ON THE BANKS OF RIVER GANGA
An impromptu speech by Advaniji.
“I do not consider myself worthy of addressing a congregation of devotees because I am also, like many of you here, a devotee and a seeker. I have come here to receive some enlightenment and inspiration, and not to give it. However, if the idea is to let me share a few thoughts on the importance of spiritual guidance for politics and nation-building activities, I do have something to say on the matter. When I look back at the six decades that I have spent in public service - and this period has neatly coincided with the sixty years of India’s Independence - I can identify three main achievements that have imparted strength to our nation and raised its stature internationally. Firstly, India not only adopted the democratic system of governance, but has zealously preserved it, belying the gloomy predictions of many foreigners that a country with a largely illiterate population and saddled with numerous ‘divisive’ diversities could remain neither democratic nor united. Our second greatest achievement is that India is now a nuclear weapons power, thanks to a courageous decision that our former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee took in May 1998. Although some countries, ironically states with nuclear arsenals more lethal than ours, did criticize our government for this decision, it nevertheless made every Indian proud, reassuring him that no evil power can dare attack or enslave a militarily strong India in the future, as had happened in the past for nearly a thousand years. Our third major achievement - and it is a recent phenomenon - is in the field of economic development. The entire world has now begun to view India as tomorrow’s economic superpower. As a result, India and Indians are commanding the kind of attention and respect in the eyes of the international community, which was absent two or three decades ago. As an Indian and as a political activist, these three achievements make me immensely happy and proud, especially because my party is privileged to have contributed to each of them. It is true that we still have many unfinished tasks and unfulfilled aspirations in the area of socio-economic development. Poverty and backwardness need to be fully eliminated. Every citizen needs to have security and an assured provision of education, healthcare, employment, housing, leisure and recreation so that he can live a happy life and realise his full potential as a human being.”
THE DARKEST PERIOD - EMERGENCY
Advaniji on the Emergency
“Every age in history is characterised by one ‘Big Idea’ that shapes the destiny of nations by influencing what many scientists and political thinkers have termed as the ‘Collective Mind’ of the people. When that idea grips the minds and hearts of a large number of people, it becomes a motive force of history. Viewed from this perspective, it can be clearly seen that much of the movement of world history in the twentieth century was influenced by two inter-related big ideas: Freedom and Democracy. Nation after subjugated nation struggled against colonial rule in search of freedom. Along with national Independence came another powerful aspiration: People’s Rule, as against the rule of a monarchy, a military dictator, a totalitarian communist party, or another kind of authoritarian regime.
We, in India were fortunate that, unlike many of our neighbouring countries and elsewhere, we did not have to wage a separate battle for democracy after India gained Independence from British rule in 1947. Democracy came to independent India as naturally as secularism did, and the natural adoption of both these ideals, as shall be discussed later, was principally on account of India’s Hindu philosophy. Nevertheless, human history is replete with examples that no ideal, however exalted and deep-rooted in a country’s cultural-spiritual being, is permanently immune to attack from individuals driven by egotism and blinded by lust for power. When such attacks are mounted, the targeted ideal does suffer a momentary eclipse. But in its very suffering, it inspires large masses of people to struggle for the eradication of resultant darkness. It is almost as if history deliberately creates the ordeal as an opportunity for the nation to learn the right lessons and thereby reinforce its commitment to that ideal. This is precisely what happened in India, in June 1975, when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi brought democracy under an eclipse by bringing India under Emergency Rule. Nineteen months later, the eclipse disappeared as the result of a glorious struggle launched by the people of India against the Congress party’s authoritarianism. If the Emergency was the darkest period in India’s post-Independence history, the righteous struggle for the restoration of democracy was undoubtedly the brightest. It so happened that I, along with tens of thousands of my countrymen, was both a victim of Emergency and a soldier in the Army of Democracy that won the battle against it.”
DEENDAYALJI- A STRONG INFLUENCE
Advaniji speaks about Deendayalji’s “Integral Humanism”.
“Deendayalji will be remembered not only as the principal architect of the Jana Sangh, but also as the author of a profoundly original political treatise, which has come to be known as ‘Integral Humanism’. According to Deendayalji, the Indian perspective of viewing human aspirations in a four-fold manner-dharma, artha, kama and moksha, and its well-conceived four-stage progression of individual’s life through brahmacharya, grihastha, vanaprastha and sanyasa-promised the balanced development of both the individual and society. The great merit of ‘Integral Humanism’ lies in its successful attempt to deal with a problem that has defied so many political philosophers of our age: how to conceptualise a practical approach to achieve peace and harmony within man and society. Hence, rejecting the theory of class conflict (as in communism), it posits inter-dependence between various sections of society and working together for common welfare. Similarly, rejecting notions of any inherent contradiction between the individual and society (as in capitalism), it emphasises the essential concord between the two. ‘A flower is what it is because of its petals, and the worth of the petals lies in remaining with the flower and adding to its beauty.’ Deendayalji was anything but doctrinaire in his approach. Though a strong critic of imitating the western way of life, he accepts that ‘western principles are a product of a revolution in human thought and it is not proper to ignore them’. His critique of the western political and economic thought does not call for its total rejection; it only highlights its inadequacy.
