Antyodaya Diwas 2023: It is celebrated on September 25 to mark the birth anniversary of BJP's key ideologue Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. He was a humanist, journalist, philosopher, economist, and political activist. On his birth anniversary, let us have a look at some interesting facts about him.
Key Facts about Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya
1. On 25 September 1916, he was born in the village Chandrabhan, now known as Deendayal Dham, near Farah town in Mathura District. His father's name was Bhagwati Prasad and he was an astrologer. The mother's name was Rampyari. When he was eight years old, his both parents died and he was brought up by his maternal uncle.
2. Under the guardianship of his maternal uncle and aunt he did his education and went to high school in Rajasthan where he completed matriculation. He did his intermediate from Birla College in Pilani, B. A from Sanatan Dharma College, Kanpur in 1939. To pursue a master's degree in English literature he joined St.John's College, Agra but was not able to complete it. He joined Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) as its full-time worker known as Pracharak.
3. In 1942, he started full-time work in the RSS and became a lifelong Pracharak. There, he met the founder of the party, KB Hedgewar, and underwent a 40-day camp in Sangh Education and a second-year training in the RSS Education Wing.
4. In the 1940s he started the monthly Rashtriya Dharma from Lucknow for spreading the ideology of Hindutva nationalism. Later, he also started Panchjanya and daily Swadesh.
5. He became the first General Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh branch of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh when it was founded in 1951. Thereafter, he was appointed its All-India General Secretary. For 15 years, he remained the outfit’s general secretary.
6. Apart from all his organisational capabilities he was also known for his philosophical and literary works. He developed the concept of 'Integral Humanism' which advocated the holistic development of the mind, body, intellect, and soul, of every individual.
7. He was convinced that as an independent nation, India could not rely upon Western concepts including individualism, democracy, socialism, communism, or capitalism.
8. He always believed that the Indian intellect was dominated by Western theories. He welcomed modern technology but as per the Indian requirements. He always believed in Swaraj which is self-governance.
9. He was elected the president of the Jana Sangh in December 1967. On 11 February 1968, he was murdered under mysterious circumstances while travelling. His body was found near the Mughalsarai railway station in Uttar Pradesh.
10. Some of his literary works include the play "Chandragupta Maurya" and a translation of a biography of Dr. K.B. Hedgewar, which was originally written in Marathi. He also composed a biography of Adi Shankara (Shankaracharya), the 9th-century Hindu reformer.
His legacy is very much alive in India today in the form of the ideology of the Bharatiya Janata Party which emerged from the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
11. Several institutions in recognition of his leadership have been named after him like the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Hospital in West Delhi; the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya University, in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh; and the Pandit Deen Dayal Petroleum University, in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Some of his thoughts are:
"Western Science and Western Ways of Life are two different things. Whereas Western Science is Universal and must be absorbed by us if we wish to go forward, the same is not true about the Western Ways of life and values."
"Here in Bharat, we have placed before ourselves the ideal of the fourfold responsibilities of catering to the needs of Body, Mind, Intellect, and Soul with a view to achieving the integrated progress of Man."
No doubt, he dedicated his life to social causes and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh Party. He never married but several young party workers looked at him as an inspirational father figure during his lifetime.
Scroll down the tweets below to witness the fervour of Antyodaya Diwas:
पंडित दीनदयाल उपाध्याय जी का जीवन राष्ट्रसेवा व समर्पण का विराट प्रतीक है। जब भी मानवता के कल्याण की बात होगी, पंडित जी के एकात्म मानववाद दर्शन का सिद्धांत सम्पूर्ण मानवजाति को सदैव ध्रुव तारे की तरह मार्गदर्शित करेगा।
उनका मानना था कि भोजन से लेकर विचारों तक की आत्मनिर्भरता ही… pic.twitter.com/xvbkkexFNT — Amit Shah (@AmitShah) September 25, 2023
हमारे प्रेरणास्रोत एवं प्रख्यात आर्थिक चिंतक, पंडित दीनदयाल उपाध्याय की जयंती पर मैं उन्हें अपनी भावपूर्ण श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित करता हूँ। उनके विचार भारतीय राजनीति में शुचिता, समर्पण एवं प्रामाणिकता की प्रेरणा देते हैं।
‘एकात्म मानववाद’ के प्रणेता के रूप में उन्होंने एक ऐसा आर्थिक… — Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) September 25, 2023
मां भारती की सेवा में जीवनपर्यंत समर्पित रहे अंत्योदय के प्रणेता पंडित दीनदयाल उपाध्याय जी का व्यक्तित्व और कृतित्व देशवासियों के लिए हमेशा प्रेरणास्रोत बना रहेगा। उनकी जन्म-जयंती पर उन्हें मेरा सादर नमन। pic.twitter.com/2UvRlSaEF2 — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 25, 2023
