Lal Krishna Advani (Devanagari: लाल कृष्ण आडवाणी) also known as Lal Kishenchand Advani (لال ڪشنچند آڊواڻي) (born November 8, 1927/1929, Karachi, Pakistan) was the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) until year-end 2005 and is Leader of the Opposition in the 14th Lok Sabha. He is a prominent figure in his party and was the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister in the Indian government (1998-2004). He is considered to be the most influential leader in his party. He was conferred the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for the year 1999.

Early life and education

Advani was born on November 8, 1929 in Karachi (now in Pakistan) to Kishichand D. Advani. His early schooling was at St.Patrick's school in Karachi. He later joined the D.G. National College in Hyderabad, Sindh (now in Pakistan). He later on graduated in Law from the Government Law College Bombay University.

Family

L.K. Advani is married to Kamla Advani. They have one son Jayant and daughter Pratibha.

Early Political activities

Advani joined the RSS in 1942

• He was the Sangh's Karachi branch secretary.
• He was actively involved in the Jana Sangha and rose in the ranks of the Delhi branch of that party and was elected on the ticket of that party from 1970 to 1975.
• Though not a practising lawyer, he argued on behalf of his party in 1974 before the Supreme Court in the Presidential reference whether election to the post of President could be held when the Gujarat Assembly was dissolved.
• He was detained under the MISA act in Bangalore prison during the Emergency years (1975 to 1977).
• From 1970 to 1989, he was a member of the Rajya Sabha. In 1989 and again in 1991, he was elected to Lok Sabha and in 1991, he held posts (refer to the section on posts held below).

Advani is credited with turning the BJP into a significant force in Indian politics by undertaking the Ratha Yatra (Chariot

L.K Advani is known for his firm views on the issues of terrorism and Pakistan though in 2005, while touring Pakistan, he made conciliatory remarks about Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan resulting in much controversy. It is also significant that Advani, the RSS's brighest man in Karachi was accused by the Government of Pakistan of planning to assassinate Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

Posts held in the Indian Government

• Information and Broadcasting Minister in the Janata Party Government in 1977.
• Leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament 1980.
• Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian parliament in 1991 to 1993.
• Home Minister in the Indian cabinet (1998).
• Deputy Prime Minister in the Indian cabinet (1999 to 2004).
• Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha (2004 to now).

Babri Masjid demolition and the consequences

The BJP launched a decade-long movement led by Advani on the issue of the Ram Temple. The BJP demanded that a temple dedicated to Lord Rama be created on the spot where (according to their claim) a temple stood till Babar's invasion of India. The Ayodhya site is claimed by both Hindus and Muslims. A mosque there was torn down by Hindu activists in 1992, sparking riots nationwide that cost 2,000 lives. Hindus consider Ayodhya a very sacred place since Lord Ram was born there.The disputed mosque was built on the site of an earlier grand temple dedicated to Lord Ram. Speaking to correspondents on his appointment as President of BJP, Advani said: "We must be candid enough to recognise the Hindu anger that exploded on the streets in the early 1990s has given way to a patient wait for the new temple whose construction, I feel is inevitable." . A promise which he failed to keep even after being elected to the post of deputy prime minister.

In appearances before the Liberhan Commission, a judicial body set up to investigate the Babri incident, Advani claimed that the demolition was the most agonising moment of his life.

Legal proceedings against Advani begin

• After the demolition of the Babri_Masjid in Ayodhya on 6 December 1992, a police FIR (first information report) was filed where Advani was named amongst other BJP and RSS leaders.
• The accusations of "inflammatory speeches to spread communal hatred" were levelled against them.

Case dismissed

• In Sep 2003, a court in Rae Bareli discharged L.K Advani in the demolition case. Advani was home minister in the Indian cabinet at that time.

Case reopened

• On 6_June 2005, a high court in Allahabad set the
  
  
  
  Rae Bareli court order aside. This was widely seen as an indication that proceedings against Advani and the other accused would start again.
• A special judicial magistrate in Rae Bareilly charged Advani with making "exciting and provocative speeches" which aroused the mobs to demolish the Babri Masjid. Advani said the reopening of this case would remind the masses about Ayodhya and resurrect the temple construction issue.

