Deendayal Upadhyaya: Kritatva Evam Vichar (History of Political Thought)

Deendayal Upadhyayas life was integral to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Due to his decisive role and leadership, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh became the most important political party in Indian politics. Deendayal Upadhyaya believed in constitutionalism as a religious state. He was critical of mixed or secular nationalism. India has a great culture. Indian nationalism is integrated; its identity is not religious or political, but geo-cultural. He opposed federal governance and advocated for decentralized, integrated governance. He opposed the imposition of Western concepts on Indias political system and advocated originality and Indianness. He considered the ideology that considered politics the be-all and end-all of life to be wrong. Deendayal was a keen scholar of economics. He rejected the Western conception of a consumerist (capitalism) and a government-oriented (communism) economic man. He advocated for increased production, restraint in consumption, and equality in distribution. He presented the idea of Adev Matrika Krishi (non-divine agriculture) and Apar Matrika Udyog. His thinking resulted in Integral Humanism, a holistic philosophy of life. It does not divide the individual and society; it focuses on the integral happiness of the body, mind, intellect, and soul, and collectively practices the four goals of the Virat Purush: Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. Deendayal Upadhyaya presented nature as a witness to unity and complementarity. He was not a one-sided or fragmented vision, but rather a traveler on the path of holistic vision.