Founding of Bharatiya Jana Sangh from "summary" of The Life & Times of Shyama Prasad Mookerjee by Tathagata Roy
Bharatiya Jana Sangh was founded in 1951 by the Indian political leader Shyama Prasad Mookerjee. It was the first right-wing political party in India that focused on promoting Hindu nationalism and integral humanism. Mookerjee was the first president of the party and he dedicated himself to the cause of Indian nationalism.- In 1951, Syama Prasad Mookerjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh to safeguard India's cultural heritage and strengthen its decentralised decision making power.
- The core ideology of the BJS was devotion to the motherland and even today harbours a strong sense of Dharma. It emphasises the need to imbibe traditional Indian values in all spheres of life.
- While greatly inspired by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Shyama Prasad Mookerjee believed that political propaganda was equally, if not more, effective than physical organisation, so the BJS adopted this approach to recruit members nationwide.
- The Bharatiya Jana Sangh vowed to fight mission of Karl Marx and the Communist ideas adopted by the Indian National Congress in order to have a counter philosophical narrative that champions India’s traditional values and ways of life.
- As a founder of the BJS, he wanted to combat the disproportionately high influence of socialists on the Indian National Congress party which he believed caused a decline in individual morale and entrepreneurialism.
- Under his leadership, BJS slowly spread across India with 900 branches by 1952, reaching out to tribal people in the countryside to make society whole and politically informed.
- It must be noted that before it was blissfully founded in 1951, multiple attempts were made by previous movement leaders to unite Hindus under one umbrella. But none compared to the dedication Shyama Prasad Mookerjee gave to this cause upon founding the BJS.
- His vision was to bring about an Amar Bharat or Golden India which is both prosperous and powerful while remaining deeply rooted in its traditional moral and spiritual values.
- One major way the BJS sought to revitalize Hindu culture was by building civic spaces such as temples, museums, monuments that will pay homage to the cultural heroes of our land.
- He became increasingly aware of socialist ideas permeating the fabric of mainstream politics and envisioned a platform for right-wing principles in opposition to Marxism-Leninism.
