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Balraj MadhokIndian political activist and politician
Date of Birth: 25.02.1920
Country:  India |
Content:
- Early Life
- Jammu and Kashmir
- Praja Parishad Formation
- Bharatiya Jana Sangh
- Jana Sangh President
- Later Career
- Personal Life
Early Life
Balraj Madhok hailed from a Khatri family in Jammu, influenced by the Arya Samaj movement. His father, Jagannath Madhok, hailed from Jallandhar in West Punjab's Gujranwala district and served as a government official in Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir. Born in Skardu, Baltistan, Madhok spent his early childhood in Jallandhar.
He pursued his education in Srinagar, Prince of Wales College in Jammu, and D.A.V. College in Lahore, obtaining a Bachelor's degree in History with honors in 1940.
Jammu and Kashmir
During his student days in Jammu, Madhok joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1938, which he felt aligned with the Arya Samaj ideology. In 1942, he became a Pracharak (full-time volunteer) in the RSS and was assigned to work in Jammu. He reportedly spent about eight months in this role, establishing the RSS network.
He then moved to Srinagar in 1944 as a history lecturer at D.A.V. College and continued organizing for the RSS. He established the RSS network in the Kashmir valley; as Hindu refugees started arriving in Srinagar after partition, they too joined the RSS branches.
Praja Parishad Formation
After the state's accession to India and Sheikh Abdullah's appointment as emergency administrator of the Kashmir Valley, Madhok returned to Jammu. He worked to form the Praja Parishad Party, founded in November 1947 in association with Hari Wazir. Prem Nath Dogra also joined them later. The party demanded full integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India, contrary to the limited autonomy agreed upon between Abdullah and Nehru (later embodied in Article 370).
Madhok was extended beyond Jammu and Kashmir by Sheikh Abdullah because of his political stance. Madhok moved to Delhi in 1948 and began teaching at the University College of Punjab, which was set up to educate refugees from West Punjab. He later taught history at the D.A.V. College in Delhi, affiliated with Delhi University.
Bharatiya Jana Sangh
In 1951, Madhok joined Syama Prasad Mookerjee in forming what later became the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, a political party of the Sangh Parivar. The Bengal unit of the Jana Sangh was established by Mookerjee on April 23, 1951, while the Punjab and Delhi unit were established by Madhok a month later on May 27, 1951. Madhok served as the Punjab unit's secretary and later a member of the Working Committee of the national organization.
In 1954, he was part of the Jana Sangh's Working Committee, which was dominated by the RSS, which brought about the ouster of the traditional political wing led by President M.K. Sharma. The Delhi unit of the party was dissolved and then recreated under the leadership of RSS Pracharaks. Madhok continued to play an active role in the Delhi unit of Jana Sangh and won a seat in the Lok Sabha from Delhi in 1961.
Jana Sangh President
In 1966-67, Madhok became the President of the Jana Sangh. He led the party in the 1967 general elections, in which the party won 35 seats in the Lok Sabha, its highest tally until then. Madhok attempted to forge a coalition of right-wing forces with the Swatantra Party. He saw the 1969 Congress Party split as an opportunity to expand the Jana Sangh's role.
However, this strategy was opposed by A.B. Vajpayee, who represented a hardline RSS faction within the party. Madhok criticized what he called the "leftist" leanings of the party and the RSS influence on its functioning. His stance led to his marginalization within the party; in 1973, L.K. Advani, who had become President, expelled Madhok from the party for three years.
Later Career
Madhok was arrested during the Emergency and imprisoned for 18 months (1975-1977). He joined the Janata Party, which incorporated the Jana Sangh, but resigned in 1979 and attempted to revive the Jana Sangh under the name Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh. However, the party did not achieve much success.
In a 2010 interview with Hindustan Times on the occasion of his 90th birthday, he claimed that then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi offered him a central ministerial post in 1980 after her return to power. Since his expulsion in 1973, Madhok remained a vocal critic of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani and their policies. In the later years of his life, he resided in New Rajinder Nagar area of New Delhi; the road where his house is located is named Jagannath Madhok Lane.
Personal Life
Madhok married Kamla, a professor at Delhi University. He had two daughters. He passed away at the age of 96 on May 2, 2016. He had been unwell for some time and was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi for a month. His death was mourned by many, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several others, including Lal Krishna Advani. Prime Minister Modi visited Madhok's residence to pay his last respects.
