Bharatiya Janata Party
Chairperson	Nitin Gadkari
Parliamentary Chairperson	Nitin Gadkari
Leader in Lok Sabha	Sushma Swaraj (Leader of Opposition)
Leader in Rajya Sabha	Arun Jaitley (Leader of Opposition)
Founded	6th April 1980
Preceded by	Bharatiya Jana Sangh
Headquarters	11 Ashoka Road, New Delhi, 110001
Newspaper	Kamal Sandesh
Youth wing	Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha
Women's wing	BJP Mahila Morcha
Peasant's wing	Bharatiya Kisan Sangh
Ideology	Indian Nationalism Integral humanism Economic liberalism Gandhian Socialism Conservatism Social conservatism
Political position	Centre-right and Cultural Nationalism[1]
International affiliation	None
Official colours	Saffron
ECI Status	National Party
Alliance	National Democratic Alliance (NDA)
Seats in Lok Sabha	114 / 545
Seats in Rajya Sabha	49 / 245
Election symbol
150px
Website
www.bjp.org
Politics of India Political parties Elections

	This article is part of a series about Bharatiya Janata Party	Joe Biden
Bharatiya Jana Sangh  · History of the BJP  · Organisation of the BJP  · Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha  · Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh  · Bharatiya Kisan Sangh  · BJP Mahila Morcha  · BJP Minority Morcha  · List of MP in the 14th Lok Sabha

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP pronunciation (help·info); translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament and in the various state assemblies. The Bharatiya Janata Party was started by advocating Hindu nationalism and conservative social policies, self-reliance, free market capitalistic policy, foreign policy driven by a nationalist agenda, and strong national defense.^[2]. The party's platform is generally considered right of center in the Indian political spectrum.^[1]

History[link]

Founders

Syama Prasad Mookerjee, founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the first BJP Prime Minister of India (1998–2004).

The Bharatiya Jana Sangh was founded by Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee in 1951 to espouse the nationalist cause. The party opposed the appeasement policy of the Indian National Congress and was against any compromise in the matters of national integrity, unity and cultural identity. It was widely regared as the political arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. After Mookerjee's untimely death in prison in 1953 during an agitation demanding the effective integration of Jammu and Kashmir into India, the entire burden of nurturing the orphaned organisation and building it up as a nation-wide movement fell on the young shoulders of Deendayal Upadhyaya. For 15 years, he remained the outfit's general secretary and built it up. He raised a band of dedicated workers imbued with idealism and provided the entire ideological framework of the outfit, but never seriously challenged the power of Indian National Congress^{[citation needed]}. He did however groom future political leaders like Vajpayee, Advani and others. However, the vast majority of the party workers including Upadhyaya himself were derived from the RSS and brought with them the patriotic fervour and discipline of the parent organisation^[3]

The Jana Sangh won just three Lok Sabha seats in the first general elections in 1952. However, it gradually increased its strength and by 1962 had become one of the most effective opposition parties in India and seriously challenged the power of the Congress in various north Indian states. Uniform Civil code for all Indians, Ban on Cow slaughter, Scrapping of the special statues accorded to J&K, Promotion of Hindi were some of the major ideological issues taken up by the party.

After 1967, The party entered into coalition with like minded political parties and formed governments in various states such as Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and others. The party was in the forefront during the agitation against the emergency (1975–77) imposed by the Indira Gandhi regime and thousands of its leaders and workers were imprisoned across India. The party along with many other political parties merged with the Janata Party in 1977 to present an united opposition to the Congress. The Janata Party won with a huge majority in 1977 and formed the government with Morarji Desai as Prime Minister. Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had become the leader of the Jana Sangh after Upadhyaya's death in 1967 was appointed as the external affairs minister in the new government. The Janata government did not last long. Morarji Desai resigned as Prime Minister, and the Janata party was dissolved soon after. The BJS had devoted political organization to sustain the coalition and was left exhausted by the internecine wars within the Janata Party.

In 1980 the leaders and workers who were associated with the former Jana Sangh, founded the Bharatiya Janata Party with Vajpayee as its first President. The BJP was a strong critic of the Congress government, and while it opposed the Sikh militancy that was rising in the state of Punjab, it also blamed Indira Gandhi for divisive and corrupt politics that fostered the militancy at national expense. Sikh Leader Darasingh opines that Vajpayee thus "brought in Hindu-Sikh harmony."^[4]

However, the BJP never supported Operation Bluestar, the BJP strongly protested the violence against Sikhs in Delhi that broke out in 1984 following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by one of her Sikh bodyguards. The BJP was left with only two parliamentary seats in the 1984 elections; the party, however, had established itself in the mainstream of Indian politics, and soon began expanding its organization to attract young Indians throughout the country. During this period, Vajpayee remained center-stage as party President and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, but increasingly hard-line Hindu nationalists began to rise within the party and define its politics.

The BJP became the political voice of the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir Movement, which was led by activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the RSS, and was seeking to build a temple dedicated to Lord Rama in place of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya. Hindus believed the site was the birthplace of the Lord, and there existed a temple long before Babri mosque was built after demolishing the temple, and thus qualified as one of the most sacred sites of Hinduism, where a temple should be reconstructed. The party under its president Lal Krishna Advani galvanised the nation with various rath yatras and succeeded in awakening the Hindu identity.

