Lal Krishna Advani

Lal Krishna Advani
Leader of the Opposition
In office 1 June 2004 – 18 December 2009
Preceded by	Sonia Gandhi
Succeeded by	Sushma Swaraj
Deputy Prime Minister of India
In office 29 June 2002 – 20 May 2004
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded by	Chaudhari Devi Lal
Succeeded by	Vacant
Minister for Home Affairs
In office 19 March 1998 – 20 May 2004
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded by	Indrajit Gupta
Succeeded by	Shivraj Patil
Minister for Information and Broadcasting
In office 24 March 1977 – 15 July 1979
Prime Minister	Morarji Desai
Preceded by	Vidya Charan Shukla
Succeeded by	Vidya Charan Shukla
Born	November 8, 1927 (1927-11-08) (age 83) Karachi, British India (now in Pakistan)
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse(s)	Kamla Advani
Children	Pratibha Advani, Jayant Advani
Alma mater	Bombay University
Occupation	Lawyer
Religion	Hindu
Website	www.lkadvani.in

Lal Kishenchand Advani (Sindhi: लाल किशनचंद आडवाणी/لال ڪشن چند آڏواڻي [laˑl kiɕənʨən̪d̪ aˑᶑʋaˑɳiˑ]; born 8 November 1927) known as Lal Krishna Advani (Hindi: लाल कृष्ण आडवाणी) is an Indian politician and a former president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is currently the major opposition party in the Indian Parliament. He served as the Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004 and was formerly the Leader of the Opposition in the 15th Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Indian Parliament). Advani, who began his political career as a worker of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, is often credited with having made the BJP a formidable force in Indian politics.^[1]

Early life and background

Lal Krishna Advani was born in Karachi, Sindh, British India (modern day Pakistan) to Kishanchand D. Advani and Gyani Devi. He did his schooling in from Saint Patrick's High School, Karachi and then he joined the D.G. National College in Hyderabad, Sindh for his education. He later graduated with a degree from the Government Law College, Bombay University.^[1].

There are contradictions in the records of his educational qualifications. While some records suggest that he acquired his degree from Kanpur University, the affidavit filed during the 2004 elections states that he completed his degree in Law from the Mumbai University. The Mumbai University has since clarified that Advani was never a student of the University raising doubts over the earlier affidavits filed by him.

Political career

Early career

Lal Krishna Advani with family

L.K.Advani began his career when he joined the RSS in 1942. He later became the president of the organization's Karachi branch^[1]. In 1947, Advani was sent to Mewar in Rajasthan, which had witnessed communal violence following partition, to oversee the affairs of the RSS India.

Jana Sangh days

India gained independence from the British in 1947. Advani became a member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, which was founded in 1925. Jayprakash Narayan, who led the public movement against the Emergency refused to campaign for the Opposition parties unless they dissociated themselves from extremist formations and united under one umbrella. Following this call, the Jana Sangh, which was the political arm of the right-wing RSS, merged into the Janata Party which became the umbrella organisation bringing together the opposition. With this dissolution of the Jana Sangh, Advani and his colleague Atal Bihari Vajpayee joined the Janata Party to fight the elections.

Janata Party

The Janata Party was formed by political leaders and activists of various political parties who had been united in opposing the state of emergency imposed in 1975 by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. After elections were called in 1977, the Janata Party was formed from the union of the Congress (O), Swatantra Party, Socialist Party of India, Bharatiya Jana Sangh and the Lok Dal. Congress defector Jagjivan Ram formed the Congress for Democracy and joined the Janata alliance.[2] The widespread unpopularity of Emergency rule gave Janata Party and its allied a landslide victory in the election. Morarji Desai became the prime minister of India, Advani became the Minister of Information and Broadcasting (India) and his close friend and Jan Sangh colleague Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the high profile External Affairs Minister.

