By Tushar Singh
On 24 September 2016, PM Modi kickstarted the year-long centenary birth celebrations of the Jana Sangh ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya. Post two committeesa 23-member and a 149-memberand a 100 crore budget, the celebrations concluded on 25 September 2017 at a mega event. BJP has strived hard to revive the image of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, thought to be mistreated by historians and remembered only for his emphasis on a Hindu Rashtra, by attaching his name to its myriad schemes since the past year. Therefore, questions which come to mind are why is the BJP spending so much money on Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, has he been ignored by previous governments and how relevant is Deendayal Upadhyaya in todays time?
One of the ‘Guiding Lights’
Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya was the leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh from 1953 to 1968. A profound philosopher, organiser par excellence 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, reads BJP’s website, mentioning Deendayal Upadhyay as one of its ‘Guiding Lights’ along with Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani.
In the 36th episode of Mann Ki Baat, Modi had put Deendayal Upadhyaya in the same bracket as Mahatma Gandhi and Jayaprakash Narayana. His writings have been compiled and re-launched, while all top party leaders, including BJP chief Amit Shah, as well as President Ramnath Kovind, have put him on the same pedestal as Mahatma Gandhi. Deendayal Upadhyay has become analogous to the BJP just as Gandhi has been to Congress.
Blurred out by Congress
Not much is written about Deendayal Upadhyays life or his political thought and philosophy in our history books. Till 2014, Deendayal Upadhyay was one of those great thinkers who had been blurred out by Congress’ constant focus on the Nehru-Gandhi lineage and legacy. Over the previous 2.5 decades, 450 central and state government programs, projects and national and state level institutions, involving public expenditure worth lakhs of rupees have been named after Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and her elder son. In course of time after Independence, the Congress only focused on members of the Nehru family. They had in the process neglected leaders who had done so much for the country and the society. The BJP feels it is right to have a balanced view on all those who had contributed to the freedom struggle, says BJP general secretary P. Muralidhar Rao.
He had said in 2014 that Nehruvian socialism was outdated while the Jana Sangh ideologues economic philosophy was more relevant for the country. According to Rao, the dismantling of Planning Commission was a clear indication that the ideas of Upadhyaya, who had opposed Five Year Plans, would be the flavour of the day. On 3 October 2014, Mohan Bhagwat had said that BJP and RSS would bring in new national heroes who would help the party gain acceptance across a cross-section of society and in the process, make ‘corrections’ in recorded history. Upadhyayas name figured prominently in Bhagwats speech.
Competing to immortalise
Efforts to immortalise Deendayal Upadhyay are in full swing today. The centre, besides naming many welfare schemes after Pt. Upadhyaya, also recently approved a proposal to name the Mughalsarai railway station in Uttar Pradesh, where he died in 1968, after him. The BJP-ruled states have been vying with each other to immortalise the Jana Sangh leader. While the Haryana government is all set to install a 51-foot statue of the leader at one of its tourist complexes, Madhya Pradesh has made it mandatory for his photograph to be carried on all advertisements issued by the state government. Elected representatives in Rajasthan have been asked to print their letterheads with a logo of his picture, while Uttar Pradesh has a number of crash courses on the ideologue. Some of the states, ruled by BJP, have included chapters on Deendayal Upadhyay in school syllabus. However, BJP backtracked on its mission to rename colleges in Assam after Deendayal Upadhyaya after facing flak from both its allies and opposition in the state.
Only one Bharatiya
Ultimately, we must ask ourselves how is the thinker Deendayal Upadhyaya relevant today. Pt. Upadhyaya put forward the concept of Integral Humanism. According to Upadhyaya, the primary concern in India must be to develop an indigenous economic model that puts the human being at centre stage. Tracing its origins to the non-dualistic philosophy of Advaita Vedanta, integral humanism propagated the oneness of various souls, be it of human, animal or plant origin. Rejecting the intrinsic diversity based on race, colour, caste or religion, it identified all human beings as part of this one organic whole, sharing a common consciousness of national thought. He said that all individuals are interconnected through their souls and instead of differentiating amongst people on the basis of religion or caste, everyone should be thought of to come under the umbrella identity of being Bharatiya or Indian. This gains a lot of relevance today when our country is oscillating between the majoritarian rule or minority appeasement. Upadhyaya said that there should exist no concept of minority or majority. Everyone should simply be Bharatiya and believed in the existence of only one nation.
Adopting his ideas
Today, BJP has tried to incorporate Deendayal Upadhyayas idea of Antyodayaupliftment of the last man- in its policies for the poor. Modi also said that Deendayal Upadhyay was for the upliftment of the Muslims, Dalits and downtrodden. “Fifty years ago, Deendayal Upadhyayji said Muslims should not be treated as different people. Do not reward them, do not rebuke them, but empower them. Muslims should not be looked down upon nor should they be seen as merely a vote bank. Consider them your own”, Modi said while reflecting on the thoughts of Deendayal Upadhyay.
Upadhyaya rejected both Capitalism (as it increased the importance of the stronger individual too much) and Communism (as it gave no importance to the individual at all). Just as how economists are now advocating for a public-private partnership (PPP) model worldwide, Upadhyaya conceived the idea of a national sector, where the right to work and a safety net for the disadvantaged went hand in hand with economic entrepreneurship.
Needing a fresh interpretation
It must be said that many of the quotes of Deendayal Upadhyaya must not be taken out of context. His critics point to his lectures and accuse him of being ‘biased’ against Muslims. Some also criticised him for not seeing evil in the caste system. On the other hand, BJP believes that Deendayal Upadhyay’s philosophy needs a fresh interpretation. The deep philosophical meaning of integral humanism should guide all the governments when they plan both the economic and political policies for India. Integral humanism has the answer to the rising inequalities, minority appeasement and intolerance which plagues India today. Integral humanism seeks to give Bharatvarsha, struggling with unity because of a lack national identity, its true form and structure.
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