The Bharatiya Jana Sangh (abbreviated BJS, and often known simply as the Jan Sangh) existed from 1951 to 1980, whereupon it was succeeded by the Bharatiya Janata Party, one of India's largest political parties. Its name means Indian People's Alliance in Hindi.

The BJS was started by Syama Prasad Mookerjee on 21 October 1951 at Delhi in consultation with the RSS. The symbol of the party in Indian elections was an oil-lamp. In 1952 general elections to the Parliament of India, Bharatiya Jana Sangh had won three seats; Mookerjee being one of the winning candidates. The BJS would often link up on issues and debates with the right-wing Swatantra Party of Chakravarti Rajgopalachari. Its strongest parliamentary performance came in the 1967 elections, when the Congress majority was its thinnest-ever.

See also: Hindu nationalism, Hindutva

The BJS was ideologically close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and derived most of its political activist base and candidates from the RSS ranks. The BJS was considered the political arm of Hindu Nationalism, with the RSS being the central base. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, formed in 1964 would become the religious arm.

Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee (or Syama Prasad Mukherjee, Bengali: শ্যামাপ্রসাদ মুখোপাধ্যায় Shêmproshad Mukhopaddhae) (July 6, 1901 – June 23, 1953) was a minister in Jawaharlal Nehru's Cabinet as a Minister for Industry and Supply.

Mookerjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1951, after the differences with Pandit Nehru.

Mookerjee was born on July 6, 1901 in Kolkata. His father was Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee, a well-respected advocate in Bengal, who became the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta, and his mother was Lady Jogmaya Devi Mookerjee.

Mookerjee obtained his degrees from the University of Calcutta. He graduated in English securing the first position in first class in 1921 and also did MA in 1923 and BL in 1924. He became a fellow of the Senate in 1923. He enrolled as an advocate in Calcutta High Court in 1924 after his father had died shortly after losing to Syed Hasan Imam at Patna high court. Subsequently he left for England in 1926 to study at Lincoln's Inn and became a barrister in 1927. At the age of 33, he became the youngest Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta (1934), and held the office till 1938.

Manoj Kumar Tiwari (born 1 February 1971) is a singer, actor, television presenter and music director^{[clarification needed]} from Bihar, India. He has acted in the Bhojpuri genre of the Indian film industry and in 2005 was reported to be one of the two leading male stars of that genre.

Manoj Tiwari was born on 1 February 1971, one of the six children of Chandra Deo Tiwari and Lalita Devi. His birthplace was Atarwalia, a small village in Kaimur district of Bihar.

Prior to Tiwari's involvement in cinema, he had spent ten years working as a singer.

In 2003, he took a role in the film Sasura Bada Paise Wala. The BBC reported that the production costs of US$ 65,000 were turned into takings of US$ 3 million, while The Hindu reported a 35,000–40,000 lakh cost resulting in takings of 4.5 crore. Indian Express reported a figure of 6.5 crore as the takings. The Bihar Jharkhand Motion Picture Association saw this production as being a turning point for Bhojpuri cinema. He followed this with the successful films Daroga Babu I Love You and Bandhan Toote Na. Tiwari is reported to have said in 2005 that although the Bhojpuri genre had generally kept to its traditional storylines, "Gone are the double entendres, thin story lines and poor technical quality. Films have been slick and producers are willing to put in close to Rs 80 lakh in a film because the returns are not bad,"