The nature of the birth of the Janata Party sowed the seeds of its destruction as well. Bitter animosity amongst its ranks ensured that the government remained on the brink. Finally, the issue of dual membership became the bone of contention as some members of the Janata Party insisted that the erstwhile members of the Jana Sangh dissociate themselves from the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

The erstwhile members of the Jana Sangh, then ended their honeymoon with the Janata Party and split away to form the Bharatiya Janata Party. Advani became a prominent leader of the newly founded BJP and represented the party in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of the Indian Parliament).^[1]

The rise of the BJP

Advani became the president of the BJP in 1986. His rise coincided with a growing unease and disquiet with the ruling Congress Party, among the Hindu upper castes due the increasing assertion of the lower castes with the Mandal politics and growing fundamentalism among the minority Muslims. Sensing an opportunity Advani embarked on a new aggressive phase of his politics and by 1991, he had taken a party to new heights.

He gradually brought in a shift in the party's policies by advocating an aggressive brand of Hindutvaa policy that was to reap rich dividends. The defection of finance minister V P Singh came as an added bonanza. In the elections of 1989, the combined might of the VP Singh led Janata Dal and the BJP managed to eat into the Congress's seats. Despite emerging as the single largest party, the Congress opted to sit in Opposition, and a coalition headed by V P Singh as Prime Minister formed the government. The BJP supported this government from the outside.

Lal Krishna Advani with Condoleezza Rice

Under Advani, the BJP launched a violent agitation on the issue of rebuilding Ram temple in Ram's supposed birthplace Ayodhya, which was criticized to be a response to limit the damage caused to his party due to V.P. Singh's Mandal Commission politics. For quite a while it had been the demand of Vishwa Hindu Parishad that a temple be built at the site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, which is widely believed by Hindus to have been built over the ruins of a Rama temple destroyed by Mughal king Babur. The movement gained momentum in 1989, when Advani embarked on a "rath yatra" to mobilize "karsevaks" to converge upon the Babri Masjid to offer prayers. This Rath Yatra, undertaken in an air-conditioned van decorated to look like a chariot, started from Somnath in Gujarat and had covered a large part of Northern India until it was brought to a halt by the Chief Minister of Bihar, Laloo Prasad Yadav. However by then, over 564 Muslims were killed in a surge of communal violence that followed the trail of Advani's cavalcade. Radicalised supporters of the Bhartiya Janata Party, egged on by the hate ridden speeches made by Advani, resorted to violence aimed squarely at Muslims.

This movement caused a polarisation of votes on communal lines and helped the BJP cross fresh boundaries, especially in North India. Advani's politics of polarising communities succeeded in drawing away a large chunk of the upper caste voters who were already mortified at the rise of Mandal politics, away from the Congress. In the 1991 general elections, the BJP came second after the Congress party in terms of seats.

In 1992, two years after Advani ended his yatra, despite assurances given by the Kalyan Singh led BJP Government to the Supreme Court, the Babri Masjid was demolished by the "karsevaks" with alleged complicity of the Kalyan Singh government. Advani is one of the main accused in the Babri Masjid case and stands accused of having instigated organised gangs of rioters into demolishing the mosque.

BJP, under Advani, sat in the opposition from 1991-1996 during the reign of P V Narasimha Rao. The Rao regime was repeatedly accused by the BJP of corruption and various scandals and the BJP made good use of all these issues to project itself as the only corruption free alternative to the Congress.

After the 1996 general elections, the BJP became the single largest party and was consequently invited by the President to form the Government. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was sworn in as Prime Minister in May 1996. However, the Government did not last long and Vajpayee resigned after thirteen days.

After 2 years in the political wilderness, the BJP under the umbrella of the National Democratic Alliance (a BJP led coalition), again came to power with Vajpayee as PM in March 1998, when elections were called after India saw two unstable Governments headed by H D Deve Gowda and I K Gujral respectively. Advani assumed the office of Home Minister and was later elevated to the position of Deputy Prime Minister. As Union Minister, Advani had a tough time with India facing a string of internal disturbances in the form of terror attacks from neighbouring Pakistan . The BJP-led NDA Government lasted for its full term of five years till 2004, with Vajpayee as the Prime Minister. The NDA was the only non-Congress Government to last for five years.

