Balraj Madhok

Balraj Madhok (b-25 February,1920) was a former president of Bharatiya Jan Sangh and a senior politician of India in 1960s . He was born at Askardu in the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. He started his academic and political career in Jammu and Kashmir. Prof. Madhok played a key role in the accession of the state of Jammu and Kashmir to India. He along with Pt. Prem Nath Dogra, formed the Praja Parishad Party in Kashmir in 1949.The party demanded complete unification of Jammu & Kashmir with India. Later he merged the Praja Parishad Party with Bharatiya Jana Sangh. He assisted Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee in formation of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh in the year 1951. He was the first secretary of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh. He scripted the first manifesto of the Party.

He worked as a History Professor in the University of Delhi.

He held various positions in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh as Secretary, General Secretary, Idealogue and Parliamentary Party Leader. He was elected to the Second and Fourth Lok Sabha from North Delhi and South Delhi. Prof. Madhok, was elected as the President of Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1966 and he led the party in the general elections of 1967. Bharatiya Jana Sangh got its highest ever tally of 35 seats in the Lok Sabha. He served as the President of the party for a year. He served as a member in the Consulative committee of Foreign Affairs, Loksabha. He was the President of Indo-Israeli Friendship Society (1967-1974) and Indo-Tibetan Society.

In the year 1969 he developed ideological differences with other senior leaders of the party like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Nanaji Deshmukh and L.K.Advani with regard to the policies of the party. He was expelled from the party in March, 1973.

He was arrested during Emergency and was imprisoned for 18 months, (1975-1977). He initially joined the Janata Party but later resigned in 1979 and revived the Bharatiya Jana Sangh under the name Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh, but was not successful. He has keen interest and knowledge in the affairs of Kashmir.

He has authored many books, some of them are :

*Hindustan on the Cross Roads
*Portrait of a Martyr (Biography of Shyama Prasad Mukerjee),
*Kashmir: The Storm Center of The World,
*Bungling in Kashmir,
*Kargil and Indo-Pak Relations,
*Rationale of Hindu State, etc.

Right from his expulsion in 1973, he remains a pungent critic of Vajpayee, Advani and their policies.

External links

* [http://www.balrajmadhok.com/ Balraj Madhok]
* [http://www.janasangh.com]
* [http://www.janasangh.com/jsart.aspx?stid=194]