On 6th December, 1992, hundreds of VHP and BJP activists broke down an organized protest into a frenzied attack, and razed the mosque. Over the following weeks, waves of violence between Hindus and Muslims erupted in various parts of the country, killing over 1000 people. The VHP was banned by the government, and many BJP leaders including Lal Krishna Advani were arrested briefly for provoking the destruction. Although widely condemned by many across the country for playing politics with sensitive issues, the BJP won the support of millions of conservative Hindus, as well as national prominence.

With victory in assembly elections of Delhi in 1993 and Gujarat and Maharashtra in March 1995, and a good performance in the elections to the Karnataka assembly in December 1994 propelled the BJP to the centerstage. During the BJP session at Mumbai in November 1995, BJP President L.K.Advani declared that Vajpayee would be the Prime Minister of India if the BJP won the next parliamentary elections scheduled for May 1996. In that election, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha and Vajpayee became Prime minister. He, however had to resign within 13 days as the BJP was unable to muster the required majority.

In the Lok Sabha elections held in 1998 the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) obtained a simple majority. This time, the BJP (NDA) had allied with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Biju Janata Dal besides its existing allies, the Samata Party, the Shiromani Akali Dal and Shiv Sena. Outside support was provided by the Telugu Desam Party. The NDA had a slim majority, and Vajpayee returned as Prime Minister after the 13-day stint in 1996.^[5] But the coalition ruptured in May 1999 when the leader of AIADMK, Jayalalitha, withdrew her support, and fresh elections were again held.

On 13 October 1999, the BJP-led NDA riding on a wave of popularity following victory in the Kargil war and the charisma of Vajpayee, won 303 seats. The BJP alone had its highest ever tally of 183. Vajpayee became Prime Minister for the third time, and Advani became the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister. This NDA Government lasted its full term of five years. Vajpayee and his economic team, led by Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, continuing the policies initiated by the previous Congress Government under P. V. Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh, pushed through major privatizations of big government corporations, the liberalization of trade under World Trade Organization guidelines, airline deregulation, foreign investment and ownership and allowed private companies such as Mahindra World City and Reliance to build Special Economic Zones where property developers could build new cities with world-class infrastructure for factories that export products.

The BJP and the NDA suffered an unexpected defeat in the general elections in 2004, and failed to muster a parliamentary majority. Manmohan Singh of the Congress Party and United Progressive Alliance succeeded Vajpayee as Prime Minister.

In May 2008, the BJP won the state elections in Karnataka. This was the first time that the party had won in any south Indian state. In the 2009 general elections, BJP again faced defeat and its strength in Lok Sabha reduced to 116 seats. The unexpected defeat of BJP is attributed to bad performance of the party in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Andhra Pradesh.

Organisation[link]

The highest authority in the party is the President. Officially, the BJP constitution provides for a three-year term for the President. Recently, both Venkaiah Naidu and LK Advani resigned ahead of schedule due to factionalism and controversies. Rajnath Singh held this post from 2006 to 2009, he was succeeded by Nitin Gadkari. Beyond this, there are several Vice-Presidents, General-Secretaries, Treasurers and Secretaries. The National Executive consists of an undetermined number of senior party leaders from across the nation who are the highest decision-making body in the party. At the state level, a similar structure is in place, with every state unit being led by the respective President, who also officially serves a three-year term.^[6]

The rank-and-file leadership of BJP largely derives from the cadre of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which has millions of affiliates. It also maintains close links to other Sangh Parivar organisations, such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (an organisation promoting economic protectionism).

Other organizations directly affiliated to the RSS include the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad which is the students' wing of the RSS, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, the peasants' union and the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, which is the labour union.

BJP also maintains the BJP Mahila Morcha,which is its women's front, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, which is its youth wing, the BJP Minority Morcha, which is its Minority front and many other frontal organisations.

Ideology and political positions[link]

Former Prime Minister of India and BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2000. Under the Vajpayee government, the defence relations between India and Russia saw a new rebound with the signing of several key military deals such as the Sukhoi Su-30MKI, T-90S Bhishma, INS Vikramaditya and the Sukhoi/HAL FGFA.^[7]

Atal Behari Vajpayee considers the European concept of "secularism" inappropriate for Indian culture, and places it in opposition to Mohandas Gandhi's doctrine of Sarva Dharma Sambhava, which he considers India's own, traditional form of secularism.^[8] He describes the Indian secular as follows:

Mahatma Gandhi describes the correct attitude towards religion as 'Sarva Dharma Sambhava', equal respect to all religions. The concept of 'Sarva Dharma Sambhava' is somewhat different from European secularism which is independent of religion ... We may say that the Indian concept of secularism is that of Sarva Dharma Sambhava ... Sarva Dharma Sambhava is not against any religion. It treats all religions with equal respect. And therefore it can be said that the Indian concept of secularism is more positive.^[9]

