Son in law of ashok singhal vishwa
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He was elder brother of BP Singhal, former DGP, UP Police and BJP Rajya Sabha MP. Singhal has a bachelor's degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Benaras Hindu University Institute of Technology in 1950. In 1980, he was deputed to the VHP, becoming its joint general secretary. His father was a government official. This saddened Ashok Singhal and badly affected once good relations of Singhal and Vajpayee for lifetime.
Ashok Singhal was right wing Hindu and openly promoted his views.
Ashok Singhal
Ashok Singhal (27 September 1926 – 17 November 2015) was an Indian Hindu activist and religious leader who served as the international working president of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), a Hindu nationalist organization, for over two decades.[1][2] Born in Bijoli village in Aligarh district to Mahavir Singh and Vidhyawati, he earned a degree in metallurgical engineering from Banaras Hindu University in 1959 but forsook a professional career to become a full-time pracharak for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).[1] In 1964, he transitioned to the VHP, where he advanced to joint general secretary and later general secretary, focusing on unifying Hindu organizations and expanding outreach through affiliates like Bajrang Dal.[1][3] Singhal's most defining contribution was leading the VHP's Ram Janmabhoomi movement, which sought to reclaim the Ayodhya site believed by Hindus to be Lord Rama's birthplace for temple construction, culminating in the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid and eventual temple building in 2020.[4][5] In 1984, as working president, he convened the first Dharma Sansad in New Delhi, rallying Hindu seers to prioritize the Ayodhya issue, which galvanized mass kar seva campaigns and shifted Indian politics toward greater Hindu assertion.[6][7] He organized processions like the 1989 Ram Shila Puja, collecting bricks for the temple and boosting the Bharatiya Janata Party's electoral fortunes.[4] While praised within Hindu circles for safeguarding religious sites and countering perceived demographic threats through reconversion (ghar wapsi) initiatives targeting those converted from Hinduism, Singhal faced criticism from outlets like the BBC for statements perceived as anti-minority, such as endorsing population control measures among Muslims and Christians to preserve Hindu majorities.[8][9] His unyielding stance on Hindu unity and temple reclamations, including support for actions in Mathura and Kashi, underscored a causal view that historical injustices against Hindu sites warranted restoration, influencing the trajectory of cultural nationalism in India despite opposition from secular and left-leaning institutions often biased against such assertions.[10] Singhal died in Gurgaon after prolonged illness, leaving a legacy as a pivotal figure in revitalizing organized Hindu activism.[11]
Early Life and Formation
Childhood and Family Background
Ashok Singhal was born on September 27, 1926, at his maternal home to Mahavir Singh, a deputy collector, and Vidhyawati, in a prosperous Vaishya family originating from Bijoli in Aligarh district, Uttar Pradesh.[1] His mother, who had completed matriculation, provided his early education and emphasized spiritual values, shaping his formative years in a religiously oriented household.[1]The family home featured daily rituals including Agnihotra and Gayatri Havan, with frequent visits from saints and religious figures, fostering an environment immersed in Hindu traditions.[1] Singhal grew up with one sister, Usha—who later married in 1963 and engaged with Vishva Hindu Parishad activities—and three brothers: Bhartendu, an Indian Police Service officer who married in 1950; Piyush, a businessman married in 1964; and Vivek, also a businessman married in 1965.[1] This family of eight members provided a stable backdrop before Singhal's later dedication to public service.[1]Education and Entry into RSS
Singhal enrolled at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in the early 1940s to pursue a B.Tech in metallurgical engineering, completing his degree in 1950.[12][13] During his student years at BHU, he actively participated in campus activities aligned with nationalist organizations, reflecting his growing interest in Hindu cultural and social reform.[6]His entry into the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) occurred in 1942, at age 16, under the mentorship of Balasaheb Deoras, a prominent RSS figure who later became its sarsanghchalak.[13][6] This involvement began as informal participation in shakhas and training camps, which deepened during his BHU tenure, where RSS activities provided a platform for ideological formation amid the Quit India Movement's fervor.[7] Rather than entering professional engineering practice post-graduation, Singhal committed to full-time RSS pracharak duties in 1950, forgoing career prospects to propagate the organization's vision of Hindu societal organization.[7][14]Pracharak Roles and Responsibilities
