Balraj Madhok

2021-12-27T19:29:02Z

171.50.187.247:

{{short description|Indian politician}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Balraj Madhok
| office = [[Bharatiya Jana Sangh|President of Bharatiya Jana Sangh]]
| term_start = 1966
| term_end = 1967
| predecessor = [[Bachhraj Vyas]]
| successor = [[Deendayal Upadhyaya]]
| image =
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1920|02|25}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|2016|5|2|1920|2|25|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Skardu]], [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]], [[British India]]<br /> (now in [[Gilgit-Baltistan]], [[Pakistan]])
| death_place = [[Delhi]], [[India]]
| nationality = Indian
| alma_mater = [[DAV College|Dayanand Anglo-Vedic College]], [[Lahore]]
| profession = Lecturer in history
| party = [[Bharatiya Jana Sangh]]
| occupation = Activist, politician
}}

'''Balraj Madhok''' (25 February 1920 – 2 May 2016) was an Indian political activist and politician from [[Jammu]]. Originally an activist of the [[nationalist]] organisation [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] (RSS), he later worked as a politician in the [[Bharatiya Jan Sangh]] (BJS). Madhok was instrumental in launching the RSS in the princely state of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] and later the political party [[Jammu Praja Parishad]] for representing the interests of Jammu Hindus. He eventually rose to become the president of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and led its successful contest in the [[1967 Indian general election|general election of 1967]]. He resigned from the party afterwards due to political differences with [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]] and [[L. K. Advani]]. {{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

==Early life==
Madhok came from a [[Jammu]]-based [[Khatri]] family with [[Arya Samaj]] leanings.{{sfn|Jaffrelot, Religion, Caste and Politics|2011|p=288}} His father Jagannath Madhok was from Jallen in the [[Gujranwala]] district of [[Punjab, Pakistan|West Punjab]], and worked as an official in the Government of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] in the [[Ladakh]] division.<ref name=bio/> Balraj Madhok was born in [[Skardu]], [[Baltistan]] and spent early childhood at Jallen. He studied in [[Srinagar]], the Prince of Wales College in [[Jammu]] and the [[Dayanand College|Dayanand Anglo-Vedic College]] (DAV College) in [[Lahore]], graduating with B. A. Honours in History in 1940.<ref name=bio>
{{cite news |title=Balraj Madhok: A Life Sketch |url=http://janasangh.com/jsart.aspx?stid=194 |newspaper=Jana Sangh Today |date=February 2007 |access-date=2016-03-03}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
He married Kamla, who was a professor at the [[Delhi University]]. He had two daughters.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

He died at the age of 96 on 2 May 2016.<ref>{{cite news|title=Veteran RSS leader Balraj Madhok dies|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/veteran-rss-leader-balraj-madhok-dies/story-6KIAvI7XfuqifafXAEKLoL.html|access-date=2 May 2016|work=Hindustan Times|date=2 May 2016}}</ref> He was unwell for some time and had been admitted to the [[All India Institute of Medical Sciences]] in New Delhi for a month. His death was condoled by many including the [[Prime Minister of India]] [[Narendra Modi]] and several others including [[Lal Krishna Advani]].<ref>[http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/former-jan-sangh-president-balraj-madhok-passes-away/article8547021.ece?w=alauto Former Jan Sangh president Balraj Madhok passes away], The Hindu, 2 May 2016.</ref> Prime Minister Modi visited Madhok's residence to pay his last respects.

==Jammu and Kashmir==
While studying in Jammu, Madhok joined the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] (RSS) in 1938, which he found to be close to the Arya Samaj way of thinking. He became a [[RSS pracharak|pracharak]] (full-time worker) for the RSS in 1942 and was appointed as a worker for Jammu.{{sfn|Jaffrelot, Religion, Caste and Politics|2011|p=288}} He is said to have worked in this position for about eight months building up the RSS network. He then moved to [[Srinagar]] in 1944 as a lecturer in history at the DAV College and continued to work as an RSS organiser. He established the RSS network in the [[Kashmir Valley]].{{sfn|Sahagala, Jammu & Kashmir: A State in Turbulence|2011|p=73}} When the Hindu refugees started arriving in Srinagar after the [[Partition of India|Partition]], they also joined the RSS branches. [[Mehr Chand Mahajan]], the Prime Minister of Jammu & Kashmir from 15 October 1947, was the Chairman of the managing society of the DAV College. {{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

