Advani, Lal Krishna

(b. 1927) Modern Indian politician as well
as past president and leader of the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a party
often considered the political wing of the
Rashtriya Svayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Advani joined the RSS as a young man and
was encouraged by the RSS to become
active in politics, first in the Jana Sangh
and later in the BJP. In the fall of 1990,
Advani embarked on a tour of northern
India to raise public support for building
a Rama temple in Ayodhya, on a site
which at the time was occupied by a
Muslim mosque. The public response to
this rath yatra (“chariot journey”) was
positive and brought great political benefits to the BJP; the BJP has since run the
state governments in some of India’s
most important states and has become
the largest opposition party in
Parliament. During the 1990s the BJP’s
influence waxed and waned, but for
much of this time, Advani has been one of
the leading figures in the party. In the
spring of 1996, however, he was one of
many Indian political figures whose name
was connected with a major bribery scandal. He immediately resigned his seat in
Parliament and promised that he would
not seek office until his name had been
cleared. The allegation was found to be
completely baseless, and Advani was
reelected to Parliament in March, 1998.
During the thirteen months of BJP government rule in 1998–99, Advani served as
Home Minister (the Cabinet officer
responsible for all domestic affairs) and
has continued in this position during the
BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.