|
Lal Krishna Advani (Sindhi: लाल कृष्ण आडवाणी) also known as Lal Kishenchand Advani (born November 8, 1927/1929, Karachi, British India) was the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) until year-end 2005 and is Leader of the Opposition in the 14th Lok Sabha. He is a prominent figure in his party and was the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister in the Indian government (1998-2004). He is considered to be the most influential leader in his party. He was conferred the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for the year 1999. He is an accused conspirator in the 1992 Babri Masjid case, and the resulting communal tensions in India. He is also accused as an absconder in Mohammed Ali Jinnah murder conspiracy case still registered in a Pakistani Police File in Karachi, though the government has stated that no charges will be pressed. Early life and education Advani was born on November 8, 1929 in Karachi, British India to Kishichand D. Advani. His early schooling was at Saint Patrick's High School, Karachi in Karachi. He later joined the D.G. National College in Hyderabad, Sindh (now in Pakistan). He later graduated in Law from the Government Law College Bombay University. Family L.K. Advani is married to Kamla Advani. They have one son Jayant and daughter Pratibha. Early Political activities Advani joined the RSS in 1942 Advani is credited with turning the BJP into a significant force in Indian politics by undertaking the Ratha Yatra (Chariot tour) to mobilize support for the building of a temple dedicated to Lord Rama in Ayodhya, believed to be his birthplace. L.K Advani is known for his firm views on the issues of terrorism and Pakistan though in 2005, while touring Pakistan, he made conciliatory remarks about Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan resulting in much controversy. Here after Advani, was forced to abdicate from his post as BJP President by the VHP for his remarks on Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Posts held in the Indian Government
Babri Masjid demolition and the consequences The BJP launched a decade-long movement led by Advani on the issue of the Ram Temple. The BJP demanded that a temple dedicated to Lord Rama be created on the spot where, according to their claim, a temple stood till Babar's invasion of India. The Ayodhya site is claimed by both Hindus and Muslims. A mosque there was torn down by Hindu activists in 1992, sparking riots nationwide that cost 2,000 lives. Hindus consider Ayodhya a very sacred place since Lord Ram was born there. The disputed mosque was believed to be built on the site of an earlier grand temple dedicated to Lord Ram. Speaking to correspondents on his appointment as President of BJP, Advani said: "We must be candid enough to recognise the Hindu anger that exploded on the streets in the early 1990s has given way to a patient wait for the new temple whose construction, I feel is inevitable." - a promise which he failed to keep even after being elected to the post of deputy prime minister. In appearances before the Liberhan Commission, a judicial body set up to investigate the Babri incident, Advani claimed that the demolition was the most agonising moment of his life. Advani who was present in Ayodhya on the day the dome was demolished, had left the site on that very day itself. He had commented that the demolition was the most agonising moment of his life even immediately after the incident in 1992. Legal proceedings against Advani begin Case dismissed Case reopened Internal problems after electoral defeat The period after the NDA's electoral defeat in the Indian general elections, 2004 was anything but smooth and has emerged as a major challenge for Advani. A month later, Khurana told the press that he found it difficult to work with Advani and criticised his style of running the party. On 20 August 2005, Khurana was issued a show cause for his statements and threatened with suspension from the party. He was also relieved from his posts in the party. Jinnah related controversies Advani has been accused of being absconder in Jinnah murder conspiracy case. The case was lodged at Karachi's Jamshed Quarters police station, on September 10, 1947. According to sources a criminal case is still pending against Advani and 17 others for allegedly conspiring to kill Pakistan's first President Mohammad Ali Jinnah and other leaders.* ** However, the Pakistani government has said that they do not intend to indicte him in the near future. On June 7, 2005, Advani offered his resignation from his post as BJP President amid controversial comments he is said to have made during a trip to Pakistan. He became the first major Indian political leader to visit Jinnah's mausoleum, on June 4 and he wrote in the visitors' book: There are many people who leave an irreversible stamp on history. But there are few who actually create history. Qaed-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah was one such rare individual. In his early years, leading luminary of freedom struggle Sarojini Naidu described Jinnah as an ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity. His address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on August 11, 1947 is really a classic and a forceful espousal of a secular state in which every citizen would be free to follow his own religion. The State shall make no distinction between the citizens on the grounds of faith. My respectful homage to this great man. This was reported in the Indian media as Advani terming Jinnah as a "secular" leader. Both Hindu nationalist groups aligned with the BJP and officials from the ruling Congress party lashed out against Advani for his statements. The leaders of the BJP party tried to persuade Advani to take back his resignation, a suggestion Advani refused. A memorandum was presented to Advani by the partymen hailing his trip to Pakistan without any reference to the Jinnah speech. Advani rejected this memorandum yet again. While Pakistan was cautious, some Pakistanis saw it as Advani's ploy to shed his hawkish image which seems at odd with the times. In its editorial, The News said "His remarks have certainly given him a new look among the Pakistani people, who otherwise would reject him as a hardcore radical with nothing good to contribute to peace." while others saw this as posturing on Advani's part to widen his appeal to the Indian masses to appear as a prime minister in waiting. The chief of the Hindu nationalist RSS acknowledged Advani's contributions as party president without referring to the Jinnah incident while another senior leader of BJP, Murali Manohar Joshi opined that the party ideaology could not be diluted. On 10'th June 2005, L.K Advani took back his resignation. Sushma Swaraj, a BJP party leader said at the end of the party's parliamentary board meeting "During the last four days there was a crisis gripping the party after Advani's resignation, which was unequivocally rejected. It is now over." Amongst those present in the board meeting were former Prime Minister A.B Vajpayee and former union minister Murali Manohar Joshi. The board adopted a resolution stating Jinnah to be the pursuer of the two nation theory which eventually lead to the partition of Indian subcontinent into India and Pakistan. However, the controversial visit of L.K Advani to Pakistan was declared to be a success. Announcement of resignation On 18 September 2005, Advani announced that, he would step down as party president after the silver jubilee celebrations of the party, to be held in Mumbai during December 2005. He warned the RSS leaders that a perception was building in the country that the "RSS was remote-controlling" the BJP. Thereafter at the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the BJP in Mumbai in December, 2005, Advani stepped down and Rajnath Singh, a mass leader from Uttar Pradesh was installed as BJP President. In March, 2006, following a bomb blast at one of the holiest Hindu shrines at Varanasi, Advani decided to undertake another "Yatra" (Sojourn), which he called "Bharat Suraksha Yatra"( Sojourn for National Security). This was undertaken as a twin yatra, the other person being Rajnath Singh. Despite initial claims by the media and newspersons that the yatra was without an issue and was being ignored by the people, Advani's efforts seem to have stirred the masses. (*. | |||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
 |
|
| |