The concept of Integral Humanism has a special place in its ideology, the BJP's right-wing politics include modern, conservatism, social conservatism, progressivism and enlightened nation which draws inspiration from India's ancient Indian culture and values. The BJP emphasize the role of free markets and individual achievement as the primary factors behind economic prosperity. To this end, they favor laissez-faire economics, fiscal conservatism, and the promotion of personal responsibility over welfare programs.^[1] As per the party's constitution the objectives of the party are explained thus:

"The party is pledged to build up India as a strong and prosperous nation, which is modern, progressive and enlightened in outlook and which proudly draws inspiration from India's ancient culture and values and thus is able to emerge as a great world power playing an effective role in the community of Nations for the establishment of world peace and a just international order. The Party aims at establishing a democratic state which guarantees to all citizens irrespective of caste, creed or sex, political, social and economic justice, equality of opportunity and liberty of faith and expression. The Party shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established and to the principles of socialism, secularism and democracy and would uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India."

The BJP stands for strong national defence, small government^{[citation needed]}, and Quasi-market economic policies, but Integral Humanism has been its core philosophy and identity ever since its inception. The BJP stand on economic policies saw a sudden volte face in the mid nineties from a support of swadeshi products to the embracing of free market ideas. Another important factor is the ongoing territorial dispute over Jammu and Kashmir and the wars of 1947–48, 1962, 1965, and 1971, and recently the 1999 Kargil War. The party strongly advocates the view that Kashmir should remain an integral part of the country.^[10]

Economic policy under BJP-led governments at the state and center has been heavily focused on infrastructure building and pro-reform, which is congenial to Indian interests and to necessary conforming to international regulations (like environment laws) market-oriented economic growth without making subtle changes to the existing policies.

BJP in various states[link]

States with BJP government in orange; states with BJP led NDA coalition government in brown.

BJP is currently in power in six states (Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Goa) where the party enjoys a majority of its own. In four other states — Punjab, Jharkhand, Nagaland and Bihar — it shares power with other political parties of NDA coalition. The party was in the co-government with BJD in Orissa .BJP has earlier ruled Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh and till recently Uttarakhand.

List of current NDA Chief Ministers[link]

• Raman Singh – Chhattisgarh
• Manohar Parrikar – Goa
• Narendra Modi – Gujarat
• Prem Kumar Dhumal – Himachal Pradesh
• D. V. Sadananda Gowda – Karnataka
• Shivraj Singh Chauhan – Madhya Pradesh
• Arjun Munda – Jharkhand
• Nitish Kumar -Bihar
• Parkash Singh Badal -Punjab

Controversies and criticism[link]

Religious violence[link]

In March 1998, when BJP began its rule at the center attacks against Christians throughout India had increased significantly including the killings of priests, the raping of nuns, and the physical destruction of Christian institutions, schools, churches, colleges, and cemeteries.^[11]

Tehelka fake arms deal[link]

In 2001 then BJP President Bangaru Laxman accepted bribe of 100,000 (US$1,995)^[12] for his favourable recommendation to the Defence Ministry^[13] for supply of hand-held thermal imagers for the Indian Army^[14], from Tehelka journalists, who, posing as arms dealers, filmed him in a fake arms deal operation. On April 2012, he was sentenced to four years rigorous imprisonment.^[15]

2002 Gujarat religious communal violence[link]

In 2002, communal religious riots took place in Gujarat under BJP rule between Hindus and Muslims. The National Human Rights Commission criticized the government, pointing to "a comprehensive failure on the part of the State Government of Gujarat to control persistent violations of rights. A judicial commission headed by G.T. Nanavati, a former chief justice of the Indian Supreme Court, constituted to examine allegations of Gujarat state administration's involvement in the riots of 2002 said that there was no evidence to implicate either Modi or his administration in the riots.

Babri Masjid Demolition[link]

In a 2005 book former Intelligence Bureau (IB) Joint Director Maloy Krishna Dhar claimed that Babri Masjid demolition was planned 10 months in advance by top leaders of RSS, BJP and VHP and raised questions over the way the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, had handled the issue. Dhar claimed that he was directed to arrange the coverage of a key meeting of the BJP/Sangh Parivar and that the meeting "proved beyond doubt that they (RSS, BJP, VHP) had drawn up the blueprint of the Hindutva assault in the coming months and choreographed the ‘pralaya nritya’ (dance of destruction) at Ayodhya in December 1992... The RSS, BJP, VHP and the Bajrang Dal leaders present in the meeting amply agreed to work in a well-orchestrated manner." Claiming that the tapes of the meeting were personally handed over by him to his boss, he asserts that he has no doubts that his boss had shared the contents with the Prime Minister (Rao) and the Home Minister (S B Chavan). The author claimed that there was silent agreement that Ayodhya offered "a unique opportunity to take the Hindutva wave to the peak for deriving political benefit."^[16]

Liberhan Commission findings[link]