After the state joined India and [[Sheikh Abdullah]] was appointed as the Head of Emergency Administration in the Kashmir Valley, Madhok moved back to Jammu. He worked to form the [[Jammu Praja Parishad|Praja Parishad]] party, founded in November 1947, in collaboration with Hari Wazir. [[Prem Nath Dogra]] also joined later. The party demanded the complete unification of Jammu and Kashmir with India, in opposition to the loose autonomy negotiated between Abdullah and [[Jawaharlal Nehru|Nehru]] (later embodied in the [[Article 370]]). Madhok was extended from Jammu and Kashmir by Sheikh Abdullah as a result of his political stance.{{sfn|Jaffrelot, Religion, Caste and Politics|2011|p=288}}{{sfn|Das Gupta, Jammu and Kashmir|2012|p=195}}

Madhok moved to Delhi in 1948 and started teaching at the Panjab University College, which was established for the education of refugees from West Punjab.{{sfn|Jaffrelot, Religion, Caste and Politics|2011|p=288}} Later, he was a lecturer of history at the DAV College in Delhi affiliated to the [[Delhi University]].<ref>[http://www.du.ac.in/du/index.php?page=p-g-d-a-v-college-evening P.G.D.A.V. College (Evening)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311171138/http://www.du.ac.in/du/index.php?page=p-g-d-a-v-college-evening |date=11 March 2016 }}, University of Delhi, retrieved 2015-05-08.</ref>

In 1951, Madhok launched the student union of the [[Sangh Parivar]], ''viz''., the [[Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad]].{{sfn|Jaffrelot, Hindu Nationalist Movement|1996|p=127}}

==Bharatiya Jana Sangh==
In 1951, Madhok joined [[Shyama Prasad Mookerjee]] in the formation of what later become the political party of the [[Sangh Parivar]], the [[Bharatiya Jan Sangh|Bharatiya Jana Sangh]]. The Bengal branch of the Jana Sangh was established by Mookerjee on 23 April 1951 and the Panjab and Delhi branch was established by Madhok a month later, on 27 May 1951. Madhok served as the secretary of the Panjab branch and later, a member of the Working Committee of the national organisation.{{sfn|Jaffrelot, Hindu Nationalism Reader|2007|p=159}} He was part of the RSS-dominated Working Committee of the Jana Sangh in 1954, which ensured the ouster of the traditional politician wing led by the President [[M. C. Sharma]]. The Delhi branch of the party was dissolved and then reconstituted with RSS pracharaks at the helm. Madhok continued to be active in the Delhi branch of Jana Sangh, and won the Lok Sabha seat for Delhi in 1961.{{sfn|Jaffrelot, Religion, Caste and Politics|2011|p=289}}{{sfn|Jaffrelot, Hindu Nationalist Movement|1996|p=122}}

In 1966–67, Madhok rose to become the President of the Jana Sangh.{{sfn|Jaffrelot, Hindu Nationalism Reader|2007|p=159}} He led the party in the [[1967 Indian general election|general election of 1967]], when the party won 35 seats in the Lok Sabha, its highest tally. Madhok tried to create a coalition of rightist forces along with the [[Swatantra Party]]. He saw the split in the [[Indian National Congress|Congress party]] in 1969 as an opportunity to expand the role of Jana Sangh. However, the strategy was opposed by [[A. B. Vajpayee]], who represented the hardline RSS faction inside the party. Madhok denounced what he called the party's `leftist' leanings and the influence of the RSS on its functioning. His stand led to his marginalisation in the party. In 1973, [[L. K. Advani]], who became the president, expelled Madhok from the party for three years.{{sfn|Jaffrelot, Hindu Nationalism Reader|2007|p=159}}

Madhok was arrested during the [[Indian Emergency|Emergency]] and was imprisoned for 18 months, (1975–1977). He joined the [[Janata Party]], into which Jana Sangh merged, but resigned in 1979 and tried to revive Jana Sangh under the name Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh. However, the party was not successful.{{citation needed|date=November 2010}}

In an interview with the ''[[Hindustan Times]]'' in 2010 on the occasion of his 90th birthday, he claimed that his then opponent [[Indira Gandhi]] had offered him the post of a central Minister in 1980 on her return to power.{{citation needed|date=November 2010}}

==Later career==
Right from his expulsion in 1973, Madhok remained a pungent critic of [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] leaders [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]], [[Lal Krishna Advani]] and their policies. During his last years, he resided in the [[Rajendra Nagar, Delhi|New Rajinder Nagar]] area of [[New Delhi]]. The road where his house is located stands named as ''Jagannath Madhok Lane''.

