My days with Deendayalji
By K. Jana Krishnamurthy

I had not that long an association with Pandit Deendayalji Upadhyay. I was in RSS and came in Bhartiya Jana Sangh only in 1964. Unfortunately, Shri Deendayalji died in 1968. Still, I do have some very worthwhile reminiscences of him.

In 1964 I became General Secretary (Organisation) Madurai. Panditji used to visit only once a year. The last time I met him was when he came for the Calicut Session.

After I joined Jana Sangh, Panditji visited Madurai. At that time the party was in the formative stage and had financial constraints also. We were to travel together. I purchased a second-class sleeper ticket for him and put his luggage there. As the train was about to leave, he asked me where is your luggage. I said I am travelling in the ordinary class. He said you take money from me and travel in the same compartment. I said I would do it next time. When we got down at our destination, he said: "The local leaders and the person in charge (Prabhari) of the area should always travel together with the national leaders whenever they visit that part. It makes them understand the local situation and problems".

As per his advice, I made it a point to travel with Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Shri Lal Krishna Advani whenever they visited the State. That helped because in the way we could have exchange of views and made the national leaders understand the political situation in the State.

Before I joined Jana Sangh, I had an occasion to meet him when he came to an RSS function at Madurai. I was present in the meeting. Some disciplinary action had been taken against some Jana Sangh leader in Madhya Pradesh, perhaps based at Indore. It was hot in the news. One karyakarta told Panditji that such news created a wrong impression about the party.

Panditji took it very lightly and explained: Look, there is a prostitute. So many people visit her. But nobody takes note of it. But if a woman of a gentle family looks through a window and smiles at the passerby, people will not like this conduct of her. Maybe, the passerby is just her brother. That is the difference. People do not expect that an incident of indiscipline should take place in Bhartiya Jana Sangh.

I don't know what would have been his reaction if he were alive today.

Once during the anti-Hindi agitation in the then Madras State (now Tamilnadu), Panditji visited the State. Many Jana Sangh leaders were against the English language. Rajaji who was a proponent of Hindi language, even he took the stand for continuance of English. Many party leaders wanted the party to take an anti-English stance. But Panditji said we should take a constructive stand. We have to keep the nation together and not allow the country to be divided on language basis.

A group of people met Deendayalji. They all wanted that English language should immediately be dispensed with. All of them were in favour of Hindi at the cost of other regional languages. At this Panditji said, today I feel I should not have been born in a Hindi-speaking State like UP. His saying this changed the very mood and tone of the people. They said we accept your suggestion. The three-language formula was then accepted.

Some people of Chennai (then Madras) met Deendayalji. They complained to him that during anti-Hindi agitation, they were humiliated. They were forced to shout: "Down with Hindi". Panditji calmly told them: What is the harm in saying that? Nothing is going to happen to Hindi. Adjust yourself to the prevailing situation.

Once Panditji came to Calicut. We were very late to reach the hotel where he was to stay. All of us were feeling hungry but there was nothing to eat in the hotel at that late hour. Leaving Panditji in the room, we three persons came out in search of something to eat. We came across a Pan shop where we could get two buns and only two cups of tea. We took these to the room and all of us shared it with Panditji and went to sleep.

It was perhaps January-February in 1966. Shri Balraj Madhok was the President and Panditji the General Secretary of Jana Sangh. A resolution on the situation in Jammu & Kashmir was to be drafted. Shri Yagyadutt Sharma was the Prabhari of Punjab and J&K. He wanted to speak for about five minutes before the resolution was drafted. But Madhokji said I have been to J&K. I have met officers of the administration and political leaders there. I know everything. There is nothing to discuss. I will draft the resolution.

But Madhokji was not willing to allow him to speak. At this Panditji intervened. He said ours is a democratic party and everything should be done after discussion and consultation. Yagyaduttji is in charge of J&K and he must be having some points to make. We should hear him. Our resolution should also reflect the feelings of the local people. Shri Yagyadutt was allowed to speak for three minutes and the resolution drafted afterwards.