Roots of Deendayal Upadhyay's Integral Humanism, the ‘basic philosophy' of BJP

Indian Express

2 days ago

The BJP is celebrating 60 years of the philosophy of Integral Humanism (Ekatm Manavvad), the thoughts of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, co-founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), which the BJP says is the basis of the policies followed by the governments led by the party.
Upadhyay, a pracharak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), was associated with the BJS from the beginning, and was general secretary before being elected its president in Calicut in December 1967.
On February 11, 1968, Upadhyay was found dead outside Mughalsarai railway station, now renamed Deendayal Nagar. He had boarded a train from Jaunpur to Patna the previous evening. The mystery of Upadhyay's death remains officially unresolved.
Lectures in Mumbai
Between April 22 and April 25, 1965, Upadhyay, who was then general secretary of the BJS, delivered four lectures at Ruia College in Bombay (now Mumbai) on the political philosophy of Ekatm Manavvad. He listed the problems before the country and their possible solutions.
'Now that we are independent, what shall be the direction of our progress?', he asked. It is 'amazing that serious thought has not been given to this question and today even after 17 years of independence we cannot say that a definite direction has been decided upon.'
He argued that it was 'neither possible nor wise to adopt foreign 'isms' in our country in the original form. It will not be helpful in achieving happiness and prosperity'.
Integral Humanism
Upadhyay concluded his fourth lecture with the words, 'We have in the last four days thought over the integrated form of Humanism. On this basis we shall be able to reconcile nationalism, democracy, socialism, and world peace with the traditional values of Bharatiya Culture and think of all these ideals in an integrated form.'
This idea of Upadhyay's Integral Humanism was subsequently expanded and articulated in detail by Dattopant Thengdi (1920-2004), an RSS pracharak who served with the BJS in its initial years in Madhya Bharat (later Madhya Pradesh), and who went on to found the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) and was a BJS member of Rajya Sabha from 1964-76.
However, the intellectual roots of the idea Integral Humanism go back almost four decades.
Chiti and Dharma
In his lectures, Upadhyay referred to 'Chiti', which he said was 'fundamental and central to the nation from its very beginning'.
This is what Upadhyay meant by Chiti, according to Daishik Shastra: Bharatiya Polity and Political Science, a book that was first written several decades previously by Badrishah Thulgharia, and an English translation of which was published by Ashok Bhandari in 2003:
'Chiti determines the direction in which the nation is to advance culturally. Whatever is in accordance with Chiti, is included in culture…
Chiti is the soul of the nation. On the strength of this 'Chiti', a nation arises, strong and virile if it is this 'Chiti' that is demonstrated in the actions of every great man of a nation…'
Dharma, Upadhyay believed, 'is the repository of the nation's soul', and 'anyone who abandons Dharma betrays the nation' (Daishik Shastra). There were six 'Objectives of our Economy':
Endorsed by Gandhi, Tilak
After finishing his manuscript, Thulgharia, an Almora-based advocate, sent it to Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
Gandhi replied: 'For the first time, I had come across such an excellent book on Oriental politics.' Tilak said, 'My view is entirely in accord with yours and I am glad to find that it has been forcefully put forward by you.'
The manuscript was published in 1923 — by which time Tilak had died — with the title 'Bal Gangadhar Tilak Smarak Daishik Shastra' by Chitrashala Press in Pune, which was owned by the Lokmanya's friend Shankar Narhari Joshi. The book was dedicated to Shree 108 Sombari Baba, a local saint.
Daishik Shastra & Upadhyay
M S Golwalkar, the second sarsanghchalak of the RSS (1940-73), advised Upadhyay to read the book and visit Almora and the library established by the Thulgharia family. Upadhyay stayed in Almora for a few weeks in 1958-59.
In 1959, Upadhyay wrote a series of articles in Panchjanya, the weekly of the Sangh Parivar. The English version of a 'Prefatorial' in Daishik Shastra says he appealed to his countrymen 'to kindly study Daishik Shastra very carefully; because Daishik Shastra is the only book of its kind, that presents a lucid explanation of both the hoary and contemporary Bharatiya tenets'.
Six years later, Upadhyay's lectures in Mumbai used several terms and ideas from Daishik Shastra, which he called Ekatm Manavvad (Integral Humanism).
Shyamlal Yadav is one of the pioneers of the effective use of RTI for investigative reporting. He is a member of the Investigative Team. His reporting on polluted rivers, foreign travel of public servants, MPs appointing relatives as assistants, fake journals, LIC's lapsed policies, Honorary doctorates conferred to politicians and officials, Bank officials putting their own money into Jan Dhan accounts and more has made a huge impact. He is member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). He has been part of global investigations like Paradise Papers, Fincen Files, Pandora Papers, Uber Files and Hidden Treasures. After his investigation in March 2023 the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York returned 16 antiquities to India. Besides investigative work, he keeps writing on social and political issues. ... Read More