hirendranath Mukhopadhyay (23 November 1907 – 30 July 2004), also known as Hiren Mukerjee, was an Indian politician, lawyer and academic. He was a member of the Communist Party of India having joined in 1936 when it was still illegal. He was elected to the Lok Sabha the lower house of the Indian Parliament from the Calcutta North East constituency in 1951, 1957, 1962, 1967 and 1971. He suffered an electoral reverse when he lost to Pratap Chandra Chunder in 1977 after the CPI supported Emergency. He was awarded the second highest civilian honour Padma Vibhushan by Government of India in 1991, earlier he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1990. He was a profound and passionate orator in English and Bengali, and his natural eloquence was marked by a surpassing erudition and encyclopaedic memory. His speeches were also marked by a full-throated delivery, an impeccable Oxonian pronunciation in English and his Calcutta idiom and intonation in Bengali. He was one of the most remarkable parliamentary speakers in India for all time. Early life and education Born in Calcutta (now Kolkata) to Sachindra Nath Mukerjee, he studied at Taltala High School and received B.A. and M.A. degrees in History from Presidency College, Calcutta, then affiliated with the University of Calcutta. Thereafter he completed his higher education with B. Litt. (Oxon) from St Catherine's College, Oxford and Barrister-at-Law (Comm.) from Lincoln's Inn, London. Career Hiren Mukerjee started his career as an educator, eventually serving as a senior lecturer in History and Politics, Andhra University, 1934–35, lecturer in History and Political Philosophy, Calcutta University, 1940—44, and remained the Head of the Department of History, Surendranath College, Calcutta from 1936 to 1962. He joined the Communist Party of India in 1936. Conversion to communism came somewhat earlier, while studying at Oxford and training to be a Barrister at Law in the United Kingdom. He was Member, All India Congress Committee (A.I.C.C.), 1938–39; Member of Executive Committee, Bengal Provincial Congress Committee, 1938–39; Joint Secretary, Bengal Committee, Congress Socialist Party, 1938; President, Bengal Provincial Students' Conference, 1936; Founder Member, All India Progressive Writers' Association, 1936; President, All India Students' Conference, Nagpur, 1940; Editor "Indo-Soviet Journal", Calcutta, 1941–45; Chairman, Indian Peoples' Theatre Association (IPTA) Conference, Bombay, 1943; Founder Member, Friends of Soviet Union, and Joint Secretary, 1944–52; Joint Editor, "Calcutta Weekly Notes" (Law Journal), 1945–52; Member, Bengal Committee, Communist Party of India, 1947–49; President, Bengal Motion