Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

FOUNDER

Syama Prasad Mookerjee (1901-1953)
Founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh

The BJP is the successor party of the BJS, which merged itself into the Janata Party in 1977. The BJP was formed as a separate party in 1980 after internal differences in the Janata Party resulted in the collapse of the Janata government in 1979.

A brief life-sketch

On hearing of her son’s untimely death, Dr. Mookerjee's mother Jogmaya Debi exclaimed:
"Proudly do I feel that the loss of my son is a loss to Mother India!"

This brave son of India was born on July 6, 1901, to an illustrious family. His father Sir Asutosh was widely known in Bengal as an educationist and public intellectual. Graduating from Calcutta University, Dr. Mookerjee became a fellow of the Senate in 1923. He enrolled as an advocate in Calcutta High Court in 1924 after his father's death. Subsequently he left for England in 1926, being called to the bar from Lincoln's Inn in 1927. At the age of 33, he became the world's youngest Vice-Chancellor at the Calcutta University and held the office till 1938. During his tenure, he introduced a number of constructive reforms and was active in the Asiatic Society as well as was a member of the Court and the Council of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and Chairman of the Inter-University of Board.

He was elected as member of the Legislative Council of Bengal as a Congress candidate, representing Calcutta University, but resigned when the Congress decided to boycott the legislature. Subsequently, he contested the election as an independent and got elected.

Pandit Nehru inducted him in the Interim Government as Minister for Industry and Supply. Following the Delhi Pact between Nehru and Liaquat Ali Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan, Dr. Mookerjee resigned from the Cabinet on April 6, 1950. After consultation with Shri Golwalkar Guruji of the RSS, Dr. Mookerjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh on October 21, 1951, in Delhi became its first President. In the 1951-52 election, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh won 3 seats in Parliament, one of them being that of Dr. Mookerjee. He then formed the National Democratic Party within the Parliament, as a coalition of 32 Lok Sabha MPs and 10 Rajya Sabha MPs.

Dr. Mookerjee was vociferous in the cause of the integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India. He termed the arrangement under Article 370 as Balkanisation of India. The Bharatiya Jana Sangh, along with the Hindu Mahasabha and the Ram Rajya Parishad, launched a satyagraha to have pernicious provisions related to Article 370 removed. Mookerjee went to visit Kashmir in 1953 and was arrested on May 11, 1953, while crossing into the state and breaching the infamous Permit System. He died while under arrest and held in difficult conditions, passing away on June 23, 1953.

A veteran politician, he was respected by his friends and foes alike for his knowledge and forthrightness. He outshone most Ministers in the cabinet with his erudition and learning. India lost a great son much too early.

THE FOUNTAINHEAD: THE BJP AND THE RSS

The Bharatiya Janata Party is today the most prominent member of the family of organisations known as the "Sangh Parivar" and nurtured by the Rashtria Swyamsevak Sangh (RSS). Like the RSS, the BJP is wedded to India’s unity and integrity, its intrinsic identity and the social strength, individual character and cultural uniqueness that have been the hallmark of this great country and its people for millennia.

History is the philosophy of nations. And the Sangh Parivar has a very clear and clear conception of Indian history. Here was a great civilization whose influence and imprint spread from Sri Lanka to Tibet, from Southeast Asia to Central Asia, from one end of the Indian Ocean to the other. It weathered the storms of invaders, from the Greeks to the Huns, from the Shakas to the Islamic armies of Turks and Afghans. It fought and resisted external oppression and its essential civilization and culture survived great challenges and attempts at effacement. The glory of Vijayanagara and the heroism of Maharana Pratap, of a Shivaji and of a Guru Govind Singh are testimony to the Indian spirit.

In more recent times this torch of nationalism and Indian identity was carried forward by Swami Dayanand and Swami Vivekanada. And in the present century the good work has been carried on by Sri Aurobindo, Lokmanya Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi and others. The RSS, founded by Dr K.B. Hedgewar in 1925 and consolidated by Shri Guruji M.S. Golwalkar after 1940, sees itself as the legatee of this heroic tradition. It believes in the principle of: "Justice for all and appeasement of none". It has no doubt about Hindu identity and culture being the mainstay of the Indian nation and of Indian society. This identity and this culture informs all Indians, irrespective of religious or denominational faith. To the RSS, all Indians, irrespective of religious background, notwithstanding their mode and place of worship, are equal.

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY PRESIDENTS

S.No.	Name	Year
1	Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee	1980
2	Shri Lal Krishna Advani	1986
3	Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi	1990
4	Shri Lal Krishna Advani	1992
5	Late Shri Kushabhau Thakre	1998
6	Late Shri Bangaru Laxman	2000
7	Late Shri K. Jana Krishnamurthy	2001
8	Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu	2002
9	Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu	2004
10	Shri Lal Krishna Advani	27th Oct. 2004 to 31st Dec.2006
11	Shri Rajnath Singh	1st Jan. 2006 to 26th Nov. 2006
12	Shri Rajnath Singh	26th Nov. 2006 to 19th Dec. 2009
13	Shri Nitin Gadkari	19th Dec. 2009 to 23rd Jan. 2013 (for the term 2010-13)
14	Shri Rajnath Singh	23rd Jan. 2013 to 09th July, 2014
15	Shri Amit Shah	Elected on 09th July, 2014 to till