Referring to ‘nationalism, democracy, socialism, world peace and world unity’, which were the hotly debated ‘Big Ideas’ in India and elsewhere in the sixties, he says, ‘All these are good ideals. They reflect the higher aspirations of mankind.’ But the manner in which the West has voiced them shows that ‘each stands opposed to the rest in practice.’ To those who criticised Hinduism as an oppressive, change-resisting belief-system, Deendayalji gave a reply befitting a social revolutionary. For ‘Integral Humanism’ calls for rejection of all those customs (’untouchability, caste discrimination, dowry, neglect of women’) that are symptoms of ‘ill-heath and degeneration’ of our society. It affirms the self-regenerative impulse of Indian society by saying: ‘we have taken due note of our ancient culture. But we are no archaeologists. We have no intention to become the custodians of a vast archaeological museum.’ Deendayalji’s espousal of Dharma Rajya (which does not connote theocracy but only a law-governed state and a duty-oriented citizenry) echoes Gandhiji’s concept of Ram Rajya. ‘Dharma sustains the nation. If dharma is destroyed, the nation perishes.’
’With the support of Universal knowledge and our heritage, we shall create a Bharat which will excel all its past glories, and will enable every citizen in its fold to steadily progress in the development of his manifold latent possibilities and to achieve through a sense of unity with the entire creation, a state even higher than that of a complete human being; to become Narayan from nar (man). This is the external divine form of our culture. This is our message to humanity at a cross roads. May God give us strength to succeed in this mission. The Jana Sangh adopted ‘Integral Humanism’ as its guiding ideology at the party’s Vijayawada session in 1965. Similarly, the BJP, in its constitution, has enshrined it as the ‘basic philosophy of the Party’. Deendayalji’s basic impulse in developing his discourse was humanistic, and not political in the narrow sense of aiding a particular party”.
Coalition Politics
Advaniji’s first experience with the coalition dharma.
“My first entry into alliance politics was in the municipal affairs of Delhi. The city, which was a union territory then, saw the formation of the Delhi Municipal Corporation in 1958. Since the Jana Sangh had a good support base in all of them, the establishment of the corporation provided it with an opportunity to play a dominant role in the municipal governance of the capital city. So in addition to my work in the party’s parliamentary wing, Deendayalji asked me to look after the Delhi unit of the Jana Sangh as its General Secretary. In a house of eighty, we won twenty-five seats, only two less than the Congress. The CPI had eight members, just enough seats in the corporation to tip the balance in favour of either the Congress or the Jana Sangh.
Soon after the elections, the CPI, in order to keep the Jana Sangh out, offered to enter into an alliance with the Congress, provided the latter agreed to make one of its members, Aruna Asaf Ali, a prominent freedom fighter and star of the Quit India movement, the first Mayor of Delhi. The Congress agreed. However, the alliance broke up within a year due to constant internal squabbles.
Thereafter the Jana Sangh and the CPI entered into a written agreement, whereby the offices of Mayor and Deputy Mayor would be shared by the two parties on a rotational basis. In keeping with that, Aruna Asaf Ali would be Mayor for the first year, and Kedarnath Sahni, who later became a prominent leader of the Jana Sangh and the BJP, the Deputy Mayor. For the second year, Sahni was to be the Mayor, and a CPI nominee the Deputy Mayor. It was for me a useful initiation in the art of political leadership and strategy-making. I can confidently say that this is where I had my initial grounding in alliance politics, something that held me in good stead on many occasions in subsequent years and decades”.
The “Hawala” Frame- Up
A glimpse into Advaniji’s fortitude of conviction.
“One of the most challenging periods of my life was the early 1996 when the Narasimha Rao government framed a false and motivated case against me charging involvement in a ‘hawala’ transaction. I was in the party office on the morning of 16 January when my colleague Sushma Swaraj came into my room saying that she had learnt from her lawyer-husband, Swaraj Kaushal, that the CBI had filed a case against me and several other political leaders under the Prevention of Corruption Act. This came as a rude shock to me. The charge against me was that I was not only guilty of ordinary corruption ‘demanding and accepting’ illegal gratification-rupees twenty-five lakhs when I was an MP and an additional rupees thirty-five lakhs when I was not an MP-but also of ‘criminal conspiracy’. Never in my entire political life had even my adversaries made allegations of bribery or financial fraud against me.
