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Ashok Singhal

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For the politician, seeAshok Singhal (politician).

Ashok Singhal
Born
Ashok Singhal

(1926-09-27)27 September 1926
Agra,United Provinces,British India
(present dayUttar Pradesh,India)
Died17 November 2015(2015-11-17)(aged 89)
Gurgaon,Haryana, India
NationalityIndian
Alma materMetallurgy Department, IIT BHU
OccupationLeader ofvishva hindu parishad
AwardsDharmashree Award

Ashok Singhal(27 September 1926 – 17 November 2015) was the international working president of the Hindu organisationVishva Hindu Parishad(VHP) for over 20 years and in charge of theAyodhyaRam Janmabhoomi movement.[1]He was replaced in theVishva Hindu Parishadin December 2011 following a long bout of diminishing physical health.[2]Succeeded byPraveen Togadia,Singhal suffered ill-health but was working till a month before his death.[3]

Life[edit]

Singhal was born in Agra. His father Mr Mahavir Singh Singhal(Vill Bijoli, atrauli, District Aligarh) was an ICS (Indian Civil Service) government official.[4]He had six brothers and a sister. His elder brothers were Vinod P Singhal Retd as Chief Secretary State of Tripura, Pramod P Singhal a businessman based in Udaipur, Anand P Singhal a senior officer in the Defence Ministry and his younger brothers were, BP Singhal, formerDGP,UP Police and BJP Rajya Sabha MP, Piyush Singhal a businessman based in Mumbai and Vivek Singhal a businessman based in Delhi. His sister, Usha Rani Singhal was also a sangh pracharak and led the women front. Singhal received a bachelor's degree in Metallurgical Engineering from theBenaras Hindu University Institute of Technologyin 1950.[5]

Singhal was a trained vocalist inHindustani music.He studied underPandit Omkarnath Thakur.[6]

He died on 17 November 2015 atMedantaMedicity hospital in Gurgaon, aged 89. On 1 October 2015, the bookHindutva Ke Purodhawas released and officially launched by the thenHome Minister of India,Rajnath Singh.The book describes all dedications to his political party and India. This was written by Mahesh Bhagchandaka.[7]

Career[edit]

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh[edit]

Ashok Singhal joinedRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) in 1942 under tutelage ofBalasaheb Deoras.After obtaining a degree in Engineering, he opted to become a full-timepracharak.He worked in various locations aroundUttar Pradesh,becoming aprantpracharakfor Delhi and Haryana. In 1980, he was deputed to the VHP, becoming its joint general secretary. In 1984, he became its general secretary and, later, the working president, a role in which he continued till 2011.[6]

Vishva Hindu Parishad[edit]

After theMeenakshipuram conversionsin 1981, Singhal moved to the VHP as the joint general secretary. After noting the main grievance of theDalitcommunities in the area as being access to temples, VHP built 200 temples specifically for Dalits. He says that the conversions stopped afterwards.[5]

Singhal was a key organiser of the first VHP Dharma Sansad in 1984 held atVigyan Bhavanin New Delhi, attracting hundreds of sadhus and Hindu notables to discuss the issues of rejuvenating Hinduism. The movement for reclaiming theRam Janmabhoomitemple was born here.[4]Singhal soon became the chief architect of the movement.

Fast unto death and Force Feeding[edit]

During the tenure of Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee(1998–2004), the pair of Vajpayee and Singhal fell out when he felt thatNDAGovernment of Vajpayee was not taking any further steps in buildingRam Mandir.[8]

Ashok Singhal then went on fast unto death on the demand of the construction ofRam MandiratAyodhya.He was "Force Fed" on the orders of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. This saddened Ashok Singhal and badly affected once good relations of Singhal and Vajpayee for the rest of his life.[9]

Philosophy[edit]

Ashok Singhal openly promoted his Hindu views. In every public meeting after 1989, wherever he gave speech, there was definitely talks of Hindu and of Hindu's interest.[10]

References[edit]

  1. ^Seetapati, Vinay (26 June 2016)."Personal doctor says Narasimha Rao's reaction to Babri demolition was honest agitation".The Indian Express.Retrieved12 June2017.
  2. ^"Veteran VHP leader Ashok Singhal replaced as VHP Int.president".Kochi: Indian Express. Press Trust of India. 20 December 2011.Retrieved26 March2012.
  3. ^Ramaseshan, Radhika (20 December 2011)."Change in VHP sweet for Sangh".Kolkata: The Telegraph. Archived fromthe originalon 8 February 2013.Retrieved26 March2012.
  4. ^ab Pokharel, Krishna; Beckett, Paul."Ayodhya: The Battle for India's Soul"(PDF).The Wall Street Journal.Retrieved3 September2014.
  5. ^ab "Gau Bhakti will lead to good governance, Ashok Singhal".DNA India.1 September 2013.Retrieved1 September2014.
  6. ^ab"Band of Brothers".Express India.17 March 2002. Archived fromthe originalon 3 September 2014.Retrieved3 September2014.
  7. ^"Hidutva ke Purodha".1 October 2015.Retrieved17 August2017.
  8. ^"राम मंदिर के लिए सिंघल ने किया था अनशन, अटल के आदेश पर हुई थी फोर्स फीडिंग".17 November 2015.Retrieved27 September2016.
  9. ^"अशोक सिंघल के जीवन से जुड़ी खास बातें जिन्हें आप जानना चाहेंगे".17 November 2015.Retrieved27 September2016.
  10. ^"जानिए कौन थे अशोक सिंघल, राम जन्मभूमि आंदोलन में निभाई थी अहम भूमिका – Haribhoomi DailyHunt".Retrieved27 September2016.[permanent dead link]

Bibliography[edit]

  • Jaffrelot, Christophe (1996).The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics.C. Hurst & Co. Publishers.ISBN978-1850653011.
  • Katju, Manjari (2013).Vishva Hindu Parishad and Indian Politics.Orient Blackswan.ISBN978-81-250-2476-7.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ashok_Singhal&oldid=1226914895"