- Introduction
- Early life
- Ideas of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya
- Integral Approach
- Social, Political and Economic Thought
- Indian Thought and Spiritual Aspects
- Integral Humanism
- Philosophy
- Origins
- Contrast with Nehruvian Economic Policies
- The Political Dimension of Integral Humanism
Introduction
Deendayal Upadhyaya (25 September 1916 – 11 February 1968) was an Indian politician and leader of Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), the forerunner of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Known by the epithet Panditji, he was a proponent of the Integral Humanism ideology.
Upadhyaya started the monthly publication Rashtra Dharma in the 1940s to spread the ideals of Hindutva revival.
He is known for drafting Jan Sangh's official political doctrine, Integral Humanism, incorporating values of cultural-nationalism.
He agreed with several Gandhian socialist principles, including sarvodaya (progress of all) and swadeshi (self-sufficiency).
Early life
Upadhyaya was born in 1916 in the village of Nagla Chandraban, now called Deendayal Dham, in Mathura District, 30 km from Mathura, into a Brahmin family.
His father, Bhagwati Prasad Upadhyaya, was an astrologer, and his mother, Rampyari Upadhyaya, was a homemaker and observant Hindu.
Both parents died when he was eight years old, and he was brought up by his maternal uncle.
His education was under the guardianship of his uncle and aunt, attending high school in Sikar.
The Maharaja of Sikar awarded him a gold medal, Rs 250 to buy books, and a monthly scholarship of Rs 10.
He did his Intermediate in Pilani, Rajasthan (now Birla School, Pilani).
He earned a BA degree from Sanatan Dharma College, Kanpur.
In 1939, he moved to Agra and joined St. John's College, Agra, to pursue a master's degree in English literature, but could not continue his studies due to family and financial issues.
He did not take his MA exams.
He became known as Panditji for appearing in the civil services examination while wearing traditional Indian dhoti-kurta and cap.