From Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to Jan Sangh and then to BJP

Senior BJP leader and former Union Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani is one of the founding members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Lal Krishna Advani has been awarded the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian honour. President Draupadi Murmu visited his house and honored him with Bharat Ratna. He was born in a Sindhi family in Karachi, Pakistan.

Senior BJP leader and former Union Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani is one of the founding members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Lal Krishna Advani has been awarded the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian honour. President Draupadi Murmu visited his house and honored him with Bharat Ratna and during this, PM Modi was also present with him. In 2015, Advani was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian honour. In this article we will give information about the complete life of Lal Krishna Advani.

Advani was born in Karachi, Pakistan

Lal Krishna Advani was born on 8 November 1927 (age 96) in Karachi, Pakistan in a Sindhi family. His father’s name was Kishan Chand and mother’s name was Giani Devi. His younger sister’s name is Sheela. Lal Krishna Advani married Kamala Advani (1932–2016) in February 1965. They have a son Jayant and a daughter Pratibha who produces TV serials.

Graduated in Law from Bombay University

He completed his primary education from St. Patrick’s High School, Karachi and then studied from Sindh Government College, Hyderabad. His family came to India at the time of partition and settled in Bombay (now Mumbai). Lal Krishna Advani obtained his Bachelor of Laws degree from the Government Law College, Bombay University.

beginning of social life

The beginning of Lal Krishna Advani’s social life is considered to be from the year 1947. He was associated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since his student days. He took command of RSS activities in Rajasthan in 1947. When Syama Prasad Mukherjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS; Indian People’s Association), the political wing of the RSS, in 1951, Lal Krishna Advani was made the secretary of the party’s unit in Rajasthan. He remained in this post till 1970, after which he moved to Delhi.

In 1970, Advani became a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, a seat he held until 1989. In 1973, he was elected President of Bharatiya Jana Sangh. He also went to jail during the national emergency declared in 1975. Since the establishment of the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980, Lal Krishna Advani was the General Secretary of the party till 1986.

After this, he also held the responsibility of party president from 1986 to 1991. Appointed Union Home Minister twice (1998 and 1999) in the BJP-led coalition government, Advani was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in 2002. Following his party’s defeat in the 2004 general elections, he was made the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

He is called the architect of BJP

Lal Krishna Advani, the longest serving president of BJP, has a parliamentary career spanning almost three decades. In the Bharatiya Janata Party, Lal Krishna Advani’s name is at the forefront in the credit for shaping the entire party and bringing it to the national level. Lal Krishna Advani was sometimes called the leader of the party, sometimes the Iron Man and sometimes the real face of the party. Overall, Lal Krishna Advani is an important chapter in the history of the party so far.

Big movement for Ram temple

When the consecration of Lord Ram was taking place in the Ram temple, Lal Krishna Advani was in the news. He organized a big movement for Ram Mandir and during the Ram Mandir movement in 1990, he took out Ram Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya and was arrested. It is said that when Advani was arrested, his political stature increased and his popularity reached its peak. Meanwhile, every child knew who Advani was.

These key positions played an important role

• In the year 1947, Lal Krishna Advani was elected Secretary of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Karachi.
• In the year 1951, he became a member of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, which was founded by Shri Syama Prasad Mukherjee.
• From 1966 to 1967, he was the leader of Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Also served as member of Delhi Metropolitan Council from 1967-1977.
• From 1970 to 1976, Lal Krishna Advani was a member of the Rajya Sabha from Delhi.
• In 1973, he was appointed National President of Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
• After this, he remained a member of Rajya Sabha from Gujarat continuously from 1976 to 1982.
• After separating from the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1977, he joined the Janata Party with Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
• In the year 1977, the Janata Party won majority in the Lok Sabha and Morarji Desai was appointed as the new Prime Minister.
• Minister of Information and Broadcasting (Janata Party Government) from 1977 to 1979.
• From January 1980 to April 1980, Lal Krishna Advani was the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha.
• During the year 1980, he was appointed as the National General Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He remained in this post till 1986.
• In the year 1982, he was again appointed to the Rajya Sabha for the third time.
• In the year 1986, Lal Krishna Advani was appointed the National President of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
• In the year 1998, he was elected member of Rajya Sabha for the fourth time.
• In the year 1989, Lal Krishna Advani was elected MP in the 9th Lok Sabha.
• From 1989 to 1991, Lal Krishna Advani was the leader of the Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha.
• From 1990 to 1991, Lal Krishna Advani was made the Chairman of the Lok Sabha Secretariat Re-examination Committee under the Recruitment and Appointment Rules 1955.
• In the year 1991, Lal Krishna Advani was elected MP for the second time in the general elections of the 10th Lok Sabha.
• From 1991 to 1993, Lal Krishna Advani was the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha.
• From 1993 to 1998, Lal Krishna Advani remained the national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
• In the year 1998, Lal Krishna Advani was elected for the third time in the general elections of the 12th Lok Sabha.
• Lal Krishna Advani remained the Home Minister from 1998 to 1999.
• In the year 1999, Lal Krishna Advani was elected for the fourth time in the general elections of the 13th Lok Sabha.
• Lal Krishna Advani was the Home Minister of India from October 1999 to May 2004.
• Lal Krishna Advani was the Deputy Prime Minister from 29 June 2002 to May 2004.
• From 1 July 2002 to 25 August 2002, Lal Krishna Advani was the Union Cabinet Minister for Personal Affairs, Pensions and Public Grievances Redressal.
• In the year 2004, Lal Krishna Advani was elected for the 5th time in the 14th Lok Sabha elections and remained the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha.
• From 5 August 2006 to May 2009, Lal Krishna Advani was a member of the Home Affairs Committee.
• In the year 2009, Lal Krishna Advani was elected MP for the sixth time in the 15th Lok Sabha.
• Lal Krishna Advani was the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha from 29 May 2009 to December 2009.
• On 4 August 2009, Lal Krishna Advani was made a member of the committee for portraits of prominent Indian national leaders to be installed in the parliamentary complex.
• On 31 August 2009, Lal Krishna Advani was made a member of the Committee on Home Ministries.
• On 15 December 2009, Lal Krishna Advani was made a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Development of the Parliamentary Complex and its Maintenance and Conservation.
• BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidates in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections
• Parliamentary Board Member of BJP from 2014 to 2020
• Awarded Bharat Ratna by the Government of India in 2024