“It is essential that we think about our national identity, without which Independence has no meaning”
Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya (1916-1968) was a statesman, thinker, philosopher, intellectual and an organizer - who dedicated his entire life to nation building through his sheer dedication, superlative intelligence and his peerless organizational capabilities. He was also one of the founding leaders of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh — the forerunner of the BJP.
Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya proposed ‘Antyodaya’ philosophy, which means the ‘rise of the last person’. Shri Upadhyaya stressed on ‘Antyodaya’ to rid the nation of extreme poverty. It also formed a part of Shri Upadhyaya’s core philosophy of “Integral Humanism” – that viewed the man distinctly from the popular ones propagated in his time by capitalism and communism. It means to ensure that the last person in the ladder or the chain gets the benefits of growth and development. Regarding poverty, he was of the view that the state should assure a minimum standard of living to all individuals. He believed that economic schemes and progress can be measured by the person situated at the lowest level and not at the highest level of the society, who have risen above on the economic ladder.
Antyodaya is the basic principle of the political and economic philosophy of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. Not forgetting about the nature, fulfillment of necessities of human life including health care for individual, educating individual, work for all and capital formation were some of the morals defined under the concept of Integral Humanism by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. These morals were the guiding principles for Indian Social Responsibility Network (ISRN) to conceptualize the idea of rolling out the study “Documentation and Compilation of best practices of Sustainable Development as Propounded by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya” with the support of Ministry of Culture. They were the backbone for differentiating the practices into seven thematic areas: Health, Education, Agriculture, Artesian, Livelihood, Urban Development, Rural Development, Environment, Welfare and Integrated Development. The project aimed to document and disseminate the best practices implemented by voluntary organizations/ individuals for upliftment of vulnerable section of the society. Its objective is to provide a platform for unsung heroes to highlight the innovations adopted and document the same for future replication.
Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya also stressed, “Man the highest creation of God is losing his own identity. We must re-establish him in his rightful position, being him the realization of his greatness, reawaken his abilities and encourage him to exert for attaining divine heights of his latest personality. This is possible only through a decentralized economy”. He always believed that the goal of an individual is not merely to conserve the culture, but to give it momentum for its revitalization as a dynamic and capable entity. Thus, there is a need to make arrangements to ensure that the society leads a healthy and progressive life.
As focused in ideology propounded by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, there is a need to develop community leaders who in return can address development issues at community level.
Philosophy derived by
Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya