The birth anniversary of the Jana Sangh ideologue has been marked by the Modi government as part of its efforts to revive the BJP heroes.
New Delhi: Until Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power, September 25 had hardly any significance at the national level.
However, since 2014, the day – the birth anniversary of Jan Sangh ideologue Deendayal Upadhyay – is celebrated by the government in various forms, including the launch date of several programs and initiatives.
As part of the party’s focused efforts to revive its heroes, whom the BJP believes have been a raw deal in history under rival rule, the Modi government took office, marking the day Was. Since then it has been marked with great enthusiasm.
The BJP government has also named many big schemes in the name of Upadhyay. During his Independence Day address this year, Modi announced that the launch of his flagship Ayushman Bharat or National Health Protection Scheme would coincide with Upadhyay’s birth anniversary.
But why is Upadhyay so important to the BJP? And what has the Modi government done in its four-and-a-half year tenure to revive his memory?
Born on September 25, 1916 in Nagla Chandrabhan village of Mathura district, Upadhyay joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1942 and remained a pracharak (full-time worker) till the end. When the Bharatiya Jana Sangh was founded by Syama Prasad Mookerjee in 1951, Upadhyay became a part of it, a post he held for 15 years, becoming its All India General Secretary.
Upadhyay, who became the president of the Jana Sangh in 1967, also edited the mouthpiece of the RSS.
Panchjanya. However, electoral success did not come to him and he lost the 1963 Lok Sabha by-election from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh.
Upadhyay’s political philosophy – ‘Integral Humanism’, first emerged in 1965 – formed the core tenets of the Jana Sangh, and hence the BJP rejected the concepts of individualism and envisioned a ‘classless, casteless and conflict-free social order’.
However, Upadhyay’s death is shrouded in mystery. In February 1968, he was found dead on a rail track near Mughalsarai railway station in Uttar Pradesh, after boarding the Sealdah Express for Patna. Recent reports suggest that the Uttar Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is planning to order an inquiry into his death.
Deen Dayal Upadhyay to Revive: The BJP has often expressed displeasure at the Congress grabbing post-independence history and promoting only its symbols.
With its ideologues such as Upadhyay, Mukherjee and emphasis on the more conservative aspects of the Congress such as Madan Mohan Malviya and Sardar Patel, the BJP is pushing itself to claim a one-sided narrative.
Upadhyay is important to the BJP as he played a major role in both giving ideological direction and building the organization of the Jana Sangh. While Mukherjee was the founder of the Jana Sangh, due to his premature death, the leadership during the initial phase of the Jana Sangh was effectively held by Upadhyaya for nearly 15 years. All the current BJP leaders have attributed their electoral development to Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani – was his junior and learned from him.
Being a pracharak, Upadhyay’s commitment to Hindutva lasted till the end, and therefore, when the BJP is with him, it owns that part of his legacy. As the BJP expands its base and tries to reach out to the poor, it tries to take advantage of their symbolism of ‘integral humanism’.
Heritage Revival Initiative: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has gone the extra mile to mark Upadhyay’s legacy and as part of this blueprint, have named schemes after him and enthusiastically observed the opportunities around him in the states. has done. Is.
Earlier this year, Mughalsarai railway station was renamed as Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction. As part of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, the central government launched the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushal Yojana (DDU-GKY) to provide skill training to the rural poor.
The objective of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana is to provide continuous electricity to rural India in place of Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yojana. Then there is the Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme.
For example, Madhya Pradesh launched the Deendayal Rasoi scheme to provide subsidized meals at Rs 5 per meal. Rajasthan started Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Jal Kalyan Panchayat Camp to help rural students to solve their day to day problems. Haryana has Deen Dayal Jan Awas Yojana – an affordable housing scheme.