O P Sharma
Birth anniversary is being observed on September 25 of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, who was a rare variety of political leader being a symbol of simple life devoted to selfless service to the society. He was associated with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the forerunner of the present day Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). By dint of his hard work and devotion to duty, he rose to head the Jana Sangh and has made immense contribution for which the nation is remembering and recalling his services and idealogy of deep concern for the poorest of the poor . A look into his simple life is rewarding for the people particularly our youth.
Born on September 25,1916 at village Chandrabhan, now called Deendayal Dham, in Mathura district (Uttar Pradesh) to his father, Bhagwati Prasad, a well known astrologer and his mother, Rampyari, a pious lady. After demise of his parents, he was brought up by his maternal uncle. Young Deendayal always excelled academically: in Matriculation he stood first and got a Gold Medal from Maharaja Kalyan Singh of Sikar, along with a monthly scholarship of Rs 10 and also Rs 250 for books. Later, he graduated from Sanatan Dharma College, Kanpur during 1939 in the First Division and did MA(English) from St. John’s College, Agra getting a gold medal. On persuasion of his maternal uncle, he appeared for the Provincial Services Examination and got selected but declined to join the Services on account of his political ambition. Subsequently, he obtained B.Ed and M.Ed degrees at Prayag and entered active public life.
Humble Start
As a student in Sanatan Dharma College, Kanpur in 1937, he came into contact with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and subsequently met the founder of the RSS, K. B. Hedgewar. It may be recalled that Sunder Singh Bhandari was also one of his classmates at Kanpur. It is noteworthy that he rendered his full-time service to the RSS from 1942 till his . During the 40-day RSS camp at Nagpur, he underwent training in Sangh Education and afterwards became a life-long RSS pracharak. He was regarded as an ideal swayamsevak for ‘his discourse reflected the pure thought-current of the Sangh’
With a literary and journalistic bent of mind, he started Rashtra Dharma, a monthly from Lucknow in the 1940s for spreading the ideology of Hindutva nationalism. He did not have his name printed as editor in any of the issues of this publication. Later, he started a weekly Panchjanya and a daily Swadesh.
Bright Career
In 1951, when Syama Prasad Mookerjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJP), Deendayal got associated with it as a member of the Sangh Parivar and was made General Secretary first of Uttar Pradesh branch, and later at the all-India level. After Mookerjee’s death in 1953, the entire burden of the BJP fell on Deendayal Upadhayay for nurturing and building the organisation as a nationwide movement. For over 15 years, he remained the party general secretary. He contested for Lok Sabha but could not get elected.
Upadhyaya had a deep political philosophy and nationalistic outlook which inspired the common masses.
His “integral humanism” is almost an exact paraphrase of Gandhi’s vision of a future India. Both seek a distinctive path for India. He stood for infusion of religious and moral values in politics, and both seek a culturally authentic mode of modernization that preserves Hindu values. These notions revolve around the basic themes of harmony, primacy of cultural, national values, and discipline.
Selfless Service
Upadhyaya had his own ideas on economic policies and industrialization in tune with the cultural and spiritual heritage of this country. There is a need, according to him, to strike a balance between the Indian and Western thinking in view of the dynamic nature of the society and the cultural heritage of the country.
He was the leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh from 1953 to 1968 and proved as a profound philosopher, outstanding organiser and a leader who maintained the highest standards of personal integrity. He has been the source of ideological guidance and moral inspiration for the BJP since its inception. His treatise Integral Humanism, which is a critique of both communism and capitalism, provides a holistic alternative perspective for political action and statecraft consistent with the laws of creation and the universal needs of the human race.
It is worth mentioning that Deendayalji convened on September 21, 1951 a political convention of UP and founded the state unit of the new party, Bharatiya Jana Sangh. He was the moving spirit and Dr. Mookerjee presided over the first all-India convention held on October 21, 1951. As president of Jana Sangh, he was preceded by Balraj Madhok and succeeded by Atal Behari Vajpayee. A number of important welfare programmes and schemes ( Antodaya) have been launched in the name of Deendayal Upadhayay for the benefit of the last man in the row.
Deendayal Upadhaya had amazing organizing skill. As fate would have it, this utterly unasuming leader of the party was raised to the high position of President in the year 1968. After assuming the responsibility, he spread the message of Jana Sangh for enlisting public support. On the dark night of February 11, 1968, Deendayal Upadhyaya was “forced” into the jaws of sudden death in a train at Mughalsarai (now renamed after his name) in Uttar Pradesh. Due to his lofty ideals and simplicity, he still continues to inspire and lead millions of people.
( Starline Syndicate Service)
feedbackexcelsior@gmail.com
Download Daily Excelsior Apps Now:
