LK Advani’s Blog

I was elected to Parliament in 1970. My first trip abroad was as part of a parliamentary delegation to Czechoslovakia in 1972. The Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Gurdial Singh Dhillon was the leader of the delegation.

Those days Czechoslovakia had been very much in the news. In 1965, following assumption of leadership of the Czechoslovak Communist Party by Alexander Dubcek, the Party contemplated drastic changes in domestic policy – restoration of the right to freedom of assembly and freedom of speech, and imposition of severe restrictions on the secret police. This plan of action described as the ‘Socialist Democratic Revolution’ by the Czechs deeply upset Moscow.

In 1968, an angry U.S.S.R. decided to crush these ‘Democratic’ proclivities. Czechoslovakia was invaded with 600,000 troops. An armed purge of all liberals in the Communist Party was carried out, Dubcek was thrown out, and a new government installed. The country was once again reduced to its earlier status of being Moscow’s vassal state.

When I agreed to go to Czechoslovakia with the parliamentary delegation, I thought to myself why not visit U.S.S.R. also on the way? So I planned my trip to Prague via Moscow. The Secretary General of the Lok Sabha Shri S.L. Shakdhar, who later became the country’s Chief Election Commissioner, tried hard to dissuade me. ‘You belong to the Jana Sangh. Your party’s critical opinions about Communism and about Moscow’s invasion of Click to Read More

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Makar Sankranti (January 14) goes by different names in different parts of our country. In Tamil Nadu, it is celebrated as Pongal. In Assam, it brings song, dance and joy in the name of Bihu. In Punjab and in several other parts of north India, it comes, a day or two in advance, as Lohri. People gather around ceremonial log-fire to warm themselves up on a cold night, singing Lohri songs and exchanging popcorn, peanuts, crystal sugar and sweets made out of til (sesame seeds). Every year my family has Lohri celebration at home, sharing our joy with friends, office colleagues and security personnel.

Makar Sankranti reminds me of the kite festival in Gujarat, the state which I represent in Parliament. On this day, the deep blue sky in Ahmedabad and other cities and towns of the state becomes a canvas for a vibrant splash of colours as tens of thousands of people climb their rooftops to celebrate the kite festival. Indeed, the International Kite Festival in Gujarat has become a major tourist attraction.

Since 2003, the word ‘Vibrant’ has become associated with Gujarat in yet another manner, enhancing the national and international reputation of the state. Consider the fact that even in the current year of economic slowdown, Click to Read More

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A very valuable addition to my personal library this week has been a beautiful Coffee Table Book from Amit Mehra titled India : A Timeless Celebration. I congratulate the Public Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs for publishing this important book.

Amit Mehra is an outstanding photographer who has been contributing to several renowned magazines like Time, India Today, Der Speigel, Fortune, Vogue etc. Amit Dasgupta’s Introdution and Jaya Ramanathan’s textual explanation of the context of Mehra’s photographs are highly readable.

According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a Coffee Table Book is “a large expensive book that usually has a lot of pictures in it and is meant to be looked at rather than read”.

Without doubt, the pictures with which Amit Mehra has embellished this book are a treat to scan. But to me, of even greater interest has been the Foreword written by Mark Tully, who was BBC’s celebrated correspondent in India and South Asia for twenty-five years. Mark Tully, whom I have known and admired for a long time, Click to Read More

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Friends, thanks for the enthusiastic response to my inaugural post.

I was wondering what to share with you today, because there is so much to share. Elections to the 15th Lok Sabha are fast approaching. Naturally, much of my communication will be political in nature and election-oriented. However, I must confess that I do not regard politics to be the be-all-and-end-all of our national life. Indeed, politics - and all else in public life -become meaningful and fulfilling only when they are guided by higher values and ideals rooted in India’s spiritual heritage. And there is so much that politicians and those in other professions have to learn from India’s spiritual masters, both ancient and modern.

A few days ago, a new book landed on my table - The Monk Without Frontiers - Reminiscences of Swami Ranganathananda. It is the latest publication of the Ramakrishna Mission, and has been brought out to commemorate Swamiji’s birth centenary (2008). Swami Ranganathananda, as I have recorded in my autobiography (My Country My Life , published last year by Click to Read More

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Welcome, friends, to my blog. My young colleagues who have created this website told me that a political portal without a blog is like a letter without a signature. I quickly accepted this compelling logic.

I am excited by the idea of using the Internet as a platform for political communication and, especially, for election campaign. As someone who has had the good fortune of participating, either as a campaigner or as a candidate, in every single general election in India since the first one held in 1952, I have seen how the tools of communication have evolved. As far communication is concerned, I am technology-agnostic. My philosophy in this matter is simple: anything that works, deserves to be welcomed. In my own political life spanning six decades, I have enthusiastically embraced every new communication technology - from the early simple Casio digital diary to i-pod and i-phone.

In the first general election, when as a 25-year-old political activist I campaigned in Rajasthan for the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, which had been founded in the previous year by Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee, even printing a rudimentary handbill was a novelty. Let me recount an interesting incident here. My party had entrusted me with the responsibility of managing the campaign in Kotputli. After studying the problems of the region, I prepared some literature explaining how the Jana Sangh would try to solve these problems if the people elected our candidate. I had also brought copies Click to Read More

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