L.K. Advani with Dmitry Medvedev of Russia.

As elections approached in 2004, Advani was supremely confident and conducted an aggressive campaign where he claimed the Congress Party would not get even 100 seats. The electorate however had a different take. The BJP suffered a defeat in the general elections held in 2004, and was forced to sit in the opposition. Another coalition, the United Progressive Alliance led by the resurgent Congress came to power, with Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister. The NDA disintegrated with the Telugu Desam Party, which had supported the NDA government from the outside, deserting the alliance.

Vajpayee retired from active politics after the 2004 defeat, putting Advani to the forefront of the BJP. Advani became Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2009. During this period, Advani had to deal with rebellion from within the party. His two close associates, Uma Bharati, and Madan Lal Khurana, and long time rival Murali Manohar Joshi publicly spoke out against him. In June 2005, he drew much criticism when he, while on a visit to the Jinnah Mausoleum at Karachi - his town of birth, endorsed Mohammad Ali Jinnah and described him a "secular" leader. This statement outraged people all over India and damaged his credibility. This did not sit well with the RSS either and Advani was forced to relinquish his post as BJP president. However, he withdrew the resignation a few days later.

The relationship between Advani and the RSS reached a low point when K S Sudarshan, opined that both Advani and Vajpayee give way to new leaders^[2]. At the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the BJP in Mumbai in December 2005, Advani stepped down as party president and Rajnath Singh, a relatively junior politician from the state of Uttar Pradesh was elected in his place. In March 2006, following a bomb blast at one of the holiest Hindu shrines at Varanasi, Advani undertook a "Bharat Suraksha Yatra" (Sojourn for National Security), to highlight the alleged failure of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (a Congress led coalition) in combating terrorism.

Prime Minister candidacy

In an interview with a news channel in December 2006, L.K. Advani stated that as the Leader of the Opposition in a parliamentary democracy, he considered himself as the Prime Ministerial candidate for the general elections,ending on 16 May 2009 ^[3]. This public revelation irritated some of his colleagues who were not supportive of his candidacy^[4].

A major factor going in favor of Advani was that he had always been the most powerful leader in the BJP with the exception of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who endorsed Advani's candidacy shortly after the interview was done. On 2 May 2007, BJP President Rajnath Singh, in an interview, stated that: "After Atal there is only Advani. Advani is the natural choice. It is he who should be PM".^[5] On 10 December 2007, the Parliamentary Board of BJP formally announced that L. K. Advani would be its prime ministerial candidate for the General Elections due in 2009.

However his critics both within and outside the party have questioned his credentials both with respect to his administrative capabilities and his educational qualifications.

The outcome of the 2009 General election gave a resounding victory to Indian National Congress party and its allies, allowing incumbent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to continue in office. Following the defeat in the elections, L. K. Advani revealed his intentions to step down from the post of Leader of Opposition, which was swiftly rejected by his party.

Controversies and criticism

Babri Masjid issue

In 1989, the BJP launched a movement led by Advani on the issue of the Ram Janmabhoomi (the birth place of Rama). The BJP demanded that a temple dedicated to deity Rama be created at the site of the Babri mosque where, according to Archaeological Survey of India (ASI),^[6][7] a temple stood till Babur's invasion of India in 1528. Sunni Central Wakf Board rejected this claim as 'saffron' and vague claiming the remains of the temple had been found at a depth of 50 metres, while no digging up to such depths had actually taken place. However, rather than a settling on a political solution to the dispute, the disputed structure was destroyed by a Hindu mob, sparking massive Hindu-Muslim riots. In his autobiography, he refers to the day the Babri Masjid was demolished as the saddest of his life. However, recent statements made by witnesses in court prove these claims of innocence to be false. Anju Gupta, now an official with the Research & Analysis Wing, who was posted as advani's Security during the 1992 demolition, has repeatedly testified in court that Advani was seen instigating the crowds and celebrating the destruction of the historic mosque.

