Balraj Madhok was an Indian political activist and politician from Jammu.
29 Facts About Balraj Madhok
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Balraj Madhok eventually rose to become the president of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and led its successful contest in the general election of 1967.
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Balraj Madhok was later expelled from Bharatiya Jana Sangh for "anti-party" activities after the death of Deendayal Upadhyaya.
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Balraj Madhok came from a Jammu-based Khatri family with Arya Samaj leanings.
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Balraj Madhok was born in Skardu, Baltistan and spent early childhood at Jallen.
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Balraj Madhok studied in Srinagar, the Prince of Wales College in Jammu and the Dayanand Anglo-Vedic College in Lahore, graduating with B A Honours in History in 1940.
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Balraj Madhok married Kamla, who was a professor at the Delhi University.
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Balraj Madhok was unwell for some time and had been admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi for a month.
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Balraj Madhok's death was condoled by many including the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and several others including Lal Krishna Advani.
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Balraj Madhok became a pracharak for the RSS in 1942 and was appointed as a worker for Jammu.
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Balraj Madhok is said to have worked in this position for about eight months building up the RSS network.
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Balraj Madhok then moved to Srinagar in 1944 as a lecturer in history at the DAV College and continued to work as an RSS organiser.
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Balraj Madhok established the RSS network in the Kashmir Valley.
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Balraj Madhok worked to form the Praja Parishad party, founded in November 1947, in collaboration with Hari Wazir.
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Balraj Madhok was extended from Jammu and Kashmir by Sheikh Abdullah as a result of his political stance.
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Balraj Madhok moved to Delhi in 1948 and started teaching at the Panjab University College, which was established for the education of refugees from West Punjab.
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In 1951, Balraj Madhok launched the student union of the Sangh Parivar, viz.
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In 1951, Balraj Madhok joined Shyama Prasad Mookerjee in the formation of what later become the political party of the Sangh Parivar, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
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Balraj Madhok served as the secretary of the Panjab branch and later, a member of the Working Committee of the national organisation.
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Balraj Madhok was part of the RSS-dominated Working Committee of the Jana Sangh in 1954, which ensured the ouster of the traditional politician wing led by the President M C Sharma.
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Balraj Madhok continued to be active in the Delhi branch of Jana Sangh, and won the Lok Sabha seat for Delhi in 1961.
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Balraj Madhok led the party in the general election of 1967, when the party won 35 seats in the Lok Sabha, its highest tally.
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Balraj Madhok tried to create a coalition of rightist forces along with the Swatantra Party.
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Balraj Madhok saw the split in the Congress party in 1969 as an opportunity to expand the role of Jana Sangh.
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Balraj Madhok denounced what he called the party's `leftist' leanings and the influence of the RSS on its functioning.
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Balraj Madhok's stand led to his marginalisation in the party.
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Balraj Madhok was arrested during the Emergency and was imprisoned for 18 months,.
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Balraj Madhok joined the Janata Party, into which Jana Sangh merged, but resigned in 1979 and tried to revive Jana Sangh under the name Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
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Right from his expulsion in 1973, Balraj Madhok remained a pungent critic of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani and their policies.