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Mukherjee

Mukherjee (Bengali: মুখার্জি), also Mukerjee, Mookerjea, Mookerjee, Mukerji, Mukherji, Mukhujje or Mookherjee, is a Bengali Hindu Kulin Brahmin surname originating from the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent.[1] The traditional Bengali version is Mukhopaddhae, which is sometimes written Mukhopadhyay.

Origins

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Main article: Kulin Brahmins

All Mukherjees belong to the Bharadvaja gotra or the clan of the rishi Bharadvaja. The Mukherjees belong to the Kulin Brahmin class and are also classified as Rarhi Brahmin group of Bengali Brahmin caste.[1] The origins of most of the Brahmins in Southern Bengal can be traced back to the Gangetic plains of Northern India, from the ancient city of Kanyakubja (Kannauj). It is believed that in the 11th century CE, the ruler of Bengal, Adisara, summoned five Brahmins from Kanyakubja, who were known for their superior rank to the region. These Vedic Brahmins were supposed to have nine gunas (favoured attributes), among which was insistence on same rank marriages.[2] Though the first wave of Brahmin migration to Bengal started during the Maurya period and the Jain Acharya Bhadrabahu – regarded to be the preceptor of Chandragupta Maurya – is said to have been born in Brahmin family of Pundravardhana (or Puṇḍra), the medium to large scale migrations of Brahmins from other parts of India to Bengal, especially from the ancient Kanyakubja region, happened during the last part of the Buddhist Pala Empire and early part of Hindu Sena dynasty.[3][4] This region is known as Radha or Rarh Bhoomi, leading to these clans of Brahmins being categorised as Radhi or Rarhi Brahmins.

For several decades from the 1970s to the 1990s, the West Bengal Higher Secondary board mandatorily changed all spelling variants (Mukherjee, Mukerjee, Mookerjea, Mookerji etc.) to Mukhopadhyay (as was done with Bannerjee, Ganguly, etc.)

Notable people with the last name Mukherjee

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Pranab Mukherjee - 13th President of India

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Syama Prasad Mookerjee - the founder Bharatiya Jana Sangh which would later evolve into Bharatiya Janata Party, the current ruling party of India.

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Hopkins, Thomas J. (1989). "The Social and Religious Background for Transmission of Gaudiya Vaisnavism to the West". In Bromley, David G.; Shinn, Larry D. (eds.). Krishna consciousness in the West. Bucknell University Press. pp. 35–36. ISBN 978-0-8387-5144-2. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  2. ^ "Reflections on Kulin Polygamy, p2" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 September 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  3. ^ cf. Banger Jatiya Itihash, Brahman Kanda, Vol 3, Chapter 1
  4. ^ cf. History of Brahmin Clans, page 281
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