A 2009 report, authored by Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan, blamed 68 people for the demolition of the mosque – mostly leaders from the BJP and a few bureaucrats. Among those named in the report were AB Vajpayee, the former BJP prime minister, and LK Advani, the party's then (2009) leader in parliament. Kalyan Singh, who was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh during the mosque’s demolition, has also come in for harsh criticism in the report. He is accused of posting bureaucrats and police officers who would stay silent during the mosque’s demolition in Ayodhya.^[17] Former Education Minister in NDA Government Mr. Murli Manohar Joshi have also been found culpable in the demolition in the Liberhan Commissions' Report. Anju Gupta, an Indian police officer appeared as a prosecution witness. She was in charge of Advani's security on the day of the demolition and she revealed that Advani and Murali Manohar Joshi made inflammatory speeches.^[18]

List of presidents of the party[link]

Year	Name		Rationale
1980–1986		Atal Bihari Vajpayee
1986–1991		Lal Krishna Advani	First Term
1991–1993		Murli Manohar Joshi
1993–1998		Lal Krishna Advani	Second Term
1998–2000		Kushabhau Thakre
2000–2001		Bangaru Laxman
2001–2002		Jana Krishnamurthi
2002–2004		Venkaiah Naidu
2004–2006		Lal Krishna Advani	Third Term
2006–2009		Rajnath Singh	First Term (He was re-elected for second term in Dec 2006)
2009–		Nitin Gadkari

References[link]

External links[link]

Politics portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bharatiya Janata Party

• Bharatiya Janata Party — Official website
• Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad
• Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha
• BJP India
• Punjab BJP
• BJP Punjab
• Sukhminderpal Singh Grewal
• Sukhminderpal Singh Grewal
• Bharatiya Janata Party at the Open Directory Project

v t e Bharatiya Janata Party Presidents Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1980 - 1986) · Lal Krishna Advani(1986 - 1991, 1993-1998, 2004-2006) · Murli Manohar Joshi (1991 - 1993) · Kushabhau Thakre (April 1998 - August 2000) · Bangaru Laxman (August 2000 - March 2001) · Jana Krishnamurthi (March 2001 - July 2002)  · Venkaiah Naidu (July 2002 - October 2004) · Rajnath Singh (January 2006 - December 2009) · Nitin Gadkari (December 2009 - incumbent) Branches Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad · Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha · Bharatiya Kisan Sangh · Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh Party leaders Sushma Swaraj · Arun Jaitley · Venkaiah Naidu · Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi · Narendra Modi · Sushil Kumar Modi · Murli Manohar Joshi · Shivraj Singh Chauhan History Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh  · Bharatiya Jana Sangh  · Janata Party  · Organisation

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Sharad Yadav, a politician from the Janata Dal (United) party, is currently^[when?] a member of the Parliament of India representing the Madhepura constituency of Bihar in the Lok Sabha. He had also represented Bihar in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament.

He is also the current^[when?] convener of the NDA^[1]

He was also a member of the Indian Parliament from the Jabalpur constituency in Madhya Pradesh in 1977.

Controversies[link]

Sharad Yadav, along with others, were named in infamous multi-crore Hawala scandal for receiving 300,000 rupees towards a party fund. He was acquitted by Delhi High Court citing many reasons including that he did not confess and there was a lack of evidence of his guilt.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Profile on Rajya Sabha website

Sushma Swaraj
Leader of Opposition (Lok Sabha)
Incumbent
Assumed office 18 December 2009
Preceded by	Lal Krishna Advani
Constituency	Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh)
Minister of Information and Broadcasting
In office 30 September 2000 – 29 January 2003
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Chief Minister of Delhi
In office 13 October 1998 – 3 December 1998
Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Telecommunications
In office 19 March 1998 – 12 October 1998
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Minister of Information and Broadcasting
In office 16 May 1996 – 1 June 1996
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Haryana State Minister of Education, Food and Civil Supplies
In office 1987–1990
Haryana State Minister of Labour and Employment
In office 1977–1979
Personal details
Born	(1952-02-14) 14 February 1952 (age 60) Palwal, Haryana
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse(s)	Swaraj Kaushal
Residence	New Delhi
Alma mater	Punjab University, Chandigarh
Profession	Lawyer
Military service
Awards	Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in 2004 and 2010

Sushma Swaraj (Hindi: सुष्मा स्वराज pronunciation (help·info)) (born 14 February 1952) is an Indian politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)and Member of Parliament. She is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the 15th Lok Sabha. She is a former union cabinet minister of India and a former Chief Minister of Delhi. Also she served as the Chairperson of the BJP's 19 member campaign committee for the 2009 General Elections. She was the first female Chief Minister of Delhi.

Early life[link]

She was born in Palwal, Haryana. She was educated at Sanatan Dharma College, Ambala Cantonment and earned a B.A. degree. She studied LL.B. from the Law Department of Punjab University, Chandigarh. She is an advocate by profession.^[1]

She has been associated with many social and cultural bodies in various capacities. She was President of the Sahitya Sammelan, Haryana for four years.

Political career[link]

Sushma Swaraj began her political career as a student leader in the 1970s, organizing protests against Indira Gandhi's government. She was a member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly from 1977–82 and then from 1987–90. As a Janata Party MLA in Devi Lal's government, she was the Cabinet Minister of Labour and Employment (1977–1979). She joined the BJP in 1980. Under a combined Lok Dal-BJP government led by Devi Lal, she was the Cabinet Minister of Education, Food and Civil Supplies (1987–1990). She was judged Best Speaker of Haryana State Assembly for three consecutive years.

