Aadhar Stambh

Dr. Mangal Sen - The lion of Haryana
By Gulshan Bhatia

When a person starts leading a life totally devoted to a philosophy he becomes a synonym for that school of thought. And when such a person suddenly vanishes from the scene, the organisation connected to him experiences a vacuum which is difficult to fill for a long time.

Today Haryana BJP is finding itself in the same situation after the death of its father-figure, Dr. Mangal Sen, and it has not been able to fill the void left by him.

The former Deputy Chief Minister and prominent Haryana BJP leadert, the late Dr. Mangal Sen, was born on October 27, 1927 in Jhanwaria village of Sargodha district, now in Pakistan. After completing his education till B.A.LL.B. he represented Rohtak in the Punjab and later in Haryana Assemblies for nearly 35 years.

He was such a powerful figure in Haryana's political scenario that people called him the Lion of Haryana. He was the Jana Sangh and BJP State President for a number of years.

Dr. Mangal Sen had joined Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in his childhood. He was the Sangh Pracharak in Jammu and Kashmir for many years. In 1948 when the Sangh was banned, he was sent to Rohtak for expanding the Sangh base and spreading awareness about its activities.

He entered politics in 1957 and represented Rohtak in the State Assembly. He was elected as an MLA for two successive terms in the United Punjab Assembly. Being a powerful orator, he left an excellent impression on everyone. He persuaded the then Punjab Chief Minister to set up Haryana's only medical college in Rohtak. Today that medical college and hospital has been granted the status of Post-graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS).

He played a vital role in Haryana politics along with Chowdhary Devi Lal and together they dominated the political scene for a long time, even when they were in opposition.

Dr. Mangal Sen played a crucial role in the Hindi Movement and as a result was confined to prison during this Movement. In 1971 he was the leading figure in the establishment of Rohtak Hindu College. His preoccupation with the work of this college resulted in electoral loss for him in the 1972 election.

During the infamous Emergency imposed on India by Smt. Indira Gandhi, Dr. Sen was imprisoned in 1975 for 19 months in the Rohtak and Karnal jails. After the Emergency ended, Congress was wiped out in the Assembly elections of 1977. Ch. Devi Lal became the Chief Minister of Haryana and Dr. Sen was appointed the Industry Minister.

When the Government changed in 1982, both leaders had to sit in the Opposition. Two years later in 1984, they formed Haryana Sangharsh Samiti in association with other opposition parties to protest against the Rajeev-Longowal Agreement. Ch. Devi Lal was made the President of this committee and Dr. Sen became the General Secretary. The by-election of 1985 was precipitated due to the resignations of Dr. Mangal Sen and Ch. Devi Lal, in protest against the Rajeev-Longowal Agreement.

Their movement inspired all sections of society including the youth, senior citizens and farmers to join them. Their padyatras and agitations created an atmosphere against the Congress Government. As a result, Congress could secure only 5 seats out of 90 in the Assembly elections of 1987. Ch. Devi Lal became the Chief Minister of Haryana for the second time and Dr. Mangal Sen was appointed the Deputy Chief Minister.

Later, BJP withdrew from the Cabinet in protest against the violent incidents which occurred during the Meham by-elections. On November 2, 1990 Dr. Sen travelled to Ayodhya along with thousands of karyakartas for performing kar-seva at the Ram Mandir site. He was arrested with everyone else and confined to Pilibhit prison from where he was released later.

During his political career Dr. Sen was imprisoned on a number of occasions. On December 2, 1990, he passed away suddenly due to heart failure. Even though he is no longer amongst us, his inspiring legacy continues to flourish and expand through the temple of learning set up by him-the Shrilal Nath Hindu College.