Jain-Hawala scandal

L.K. Advani was charged in the Hawala scandal where he allegedly received payments through hawala brokers. He and others were later discharged by the Supreme Court of India, because there was no additional evidence which could be used to charge them.^[8] According to the judicial inquiry by CBI they could not find any substantive evidences; the Supreme Court ruling stated that no statement even mentioned Advani's name and that evidence against him was limited to the mention of his name on a few loose sheets of paper.^[8] However, the failure of this prosecution by the CBI was widely criticized.^[9] While some believe the CBI probe catapulted his rise through the BJP on his newfound "moral authority",^[10] others have claimed the inquiry was a political stunt.^[11][12]

Gauri Advani's allegations

Gauri Advani, the "estranged" daughter-in-law of Advani filed an affidavit before Liberhan Commission of Inquiry that outlines the following:^[13][14][15]

• He conspired with Vinay Katyar to demolish the Babri Mosque

She withdrew her affidavit a few days after its submission.

References

Further reading

• Lal Krishna Advani. My Country My Life. (2008). ISBN 978-81-291-1363-4.
• Lal Krishna Advani. New Approaches to Security and Development (Paperback). (2003). ISBN 978-981-230-219-9.
• Lal Krishna Advani. A Prisoner's Scrap-Book (Hardcover). (2002). ISBN 978-81-88322-10-7.
• Atmaram Kulkarni. The Advent of Advani: An Authentic Critical Biography (Hardcover). (1995). ISBN 978-81-85345-22-2.
• Sudheendra Kulkarni. Swarna Jayanti Rath Yatra: The story of Lal Krishna Advani's patriotic pilgrimage. (1997). ASIN: B0000CPBO7.
• Pentagon Press. Lal Krishna Advani: Today's Patel (Paperback). (2002). ISBN 978-81-86830-57-4.
• G. Katyal. K. Bhushan. Lal Krishna Advani: Deputy Prime Minister (Hardcover). ASIN: B001G6MAZA
• Pentagon Press. Lala Krishna Advani (Paperback). (2007). ISBN 978-81-86830-59-8.

External links

• Official site
• Profile on website of BJP
• BJP Leader, India
• Profile by BBC News dated April 16, 2003
• Pakistan expresses shock at Mr Advani's resignation
• Allahabad High court order on the Babri Masjid demolition case
• Khurana asks Advani to step down
• Madan Lal Khurana suspended from BJP
• Advani praises functioning of Modi Govt
• Advani to call it quits in December
• Advani Discusses His Prime Ministerial Candidacy
• BJP to fight next poll under second-rung leader: Naqvi
• Official Blog of Lal Krishna Advani
• My Country, My Life Official site

State of Emergency in India (1975–1977) Personalities Indira Gandhi - Jayaprakash Narayan - Jivatram Kripalani - Morarji Desai - Atal Bihari Vajpayee - C. N. Annadurai - K. Kamaraj - Periyar E. V. Ramasamy - Harcharan Singh Longowal - Lal Krishna Advani - Charan Singh - Jagjivan Ram - Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed - Sanjay Gandhi - Jagmohan - Bansi Lal - Zail Singh - Dev Kant Baruah - Jagmohanlal Sinha - Hans Raj Khanna - H. N. Bahuguna - Raj Narain - George Fernandes - Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Organisations Indian National Congress (R) - Janata Morcha - Janata Party - Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam - Dravidar Kazhagam - Indian National Congress (Organisation) - Shiromani Akali Dal - Bharatiya Jana Sangh - Swatantra Party - Bharatiya Lok Dal - Socialist Party of India - Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh - Communist Party of India (Marxist) - People's Union for Civil Liberties Events State of Emergency in India - State of Uttar Pradesh v. Raj Narain - 39th Amendment - 42nd Amendment - Turkman gate demolition and rioting - Baroda dynamite case - Shah Commission - Maintenance of Internal Security Act - Rajan case - Indian general election, 1977 Portal:India - History of India