In 1980, 1984, and 1989, she unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from Karnal in Haryana. All three times, she was defeated by the Congress Party's Chiranji Lal Sharma.

She was elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1990. In 1996, she was elected to the 11th Lok Sabha from South Delhi. She was Union Cabinet Minister of Information and Broadcasting in 1996, during the 13-day Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government.

She was re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha for a 2nd term in 1998. Under the second Vajpayee government, she retained the Information and Broadcasting ministry and had additional charge of the Ministry of Telecommunications from 19 March to 12 October 1998.

She left the Union Cabinet from October – December 1998 to serve as the first woman Chief Minister of Delhi. The BJP lost the assembly elections, and she returned to national politics.

In 1999, she took on a high profile as she contested against the Congress party's President, Sonia Gandhi, from the Bellary constituency in Karnatka, which had returned Congress winners since India's independence. The fervent, high-pitched campaign came to an end with the expected loss of Sushma.

She returned to Parliament in April 2000 as a Rajya Sabha member from Uttarakhand.^[2] She was re-inducted into the cabinet as the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, which she held from September 2000 until January 2003. At that time, she was made the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, and also held the post of Minister of Parliamentary Affairs. She held these posts from January 2003 until May 2004, when the National Democratic Alliance government lost elections.

In a heavily publicized and emotionally charged episode following the elections, Sushma Swaraj threatened to shave her head, don a white saree and eat groundnuts (symbolically mourning) if Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born Congress leader, became Prime Minister of India.

She was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in April 2006 from Madhya Pradesh. She served as the deputy leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha. Speculation ran high that Sushma Swaraj was one of the top contenders to be President of the BJP, following Advani's resignation from that role in late 2005. Rajnath Singh ultimately was elected to that post.

She won the 2009 election to the 15th Lok Sabha from the Vidisha constituency in Madhya Pradesh, on a BJP candidacy, by a highest margin of 4.01 lakh votes. This is her 10th election.

She has been awarded by Outstanding Parliamentarian Award twice.

Leader of the opposition[link]

Sushma Swaraj appointed as leader of the opposition party and replaced Lal Krishna Advani in December 2009 in the 15th Lok Sabha,^[3]

Personal life[link]

She married Swaraj Kaushal Madahar on 13 July 1975 and has a daughter.

Positions held[link]

• 1977–82 and 1987–90 Member, Haryana Legislative Assembly.^[1]
• 1977–79 Cabinet Minister, Labour and Employment, Government of Haryana.^[1]
• 1987–90 Cabinet Minister, Education, Food and Civil Supplies, Government of Haryana.^[1]
• April 1990 Elected to Rajya Sabha
• 1996 Member, Eleventh Lok Sabha
• 16 May-1 June 1996 Union Cabinet Minister, Information and Broadcasting.^[1]
• 1998 Member, Twelfth Lok Sabha (2nd term)
• 19 March-12 Oct.1998 Union Cabinet Minister, Information and Broadcasting and Telecommunications (Additional charge)
• 13 Oct.-3 Dec. 1998 Chief Minister, Delhi
• April 2000 Elected to Rajya Sabha (2nd term)^[4]
• 30 Sept. 2000–29 Jan. 2003 Minister of Information and Broadcasting
• 29 Jan. 2003 – 22 May 2004 Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs
• April 2006 Re-elected to Rajya Sabha (3rd term)^[5]
• 16 May 2009 Elected to the 15th Lok Sabha.^[1]
• 3 June 2009 Elected as Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.^[1]
• 18 Dec 2009 Sushma Swaraj appointed as leader of the opposition party and replaced Lal Krishna Advani in December 2009.

External links[link]

• Official website of BJP

References[link]

Bal Thackeray
Founder and chief of the Shiv Sena
Personal details
Born	(1926-01-23) 23 January 1926 (age 86)[1] Mumbai, Pune, Maharashtra[2]
Political party	Shiv Sena
Spouse(s)	Mina Thackeray
Children	Bindumadhav Thackeray Jaidev Thackeray Uddhav Thackeray
Residence	Mumbai, India
As of May 4, 2008

Bal Keshav Thackeray^[1] ([ʈʰakəɾe]; born 23 January 1926^[1]), popularly known as Hinduhriday Samraat Balasaheb Thackeray, is an Indian politician, founder and chief of the Shiv Sena, a right-wing Hindu nationalist, and Marathi ethnocentric party active mainly in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.