On 5_July 2005, five AK-47 wielding militants stormed the disputed site in Ayodhya, and were gunned down. Advani flayed the attack saying it happened because Ayodhya was "a symbol of cultural nationalism" and accused the Manmohan Singh led Government of security lapses.

Internal problems after electoral defeat

The period after the NDA's electoral defeat in the Indian general elections, 2004 was anything but smooth and has emerged as a major challenge for Advani.

• Uma Bharati was suspended from the party for her outburst in a party meeting against the second rung leadership of the party.
• The Jinnah controversy has caused internal party feuds and soured the relationship between the BJP and the RSS.
• On July_18 2005, BJP leaders Madan Lal Khurana and Murali Manohar Joshi asked Advani to step down as the president of the party citing the following reasons
  • The RSS had supposedly lost faith in Advani.
  • The party's principle of one person holding at most one post. Advani held the post of BJP party president and leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha when the resignations were demanded.

A month later, Khurana told the press that he found it difficult to work with Advani and criticised his style of running the party. On 20 August 2005, Khurana was issued a show cause for his statements and threatened with suspension from the party. He was also relieved from his posts in the party.

• In August 2005, detractors of Narendra Modi from the Gujarat province assembled in New Delhi to demand Modi's outster. Advani praised Modi's administration calling it clean, efficient and praiseworthy.

Resignation controversy over Jinnah remarks

On June 7, 2005, Advani offered his resignation from his post as BJP President amid controversial comments he is said to have made during a trip to Pakistan. He became the first major Indian political leader to visit Jinnah's mausoleum, on June 4 and he wrote in the visitors' book:

There are many people who leave an irreversible stamp on history. But there are few who actually create history. Qaed-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah was one such rare individual. In his early years, leading luminary of freedom struggle Sarojini Naidu described Jinnah as an ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity. His address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on August 11, 1947 is really a classic and a forceful espousal of a secular state in which every citizen would be free to follow his own religion. The State shall make no distinction between the citizens on the grounds of faith. My respectful homage to this great man.

This was reported in the Indian media as Advani terming Jinnah as a "secular" leader. Both Hindu nationalist groups aligned with the BJP and officials from the ruling Congress party lashed out against Advani for his statements. The leaders of the BJP party tried to persuade Advani to take back his resignation, a suggestion Advani refused. A memorandum was presented to Advani by the partymen hailing his trip to Pakistan without any reference to the Jinnah speech. Advani rejected this memorandum yet again.

While Pakistan was cautious, some Pakistanis saw it as Advani's ploy to shed his hawkish image which seems at odd with the times. In its editorial, The News said "His remarks have certainly given him a new look among the Pakistani people, who otherwise would reject him as a hardcore radical with nothing good to contribute to peace." while others saw this as posturing on Advani's part to widen his appeal to the Indian masses to appear as a prime minister in waiting.

The chief of the Hindu nationalist RSS acknowledged Advani's contributions as party president without referring to the Jinnah incident while another senior leader of BJP, Murali Manohar Joshi opined that the party ideaology could not be diluted.

On 10'th June 2005, L.K Advani took back his resignation. Sushma Swaraj, a BJP party leader said at the end of the party's parliamentary board meeting "During the last four days there was a crisis gripping the party after Advani's resignation, which was unequivocally rejected. It is now over."

Amongst those present in the board meeting were former Prime Minister A.B Vajpayee and former union minister Murali Manohar Joshi. The board adopted a resolution stating Jinnah to be the pursuer of the two nation theory which eventually lead to the partition of Indian subcontinent into India and Pakistan. However, the controversial visit of L.K Advani to Pakistan was declared to be a success.

Announcement of resignation

On 18 September 2005, Advani announced that, he would step down as party president after the silver jubilee celebrations of the party, to be held in Mumbai during December 2005. He warned the RSS leaders that a perception was building in the country that the "RSS was remote-controlling" the BJP.

Lal Krishna Advani