16-31 Mar, 2010 - Bharatiya Janata Party

and particularly of Indira Gandhiherself. But that did not detract himfrom doing what he thought was hisduty to the nation. JP was hesitantmainly because of his health. Hewas a diabetic and had acuteprostrate gland issues. He said thathe would not be able to live for longand his health did not permit him toundertake such an arduous task.Ramnathji assured him that hewould have his prostrate operationdone in Vellore, which he eventuallygot done later. But JP could still notmake up his mind. At that point,Ramnathji, a great and traditionalHindu believer, suggested that allof them should go to Tirupati, havedarshan and prayers and from there,go to Madras as it was known then,and continue the discussions. Andthey all left for Tirupati.During the darshan at Tirupati,Ramdhari Singh Dinkar openlyprayed to Lord Balaji, to the hearingof JP and the others, that whateverremaining years of life Dinkar hadthe Lord should give them to JP tohelp him serve the cause of themotherland.And they all returned to Madrasand to Ramnathji’s house in theExpress Estates in Mount Roadwhere the office of The IndianExpress was also situated. Withinhours, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar fellon the lap of Ramnath Goenka anddied — yes he died when JP, Nanajiand Achyut Patwardhan werearound. It was clear that Lord Balajihad answered Dinkar’s prayers. JP’sdecision to lead the movement camein no time.Despite my several requestsNanaji had refused to write about itin The Indian Express. When I askedhim how the people of India willknow about it, he said that he hadwritten it in his diary and he wouldlike it to be known after his death.Now that he is no more, I feltMarch 16-31, 2010 8free to write about it.The rest is known history. Afterhis prostrate operation JP began tolead one of the biggest massmovements against corruption infree India and that led to theimposition of the infamousEmergency on India, arrest of allnational opposition leaders and the~~~~~~☯☯☯~~~~~~After his prostrateoperation JP began to leadone of the biggest massmovements againstcorruption in free Indiaand that led to theimposition of the infamousEmergency on India, arrestof all national oppositionleaders and the ban on theRSS. That was the bestperiod in the life of Nanaji.He was one of the initiatorsof the under- groundmovement that finallyexploded as the JanataWave when in 1977 IndiraGandhi, with a view tosecuring a mandate for herautocracy declaredelections to Parliament~~~~~~☯☯☯~~~~~~ban on the RSS. That was the bestperiod in the life of Nanaji. He wasone of the initiators of the undergroundmovement that finallyexploded as the Janata Wave whenin 1977 Indira Gandhi, with a view tosecuring a mandate for her autocracydeclared elections to Parliament, notknowing that without herintelligence agencies having a whiffof it, the underground movementhad generated a political tornadoagainst her.Nanaji was the architect of theJanata Party. He contested electionsfor the first time and won. He refusedto join the ministry when MorarjiDesai insisted he should be in thecabinet.Later, when the Janata Partysplit and the Bharatiya Janata Partywas formed in 1980, Nanajiannounced that he would like toretire from active politics as he wasattaining the age of 65. A new role— that of a social worker —to liftmoral and spiritual values and topromote economic and socialwellbeing of the distanced peopleawaited him. He started his workfirst in the most backward districtsof Gonda in UP and next in theequally drought-prone and povertyriddenBead district in Maharashtraand finally settled to do a morecomprehensive work of socioeconomicprogress with moralvalues covering some 500 villagesin Chitrakoot district. The thenpresident,Dr Abdul Kalam visitedNanaji’s Chitrakoot project andpraised it as the most suitable toIndia, noting that almost 80 villagesin the district had be- comelitigation-free! That was his finalkarma bhoomi, even though thewhole country was his karmabhoomi.He once told me that when hewas a child he had nothing to eat formany days.But that did not turn him into aNaxalite. But his introduction to theRSS at the right age, and associationwith the right persons, had turnedhim into a great nationalist who livedfor his motherland’s glory andnothing else. •(The writer is co-convenor of theSwadeshi Jagaran Manch)(Courtesy: The Indian Express)