Born in Pune, Thackeray began his professional career as a cartoonist with the English language daily the The Free Press Journal in Mumbai, but left it in 1960 to form his own political weekly Marmik. His political philosophy was largely shaped by his father Keshav Sitaram Thackeray, a leading figure in the Samyukta Maharashtra movement (United Maharashtra movement), which advocated the creation of a separate linguistic state of Maharashtra. Through Marmik, he campaigned against the growing influence of Gujaratis, Marwaris, and southern Indians in Mumbai.^[1] In 1966, Thackeray formed the Shiv Sena party to advocate more strongly the place of Maharashtrians in Mumbai's political and professional landscape. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Thackeray built the party by forming temporary alliances with nearly all of Maharashtra's political parties.^[3]

A controversial figure, Thackeray has attracted significant attention by making statements expressing admiration for Hitler as an artist and demagogue, while condemning the Holocaust, inciting violence against Muslims, expressing support for the LTTE, and taking strong stances on the aspects of popular culture, including fervent opposition to the celebration of Valentine's Day.^[3]

Early life and career[link]

He was born to Keshav Sitaram Thackeray (also known as Prabodhankar Thackeray because of his articles in his fortnightly magazine named Prabodhan or 'Enlightenment') in a lower-middle class, Marathi family. Keshav Thackeray was a progressive social activist and writer who was against caste biases and played a key role in the Samyukta Maharashtra Chalwal (literally, United Maharashtra Movement) in the 1950s to form the Marathi-speaking state of Maharashtra with Mumbai as its capital. Shiv sainiks called them 'Hindu Hriday Samrat' with love (Emperor of Hindu's heart)

Bal Thackeray started his career as a cartoonist in the Free Press Journal in Mumbai.^[4] His cartoons were also published in the Sunday edition of The Times of India. In 1960, he launched a cartoon weekly Marmik with his brother.^[4] He used it to campaign against the growing numbers of and influence of non-Marathi people in Mumbai targeting Gujaratis and South Indian labor workers.^[4]

He formed the Shiv Sena on 19 June 1966 with the intent of fighting for the rights of the natives of the state of Maharashtra (called Maharashtrians).^[5] The early objective of the Shiv Sena was to ensure job security for Maharashtrians competing against immigrants from southern India, Gujaratis and Marwaris.^[6]

In 1989, the Sena's newspaper Saamna was launched.^[7]

Politically, the Sena was anti-communist, and wrested control of major trade unions in Mumbai from the Communist Party of India and demanded protection money(extortion) from mainly Gujarati and marwari business leaders. It later allied itself with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the common issue of Hindu Nationalism which both parties believed in. The BJP-Shiv Sena combine won the 1995 Maharashtra State Assembly elections and came to power. During the tenure of the government from 1995 to 1999, Thackeray was nicknamed 'remote control' since he played a major role in government policies and decisions from behind the scenes.

On July 28, 1999 Bal Thackeray was banned from voting and contesting in any election for six years from December 11, 1999 till December 10, 2005 on the recommendations of the Election Commission.^[8] After the six-year voting ban on Bal Thackeray was lifted in 2005, he voted for the first time in the 2006 BMC elections.^[9]

Thackeray has claimed that the Shiv Sena has helped the Marathi manoos (the Marathi commoner) in Mumbai and also fought for the rights of Hindu people,Thackeray is a staunch Hindu and believes that Hindus must be organised to struggle against those who oppose their identity and religion.^[10] especially in the public sector.^[11] Opposition leftist parties allege that the Shiv Sena has done little to solve the problem of unemployment facing a large proportion of Maharashtrian youth during its tenure, in contradiction to its ideological foundation of 'sons of the soil.'^[12]

Controversies[link]

In 2002, Thackeray issued a call to form Hindu suicide squads to counter alleged Muslim violence:

If such suicide squads are formed only then can we take on perpetrators of mindless violence.^[13]

In reaction to Thackeray’s call, Maharashtra government registered a case against him for inciting enmity between different groups.^[14]

Asia Times further reported on Thackeray’s rhetoric:

'to take the Muslims head on'. 'Trouble-making Muslims should be wiped out from the country... kick out the four crore [40 million] Bangladeshi Muslims and then the country will be secure', the Shiv Sena leader said. Urging Hindus to start calling India 'Hindu rashtra' (Hindu nation), he maintained that only 'our religion Hinduism is to be honored here' and then 'we will look after other religions'.^[15]

At least two organizations founded and managed by the retired Indian Army officers namely Lt Col (retired) Jayant Rao Chitale and Lt Ge. P.N. Hoon (former commander-in-chief of the Western Command), answered Bal Thackeray’s call to set up the suicide squads in India. Lt Gen. Hoon claimed, Thackeray instructed him to set up the training camps through his writings and inflammatory articles.^[16]

Thackeray continues to publish inflammatory editorials in his party's newsletter, Saamana (Confrontation).

In February 2010, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's film My Name Is Khan was opposed by Bal Thackeray and his party members for the former's remarks supporting cultural interaction between Indians and Pakistanis help build friendly relations between the two nations. This especially created a furore since it was unofficially decided by most people in India to not allow Pakistanis to work in India due to the ramprant terror attacks carried out on Indian Soil by militants sponsored by Pakistani elements.^[17][18]

Views on Muslims[link]

Thackeray's views have typically been highly anti-Muslim. He is usually attacking them and occasionally sympathizing with them. He has declared that he is 'not against every Muslim, but only those who reside in this country but do not obey the laws of the land.... I consider such people traitors.'^[19] His party is viewed as being anti-Muslim, though Shiv Sainiks officially reject this accusation.^[20] When explaining his views on Hindutva, he has conflated Islam with violence and has called for Hindus to 'fight terrorism and fight Islam'.^[21] In an interview in Suketu Mehta's book 'Maximum City', he advocates the hanging of Indian Muslims who indulge in terrorism and mass expulsion of Bangladeshi Muslim migrants from India.

