LK Advani’s Blog

• It is in giving that we receive.

• If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.

• It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.

• It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.

• It is not fitting, when one is in God’s service, to have a gloomy face or a chilling look.

• Lord, grant that I might not so much seek to be loved as to love.

• Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury let me sow pardon.

• Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.

• While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart.

• I have been all things unholy. If God can work through me, he can work through anyone.

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St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) is one of the most beloved and respected Christian saints. Known for his piety, simplicity and humility, his words of wisdom have an everlasting sheen. His love for birds, animals, trees and all the creations of God is legendary. One day, while St. Francis was traveling with some companions, they happened upon a place in the road where birds filled the trees on either side. He told his companions to “wait for me while I go to 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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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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