A pracharak in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is a full-time, dedicated functionary who takes a lifelong oath of service to the organization and the nation, forgoing personal family life, marriage, and material pursuits to focus on ideological propagation, organizational expansion, and character-building among volunteers (swayamsevaks).[15] These individuals live austerely, with basic needs met by local supporters, and undertake tasks such as establishing daily branch meetings (shakhas), conducting training camps, leading relief efforts during crises, and coordinating with affiliated groups to advance Hindu nationalist objectives.[15][16]Ashok Singhal joined the RSS as a swayamsevak in 1942 and transitioned to full-time pracharak status in 1950, immediately after earning a bachelor's degree in metallurgical engineering from Banaras Hindu University, rejecting conventional career paths in favor of organizational work.[17] Initially assigned to Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, he focused on grassroots activities, including strengthening local shakhas and engaging with diverse societal sectors to build RSS presence.[18][1] His efforts extended to other regions such as Uttar Pradesh more broadly, where he contributed to expanding the organization's network amid post-independence challenges to Hindu cultural identity.[17]By the mid-1970s, Singhal advanced to the role of Prant Pracharak (provincial organizer) for the Delhi-Haryana region, serving from approximately 1977 to 1982, a position entailing oversight of multiple districts and coordination of pracharaks at lower levels.[3][19] In this capacity, his responsibilities included appointing and directing subordinate pracharaks, administering provincial operations, disseminating ideological training, and ensuring alignment with RSS goals of national unity and cultural revival.[16] Singhal's methodical approach—emphasizing discipline, outreach to intellectuals and youth, and relentless fieldwork—earned him recognition within the Sangh Parivar as a exemplary pracharak who embodied selfless mission-driven service.[20][6] This phase solidified his expertise in mobilization, which later informed his deputation to the Vishva Hindu Parishad in 1981.[12]Key Contributions to Organizational Growth
Ashok Singhal transitioned to full-time pracharak status in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) immediately after completing his metallurgy engineering degree from Banaras Hindu University in 1950, forgoing a conventional career to focus on ideological propagation and cadre-building.[7] In this capacity, he initially worked in Kanpur, conducting daily shakha sessions, organizing training camps, and recruiting swayamsevaks to strengthen grassroots presence amid the RSS's post-1948 revival following its temporary ban.[3] His efforts aligned with the organization's emphasis on disciplined volunteer networks, contributing to the steady expansion of shakhas in urban and rural Uttar Pradesh during the 1950s and 1960s.[4]Advancing to provincial leadership, Singhal served as Prant Pracharak for regions including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi, and Haryana, managing organizational operations across these territories from the 1960s onward.[7][21] In Delhi-Haryana specifically, he oversaw the coordination of pracharaks, event planning, and territorial outreach, which facilitated the RSS's penetration into diverse social strata and institutional settings during a phase of national reconfiguration post-Independence.[22] This role involved systematic cadre training and conflict resolution within units, enabling sustained growth in membership and influence in northern India, where the RSS established over 1,000 shakhas by the 1970s through collective pracharak initiatives.[20]Singhal's tenure as pracharak until 1981, when he was deputed to the Vishva Hindu Parishad by RSS chief Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar’s successor, underscored his foundational impact on RSS institutional resilience, particularly in countering ideological challenges from secular and leftist narratives prevalent in academia and media of the era.[20] His organizational acumen, honed through direct field engagement, supported the RSS's evolution from a modest volunteer group to a nationwide entity with robust local chapters, laying groundwork for affiliated bodies' later expansions.[23]VHP Leadership
Ascension to Key Positions
In 1980, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) deputed Ashok Singhal to the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) amid concerns over mass conversions in Meenakshipuram, appointing him as joint general secretary.[24][25] This move leveraged his prior experience as an RSS pracharak in Uttar Pradesh, where he had organized shakhas and relief efforts, to address the VHP's need for organizational strengthening against perceived threats to Hindu society.[6]By 1984, Singhal ascended to the role of VHP general secretary, a position that centralized his influence over the organization's campaigns and outreach.[25][5] In this capacity, he convened the VHP's inaugural Dharma Sansad in Delhi on October 10-11, 1984, assembling over 1,000 Hindu religious leaders to deliberate on temple reclamations and cultural preservation, marking a pivotal consolidation of VHP's strategic direction under his stewardship.[26][14]Singhal's rise continued with his elevation to working president in the late 1980s, followed by his appointment as international working president, a role he held until his death in 2015, overseeing global VHP affiliates and expanding the organization's influence beyond India.[6][1] These promotions reflected his proven efficacy in mobilizing resources and alliances within the Sangh Parivar ecosystem, prioritizing grassroots expansion over ceremonial duties.[8]Ram Janmabhoomi Movement