In the 1980s he had stated that:

'"They [Muslims] are spreading like a cancer and should be operated on like a cancer. The... country should be saved from the Muslims and the police should support them [Hindu Maha Sangh] in their struggle just like the police in Punjab were sympathetic to the Khalistanis.'^[22]

Balasaheb Thackeray criticized and challenged Indian Muslims through his party newspaper, Sāmna, around the time the 16th century Babri Masjid was demolished by members of the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in the northern town of Ayodhya, on December 6, 1992. Hindus believe that the Babri Mosque was built on the demolished ruins of a Hindu temple in the 16th century, and consider it to be the Ram Janmabhoomi (birthplace of the Hindu God Rama, an avatar of Vishnu, one of the Trimurti of the Hindu Pantheon). The communal riots that followed the demolition of the mosque led to nearly a 1000 deaths and many enquiry committees constituted by the government have accused Shiv Sena and Thackeray of being involved in and coordinating the riots. Thackeray however has shown no regret and feels that he is proud of what he and his partymen did back in those days because he feels that if it was not for the Shiv Sena then no one would have been able to control the Muslims after the demolition of the mosque.

However, in an interview in 1998, he claims to have tempered his stance on many issues that the Shiv Sena had with Muslims, particularly regarding the Babri Mosque or Ram Janmabhoomi issue,^[23] saying:

'We must look after the Muslims and treat them as part of us.'^[23]

Although 10 years later in 2008, he wrote:

'Islamic terrorism is growing and Hindu terrorism is the only way to counter it. We need suicide bomb squads to protect India and Hindus'.^[24]

He has since made more inflammatory statements regarding Muslims, and reiterated his desire for Hindus to unite across linguistic barriers and to see 'a Hindustan for Hindus' and to 'bring Islam in this country down to its knees'.^[25]

However, he has also expressed admiration for Muslims in Mumbai in the wake of the 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings perpetrated by Islamic fundamentalists. In response to threats made by the leader of the Samajwadi Party that accusations of terrorism directed at Indian Muslims would bring about communal strife, Thackeray said that the unity of Mumbaikars (residents of Mumbai) in the wake of the terrorist attacks was 'a slap to fanatics of Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi' and that Thackeray 'salute(s) those Muslims who participated in the two minutes' silence on July 18 to mourn the blast victims'.^[26]

Views on people from Uttar Pradesh & Bihar[link]

On March 6, 2008, Bal Thackeray issued an editorial titled Ek Bihari, Sau Bimari^[27] (One Bihari, Hundred maladies)^[28] in Saamna, Shiv Sena's political mouthpiece, saying Biharis were 'an unwanted lot' in the Maharashtra. In what was termed as an apparent bid to recapture his party's Marathi sons of soil plank, which was being hijacked by the MNS leader Raj Thackeray, Bal Thackeray wrote about Biharis,^[29]

'They [Biharis] are not wanted in southern India, Assam and also Punjab and Chandigarh. The Biharis have antagonised local population wherever they had settled. The UP-Bihari MPs have shown their ingratitude towards Mumbai and Maharashtra with an anti-Marathi tirade in Parliament.'^[29]

He also denounced Bihari MPs, saying they were 'spitting in the same plate from which they ate' by criticising Mumbaikars and Maharashtrians. He also wrote, 'They are trying to add fuel to the fire that has been extinguished, by saying that Mumbaikars have rotten brains'. Additionally, he criticized a major holiday celebrated by people from Bihar, and eastern UP which happens six days after the Hindu New Year (Diwali) known as Chath Pooja. He said that it wasn't a real holiday.^[30] The outburst was apparently in response to MPs from Bihar who had disrupted the proceedings of the Lok Sabha in protest against the attacks on North Indians.^[30]

Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar, upset with the remarks, demanded that the Prime Minister and the Centre intervene in the matter immediately. The Saamna editorial prompted at least 16 Lok Sabha MPs from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, belonging to the RJD, JD (U), SP and the Congress, to give notice for breach of privilege proceedings against Bal Thackeray.^[30] After the matter was raised in the Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said: 'If anybody has made any comment on our members’ functioning in the conduct of business in the House, not only do we treat that with the contempt that it deserves, but also any action that may be necessary will be taken according to procedure and well established norms. Nobody will be spared.'^[30]

On March 27, 2008 in protest against Balasaheb Thackeray's editorial, leaders of Shiv Sena in Delhi resigned citing its 'outrageous conduct' towards non-Marathis in Maharashtra and announced that they will form a separate party.^[31] Addressing a press conference Shiv Sena's North India chief Jai Bhagwan Goyal said the decision to leave the party was taken because of the 'partial attitude' of the party high command towards Maharashtrians. 'Shiv Sena is no different from Khalistan and Jammu and Kashmir militant groups which are trying to create a rift between people along regional lines. The main aim of these forces is to split our country. Like the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, the Shiv Sena too has demeaned North Indians and treated them inhumanely', he said.^[31][32]

Admiration of Hitler[link]

Thackeray^[33][34] has attracted controversy for his praise of Adolf Hitler.