I took two immediate decisions. Firstly, I would tender my resignation from membership of the Lok Sabha. Secondly, I would announce that I would not contest the Lok Sabha elections until I was exonerated by the courts of this false accusation. I conveyed this over the phone to Atalji. Soon he and other colleagues gathered at the party office. Some of them said that it was too drastic a step for me to take, as the parliamentary elections were not far away. I replied in the negative saying, ‘This alone is the appropriate response for people to realise that I have nothing to hide and am ready to face trial.’ Within a couple of hours I convened a press conference in the party office, where I made both the above announcements.
The ‘hawala’ case went on for sixteen months in the Delhi High Court. Finally, on 8 April 1997, Justice Mohammad Shamim delivered the verdict quashing the charge of corruption against me. Looking back, I feel very satisfied about my decision. It was not only the right moral response to an accusation of corruption against me, but it also raised the stature of the BJP in the eyes of the people”.
ADVANI: MAZBOOT NETA
Advaniji speaks about the journey of his life.
“It is a journey that has not yet ended. From the age of fourteen and a half years till now, only one duty has defined the purpose of my life: to serve my Motherland. During the course of fulfilling this duty, my devotion, sincerity and commitment to my own cause and ideals have been tested many times, especially when I have faced any adversity in my life. I can say, with both humility and contentment, that I have not been found wanting in the eyes of my own conscience. Errors of judgement, I have committed many. I have also erred in the execution of my tasks. But I have never indulged in scheming or acts of opportunism for self-promotion nor have I compromised on my core principles for personal comfort or gains. I have stood my ground for the sake of self-respect and for what I believed was in the larger interest of the nation, even when doing so carried obvious risks. Whether I had to spend long stints in prison, as happened during the Emergency, or had to face a false charge of corruption in the Hawala case, or was labelled as a ‘Hindu hardliner’ for my role in the Ayodhya movement, or when I was misunderstood and castigated for having betrayed my ideology after my visit to Pakistan, I have followed the call of my conscience and stood firm. Besides fortifying my self-belief, it has given me happiness and imparted meaning to my life.”
Birth of BJP
In this excerpt, Advaniji tells us about the formation of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“The two-day national convention on 5-6 April 1980 added another invigorating emotion-that of determination. Over 3,500 delegates assembled at Delhi’s Ferozeshah Kotla ground and resolved, on 6 April, to form a new political organisation called the Bharatiya Janata Party. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was elected its first President and I, along with Sikandar Bakht and Suraj Bhan, was given the responsibility of General Secretary. As we embarked upon a new phase in our political journey, an unforgettable milestone came in the form of the BJP’s first plenary session in Bombay on 28-30 December 1980. Nearly 50,000 delegates congregated under a specially erected tent at a sprawling open ground near Bandra Reclamation adjoining the Arabian Sea. The venue was appropriately called ‘Samata Nagar’ to underscore the BJP’s commitment to social and economic equality. The plenary session of the party’s National Council was marked by a display of overflowing enthusiasm, confidence and determination on the part of both the leaders and the delegates. In a short period since the formation of the BJP in April, as many as twenty-five lakh new members had been enrolled and party units had been set up in practically every state in India. All the newspapers in the country took note of the historic significance of the Bombay session of the BJP. I must make a special mention here of what Janardan Thakur, who was then the Editor of Onlooker weekly, wrote: ‘I have just returned from the BJP session in Bombay with one certainty: Atal Bihari Vajpayee will, sooner or later, become the country’s Prime Minister. I am not saying he may, I am saying he will. Mine is not a prediction based on stars, for I am not an astrologer. It’s a prediction based on a close hard look at the man and his party. Vajpayee leads the party of the future. Both have blossomed’”.
Vajpayee on Advani
We are starting a new section which will carry excerpts from LK Advani’s autobiography “My Country My Life.” We hope this will give you a better perspective on the man who, hopefully, will be India’s next Prime Minister.
“Advaniji’s autobiography, aptly titled My Country My Life closely follows the defining moments of Independent India, including the tragedy of Partition that accompanied the joy of freedom from the British rule. It is a testimony to the innate strength of Advaniji’s personality and character that he surmounted this adversity (partition), just as he would overcome many other adversities in life, to pursue his chosen path. His life is characterised by his qualities of commitment, devotion and determination to face all odds in the course of serving the nation.
We have had our differences on issues and approaches, during the course of our long association (over a half century); however it is not the differences, but the unity of purpose and action, that marked our relationship. Those who have worked or interacted with Advaniji closely know him as a man who never compromised on his core belief in nationalism and yet has displayed flexibility in political responses whenever it was demanded by the situation. He has an open mind that always absorbs new ideas from diverse sources and he has made an enduring contribution to a vigorous public debate on genuine secularism and the main roots of our nationhood.
Through his autobiography, Advaniji has added another special accomplishment to his life. It is the remarkable journey of a sensitive human being and an outstanding leader whose best, I hope and pray, is yet to come.”
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Prime Minister of India, 1998-2004