Guest guest Posted June 10, 2003 Report Share Posted June 10, 2003 >BJP News <bjpnews >bjp-l (BJP Discussion Group) >vaidika1008 >[bJP News] Advani Special >Tue, 10 Jun 2003 06:52:26 -0700 (PDT) > >The Rediff Special/L K Advani >http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/jun/07spec.htm >June 07, 2003 > >Lal Kishenchand Advani > >I started reading books when I was a teenager. At that time I was >living in Hyderabad, Sindh, now in Pakistan. > > >I was 14 years old when I joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The >first question put to me by Rajpal Puri, then prant pracharak (RSS >provincial head) of Sindh, was whether I liked reading books. > > >Since I was very much interested in reading, he gave me Dale >Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. In those times and >at that age it was an extremely impressionable book. Today it may not >impress me, but it did impress me then. > > >Almost at the same time, I read a book by Veer [Vinayak Damodar] >Savarkar titled The First War of India's Independence. It left a deep >impression on me. It was about the first uprising of Indians against >British rule in 1857. It was brought to me by a friend from Lahore. He >purchased it from a shop which exclusively sold old books. His gesture >touched me because he spent a whopping Rs 27 for the book, a high >price in those days. > > >It was a costly book because it was out of print and it was proscribed >by the British government. > > >After school, I joined the science faculty but didn't pursue my >studies. In 1942, I was in D G National College in Hyderabad, Sindh. >Because of the freedom movement, our college used to remain closed for >long periods. I got a rare chance to access the entire spectrum of >world literature. All those months I remained in the library reading >the literature created by classical writers. Authors like Alexandre >Dumas, Charles Dickens and Jules Verne, I was able to read >extensively. Dumas was a French author who fictionalised historical >events and I enjoyed reading him. > > >Around 1947, I was living away from home. My home was a RSS office >where I was very active. When Partition took place I was 20 years old. >My passion for reading was increasing. > > >I migrated to India only after Partition, on September 10, 1947. I >flew from Karachi with my friend Murlidhar. When I arrived here [in >post-Partition India] I knew only English and Sindhi. After 1947 I >started learning Hindi and reading Hindi authors. I gave up my studies >in engineering and joined the law college in Mumbai. > > >Between the age of 18 and 22 Vivekananda's books and sayings >influenced me a lot. In Karachi I used to listen to Swami >Rangnathdas's lectures on Vivekananda regularly. > > >I vividly remember one event of 1947. Immediately after Partition I >visited Mumbai for the first time in my life. My host in Mumbai asked >me, "What will you like to see?" He recommended the Elephanta Caves. I >said, "Take me to Veer Savarkar." Since his book had impressed me >deeply, I was keen to meet him. > > >Savarkar was living in Shivaji Park. I met him for 30 minutes but >memories of the meeting have remained with me. Savarkar asked me about >Sindh, how Hindus were treated there, and he inquired about their >well-being. He was an outstanding and dynamic personality, a great >patriot. > > >Another author whom I liked was Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi. I read >Munshi's novels like Rajadhiraj, Patan ni Prabhuta, and Jai Somnath. >He wrote in Gujarati, but his translations were available in Hindi and >English. > > >I found a deep influence of Dumas on Munshi. Munshi's novels were also >based on facts of history. When I was leading the Ayodhya movement and >when it became powerful, I went to the Parliament library to re-read >Munshi. > > >One of his books, Pilgrimage to Freedom, recounts how he became >interested in the Somnath temple. If you remember, when Independence >came, all the states of India were given an option to accede to India >or Pakistan. The nawab of Junagadh opted for Pakistan, but the people >(more than 80 per cent were Hindu) opposed it. > > >A people's movement, called arzi hakumat, was initiated under the >leadership of Shamaldas Gandhi, nephew of Mahatma Gandhi. He freed >Junagadh from the clutches of the nawab, who panicked and fled to >Pakistan. > > >Sardar Patel, then home minister, was sent a telegram by Shamaldas >Gandhi and S N Bhutto, then diwan of Junagadh and father of Z A >Bhutto, the late prime minister of Pakistan. When the message was >received from Bhutto, diwan of the nawab, that he had invited the >Indian army into Junagadh, the Sardar's face was beaming. Munshi said, >"Jaya Somnath!" > > >Donald Smith's magisterial volume India as a Secular State (1963) is >another book which I should mention. The book debates Nehru's >secularism and Gandhi's secularism. To put it simply, it is argued >that Gandhi was a believer and he thought all religions should be >respected. Nehru was a non-believer who believed all religions are >false and the State should not identify with any religion. Nehru's >views were the views of an atheist. I believe what Gandhi believed. >Respect all religions. > > >I have read Nehru's Discovery of India too. As a critic of Nehru, I >found it okay. But I certainly give credit to Nehru for strengthening >democracy in India after Independence. As Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee >contributed from our side, from Congress side Nehru contributed immensely. > > >These days I am able to read [mainly] at night or when I am >travelling. Now, I have a full-scale library at home with more than >8,000 books. Books are still an important part of my life. > > >Another book I liked was Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly >Effective People. One of the points the book makes is that for >self-improvement or to become effective or efficient, you need not >just sweet talk or remembering birthdays. All these sophisticated >things are fine, but what matters is basic honesty. Inner >characteristics make you effective. Basic earnestness counts for more >than anything else. So true. > > >On Pakistan, I liked reading Mary Ann Weaver's Pakistan. > > >I do read contemporary Western novelists as well. My favourite is >Jeffrey Archer. I have read John Grisham, but I don't find him >consistent. Kane and Able is the best one from Archer. > > >Recently I have read many books relating to September 11. > > >On globalisation I read recently Thomas Friedman's The Lexus and the >Olive Tree. > > >But my all-time favourite book is Rajaji's Mahabharata. > > >Like many book lovers, I don't surrender to books when I am depressed >or when I am not in a good mood. I just withdraw within myself. >Sometimes I do feel like not talking to anybody and resort to reading. >But even when I am not in a proper mood, I rarely express anger >because I regret it later. It hurts me too. In such a situation I do >tell my family members, "Mujhe padhna hai." > > >But frankly speaking, most times, to avoid expressing my feelings or >displeasure, I go off to sleep. > > >As told to Sheela Bhatt on board a flight from New Delhi to Hyderabad > > > > > _______________ Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.