Ashok Singhal, as general secretary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) from 1985, played a central role in revitalizing the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, which sought to reclaim the site in Ayodhya believed to be Lord Rama's birthplace for constructing a Hindu temple.[27] Under his leadership, the VHP shifted from sporadic demands to organized mass mobilization, including yatras and processions starting in the late 1980s, such as the one led by Singhal from Sitamarhi in Bihar, Sita's purported birthplace, to build public support for temple construction at the disputed Babri Masjid site.[28] Singhal emphasized the historical and religious claims, arguing that archaeological evidence supported the existence of a prior temple structure beneath the 16th-century mosque, though such assertions faced legal and scholarly contestation.[29]Singhal's strategy involved forging alliances with Hindu saints and religious leaders, securing their endorsements to legitimize the campaign nationally and internationally during the 1990s.[30] He conceptualized and popularized "kar seva," voluntary service by devotees, to frame participation as devotional duty rather than political agitation, mobilizing lakhs of volunteers for site-related activities.[26] In October 1990, Singhal personally led kar sevaks toward Ayodhya, resulting in clashes with security forces; he sustained injuries from stones thrown during the advance but persisted in directing the efforts.[31] This event, known as the kar seva confrontation, heightened tensions and drew widespread attention to the VHP's resolve under his guidance.[19]By 1991, Singhal addressed massive rallies, including one at Delhi's Boat Club attended by over three lakh people, where he vowed, "Mandir wahin banayenge" (the temple will be built there), reinforcing the commitment to the exact site despite government negotiations for alternative locations.[32] In 1992, as VHP international president, he orchestrated the largest kar seva mobilization, with around 150,000 volunteers converging on Ayodhya by December 6, culminating in the demolition of the Babri Masjid by kar sevaks to clear the path for the temple.[4][10] Singhal defended the action as an inevitable assertion of Hindu rights, refusing to halt construction activities even amid court orders and political pressures.[33] Though absent from the site on the day of demolition, his organizational blueprint and unyielding stance were pivotal, as later affirmed by VHP accounts and his continued advocacy until his death in 2015.[23][29]Campaigns Against Conversions and Cow Slaughter
Singhal directed the Vishva Hindu Parishad's (VHP) intensified opposition to religious conversions perceived as targeting Hindus, emphasizing reconversion efforts known as ghar wapsi.He promoted Hindutva as a humane and inclusive ideology capable of fostering global harmony through ancient Hindu principles of non-violence and religious tolerance, while insisting it must guide the nation's political and social framework to counter perceived dilutions of Hindu heritage.[46][47] Singhal argued that Hindutva represented cultural nationalism, drawing from RSS ideologue M.S.
Golwalkar's vision, wherein India's identity is inherently tied to Hindu ethos, requiring minorities to adapt and respect prevailing Hindu sentiments rather than impose parallel loyalties.[48]A central tenet in Singhal's framework was the imperative of Hindu unity, which he demonstrated through organizational efforts to dispel the notion that Hindus were inherently fragmented and incapable of collective action.
In June 2015, he declared that "there can be no communal harmony unless Muslims forgo their claim on Ayodhya, Mathura and Kashi," where temple-mosque disputes persist, urging bodies like the All India Muslim Personal Law Board to relinquish claims to foster brotherhood and warning of prolonged legal battles otherwise.[70] These positions reflected his advocacy for Hindu assertiveness against what he viewed as demographic and cultural threats, often citing historical grievances and ongoing conversions as factors eroding Hindu majoritarianism.
Responses to Allegations of Incitement
Singhal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) consistently framed allegations of incitement as misinterpretations of advocacy for Hindu self-defense and cultural preservation, emphasizing that their rhetoric responded to perceived existential threats rather than promoting unprovoked violence.In a July 3, 2004, speech in Kolkata, he stated that "what happened in Gujarat after the Godhra carnage had the blessings of Lord Rama," attributing the violence to a thwarted plan to kill 2,000 returning kar sevaks and emphasizing Hindu restraint that prevented even greater casualties.[68] He defended GujaratChief MinisterNarendra Modi, claiming in February 2014 that under Modi's rule, Hindus and Muslims lived in "perfect harmony" with no communal riots in 12 years, contrasting it with riot-prone states like Uttar Pradesh, and asserting that "only Modi can prevent the Islamification of India."[69]Regarding broader Hindu-Muslim relations, Singhal conditioned communal harmony on Muslim concessions over disputed religious sites.
He then said, "NDA government may be going ahead with the support of other parties, but people voted for BJP on the issue of "Ram Temple" only. His approach combined spiritual revivalism with pragmatic politics, aiming to embed Hindutva as India's ideological future while challenging governments to prioritize Hindu interests over appeasement.[54][49]
Critiques of Secularism and Foreign Ideologies
Ashok Singhal frequently denounced Indiansecularism as "pseudo-secularism," portraying it as a mechanism for minority appeasement that undermined Hindu interests.In 1984, he became its general secretary and, later, the working president, a role in which he continued till 2011.
Singhal was a trained vocalist in Hindustani music. On September 3, 2002, in Amritsar, he described the ensuing anti-Muslim violence—which resulted in over 1,000 deaths, mostly Muslims—as a "successful experiment" that cleansed villages of Islam and should be replicated nationwide unless the "jihadi mentality" of Muslims was curbed.[18][67] He reiterated this view on October 11, 2002, warning that events in Gujarat "will happen in the whole of the country."[67]Singhal justified the riots as divinely sanctioned retaliation for the Godhra incident, where 59 passengers, including VHP kar sevaks, were killed in a train fire on February 27, 2002.