==Works==
Madhok has authored over thirty books. A good number of them were on the [[Kashmir conflict]]:
* ''Kashmir Problem: A Story of Bungling'' (Bharti Sahitya Sadan, 1952)
* ''Kashmir: Centre of New Alignments'' (Deepak Prakashan, 1963)
* ''Kashmir: The Storm Center of The World'' (A. Ghosh, Texas, 1992)
* ''A Story of Bungling in Kashmir'' (Young Asia Publications, 1972)
* ''Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh: Problem & Solution'' (Reliance Publishing House, 1987)
* ''Kargil and Indo-Pak Relations''
some on [[Hindu nationalism]]:
* ''Indian Nationalism'' (Bharati Sahitya Sadan, 1969)
* ''Indianisation? What, Why and How'' (S. Chand, 1970)
and others on general political affairs:
* ''Hindustan on the Cross Roads'' (Mehta Brothers, Lahore, 1946)
* ''Political Trends in India'' (S. Chand, 1959)
* ''Portrait of a Martyr: Biography of Shyama Prasad Mukerjee''
* ''India's Foreign Policy & National Affairs'' (Bharatiya Sahitya Sadan, 1969)
* ''Murder of Democracy'' (S. Chand, 1973)
* ''Reflections of a Detenu'' (Newman Group, 1978)
* ''Stormy Decade: Indian Politics, 1970–1980'' (Indian Book Gallery, 1980)
* ''Punjab problem, the Muslim connection'' (Hindu World Publications, 1985)
He also wrote in Hindi:
* ''Jeet Ya Haar'' (in Hindi)
* ''Jindgi Ka Safar'' parts 1, 2 and 3 (in Hindi)

[[Christophe Jaffrelot]] has included extracts from ''Indianisation? What, Why and How'' in his ''Hindu Nationalism - A Reader''.{{sfn|Jaffrelot, Hindu Nationalism Reader|2007|loc=Chapter 9}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}
; Sources
* {{citation |last=Das Gupta |first=Jyoti Bhusan |title=Jammu and Kashmir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dpTpCAAAQBAJ&pg |date=2012 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-94-011-9231-6 |ref={{sfnref|Das Gupta, Jammu and Kashmir|2012}}}}
* {{citation |last=Jaffrelot |first=Christophe |author-link=Christophe Jaffrelot |title=The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sICSb-UMiQYC&pg=PA67 |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers |year=1996 |isbn=978-1850653011 |ref={{sfnref|Jaffrelot, Hindu Nationalist Movement|1996}}}}
* {{cite book |first=Bal Raj |last=Madhok |author-link=Balraj Madhok |title=Kashmir: The Storm Centre of the World |url=http://www.koausa.org/storm/index.html |publisher=A. Ghosh |location=Houston, Texas |year=1992 |isbn=9780961161491 |ref={{sfnref|Madhok, Kashmir Storm Centre of the World|1992}}}}
* {{citation |last=Sahagala |first=Narendra |title=Jammu & Kashmir: A State in Turbulence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MwW3AgAAQBAJ&pg=PT5 |year=2011 |publisher=Suruchi Prakashan |isbn=978-81-89622-83-1 |ref={{sfnref|Sahagala, Jammu & Kashmir: A State in Turbulence|2011}}}}

== Further reading ==
* {{citation |last=Varshney |first=M. R. |title=Jana Sangh, RSS and Balraj Madhok |publisher=Varshney College |location=Aligarh}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.janasangh.com/jsart.aspx?stid=194 Profile at Jana Sangh's website]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Madhok, Balraj}}
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Balraj Madhok