Apparently he was quoted by Asiaweek as saying:

'I am a great admirer of Hitler, and I am not ashamed to say so! I do not say that I agree with all the methods he employed, but he was a wonderful organizer and orator, and I feel that he and I have several things in common.... What India really needs is a dictator who will rule benevolently, but with an iron hand.' [2]

In an interview with the Indian Express that was printed on January 29, 2007, Thackeray remarked,

Hitler did very cruel and ugly things. But he was an artist, I love him (for that). He had the power to carry the whole nation, the mob with him. You have to think what magic he had. He was a miracle.... The killing of Jews was wrong. But the good part about Hitler was that he was an artist. He was a daredevil. He had good qualities and bad. I may also have good qualities and bad ones. [3]

However, in the Star Talk talk show on channel Star Plus, he claimed himself not to admire Hitler.^[35]

Valentine's Day protests[link]

Boycotting shops and restaurants that allow young people to celebrate the Western holiday of Valentine's Day, interpreted as bestial, indecent and a-Bharatiya (un-Indian) by Thackeray, is one of his recent actions. These boycotts have often culminated in violence and the destruction of those shops.

On February 14, 2006, Balasaheb Thackeray condemned and apologized for the violent attacks of Shiv Sena members upon a private Valentine's Day celebration in Mumbai. 'It is said that women were beaten up in the Nallasopara incident. If that really happened, then it is a symbol of cowardice', Thackeray said, 'I have always instructed Shiv Sainiks that in any situation women should not be humiliated and harassed.'[4] Thackeray and the Shiv Sena remain opposed to Valentine's Day celebrations, although they may support an 'Indian alternative'.[5] However, in some cases, the Sena has been more tolerant during Valentine's Day celebrations and consider itself self appointed cultural pride ^[36]

Threats for the Final match of ICC World Cup Cricket Tournament[link]

Just before the "ICC World Cup Cricket Tournament" begins, Manohar Joshi, a senior leader of Shiv Sena, announced that, if the Pakistan team reaches the final (scheduled in Mumbai), Bal Thackeray will decide whether to allow them to play or not.^[37]

Cultural references[link]

Thackery is satirized in Salman Rushdie's novel The Moor's Last Sigh as 'Raman Fielding'. Suketu Mehta interviews Thackeray in his critically acclaimed, Pulitzer-nominated, non-fiction 2004 book Maximum City. The Sarkar (film) series is reportedly based on the Thackeray family and this idea was furthered in the second film in which the character of Sanjay Somji was expected to represent Raj Thackeray.

See also[link]

• Shiv Sena
• Hindutva
• Babri Mosque
• Saamna

References[link]

External links[link]

• Profile by BBC dated July 19, 2000 referring to him as the "uncrowned monarch of Maharashtra"
• "Bal Thackeray: The Tiger who can't be tamed" - HindustanTimes.com article dated September 8, 2004
• Shiv Sena Informational piece circulated during the 2004 election year
• [6]

Syed Shahnawaz Hussain is a top politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party and a former Cabinet Minister.

Born in Supaul Bihar in 1968, he has a Diploma in Engineering from Patna and Delhi.

He was elected to 13th Lok Sabha in 1999 and was appointed Minister of State and held various portfolios like food processing industries, youth affairs and sports and human resource development at different times. He was given independent charge of Ministry of Coal in 2001 and was elevated to the rank of a Cabinet Minister with Civil Aviation portfolio in September 2001, thereby becoming the youngest Cabinet Minister ever in the Government of India. Later he held the Textiles portfolio as Cabinet Minister from 2003 to 2004.He is often referred to as 'The Original Youth leader'

Though he lost in 2004 general elections, he re-entered the Lok Sabha in November 2006 in a bye-election when he won the vacant seat of Bhagalpur in Bihar. He entered 15th Lok Sabha from Bhagalpur in 2009.^[1]

He is one of the few prominent Muslim leaders in the Bharatiya Janata Party.

While in Delhi, he organized rickshaw-pullers and fought for the rights of the poor hailing from his home state of Bihar. He candidly voiced against the poor and poverty-stricken image of those hailing from Bihar and blames fellow native Laloo Prasad Yadav for projecting the poor image.

Election record[link]

• 1999 : Lok Sabha elections contested from Kishanganj, Won
• 2004 : Lok Sabha elections contested from Kishanganj,Lost
• 2006 : Contested Lok Sabha By-election from Bhagalpur,Won
• 2009 : Lok Sabha elections contested from Bhagalpur.Won

Positions Held[link]

• All India Secretary, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJP Youth Wing);1999
• All India Secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party, 2006
• National Spokesperson, Bhaartiya janata Party, 2010

References[link]

1. ^ "Memeber Profile - Lok Sabha". http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/Members/Biography.aspx?mpsno=152. Retrieved 17 February 2012. 

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