In response to the 1981 mass conversions of over 1,000 Hindus to Islam in Meenakshipuram, Tamil Nadu, the VHP under his leadership constructed around 200 temples in the area to bolster Hindu institutions and counter missionary activities.[25] He attributed rising conversion rates to foreign-funded incentives, stating in July 2005 that they had "increased manifold" following the United Progressive Alliance's rise to power at the center.[34] Singhal advocated legal measures, including support for state-level anti-conversion laws, and in February 2014 warned that unchecked conversions threatened Hindu numerical majorities, urging Hindus to produce at least five children per family as a demographic countermeasure.[35][36]The VHP's campaigns, guided by Singhal, included organized reconversion events, such as those in December 2014 targeting Christians and Muslims allegedly converted from Hinduism, with him defending the continuity of such processes despite political criticism.[37] These initiatives drew from broader VHP strategies post-1981, focusing on educational programs and grassroots mobilization to reclaim adherents, though they faced accusations of coercion from minority advocacy groups.[8]Parallel to anti-conversion drives, Singhal championed nationwide prohibition of cow slaughter as a core Hindu cultural imperative, linking it to ecological and religious preservation.
This was written by Mahesh Bhagchandaka. He says that the conversions stopped afterwards.
Singhal was a key organiser of the first VHP Dharma Sansad in 1984 held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi, attracting hundreds of sadhus and Hindu notables to discuss the issues of rejuvenating Hinduism.
Ashok singhal joined RSS in 1942 under tutelage of deoras.
After the Meenakshipuram conversions in 1981, Singhal moved to the VHP as the joint general secretary.
In every public meeting after 1989, wherever he gave speech, there was definitely talks of Hindu and of Hindu's interest."
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In the context of the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition, where Singhal was among the leaders accused of inciting the crowd under FIR No.198/1992, VHP officials including Singhal maintained that the event resulted from spontaneous kar sevaks' devotion, not orchestrated provocation by organizers.[71][72] A special CBI court in 2020 acquitted Singhal and 31 others, ruling there was "no evidence" of incitement or conspiracy, as leaders at the site attempted to restrain the mob rather than encourage it.[71][73]Regarding his 2002 statements praising the Gujarat riots following the Godhra train burning on February 27, 2002—which killed 59 Hindu pilgrims and prompted widespread communal violence—Singhal rejected criticism by calling the outcome a "successful experiment" in awakening Hindu consciousness against demographic and cultural erosion.[74][75] He defended the events as a justified Hindu retaliation, stating, "What happened in Gujarat after the Godhra carnage had the blessing of Lord Rama," and warned that similar measures would recur if minorities did not "mend their ways."[76][77] In response to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's June 2004 attribution of the riots partly to Narendra Modi's administration, Singhal and VHP leadership condemned Vajpayee for "humiliating" Hindus, insisting the violence stemmed from Godhra provocation rather than state failure or incitement.[78][79]Singhal further contextualized such rhetoric in 2013-2014 interviews as protective measures against forced conversions and demographic shifts, attributing post-Gujarat stability— with no major riots in Gujarat for over a decade—to Modi's "divinity" and firm governance, countering accusations by highlighting the absence of recurrence as evidence against claims of engineered hatred.[69] He dismissed demands for his arrest over inflammatory speeches, such as those in 2002 prompting Congress calls for action under IPC Section 153 for promoting enmity, by reiterating that Hindu mobilization was a non-violent cultural revival akin to global ethnic assertions, not hate-mongering.[80] VHP spokespersons echoed this, arguing legal pursuits reflected secular bias against Hindu grievances, as evidenced by acquittals in related cases like Babri where no direct incitement links were proven.[81][71]Critics from human rights groups like Amnesty International labeled Singhal's defenses as evasion, citing his unrepentant tone as exacerbating tensions, but Singhal countered in public addresses that such organizations ignored Hindu victimhood in events like Godhra, prioritizing minority narratives.[67] No convictions for incitement materialized against him personally, aligning with judicial findings of insufficient evidence for intent to provoke beyond rhetorical advocacy.[71][82]
Legal and Political Backlash
Singhal and other Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leaders faced multiple preventive detentions and arrestAshok Singhal
Singhal was born in Agra.
Singhal soon became the chief architect of the Ramjanmabhoomi movement.
Former Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee and VHP leader Ashok Singhal, were found, standing against each other, when Ashok Singhal felt that NDA Government is not taking any further steps in building Ram Mandir. Having been in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since 1942, he became a full-time pracharak after graduation.
The movement for reclaiming the Ramjanmabhoomi temple was born here.