The BJP that mocks protests rose through them

In 1953, Syama Prasad Mookerjee, one of the Sangh’s tallest icons, deliberately broke the law. Mookerjee entered Jammu and Kashmir without the required permit to protest against Article 370. He was arrested and later died in detention.

For the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, and later the BJP, this became one of its defining political legends. But that was just the beginning.

In 1966, one of the largest protests in independent India descended on Delhi. The demand? A nationwide ban on cow slaughter. Hundreds of thousands marched, including Naga sadhus, religious activists and members of the Sangh Parivar. 

Among those backing the agitation was the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the BJP’s predecessor. The protest turned violent as crowds tried to breach Parliament. Police used tear gas, lathi charges and eventually opened fire. Many people died.

Today, imagine if TV channels were covering them. Would the protestors be called democratic? Or would they be branded anti-national? Because that is exactly how many television channels and BJP leaders speak about protests today.

The message is simple.

That protests create instability. That protesters are anti-national. That democracy begins and ends at the ballot box. But if that’s true, then the BJP has a problem. Because the Sangh Parivar led some of the biggest political mobilisations in independent India.

Its own history was written on the streets. And the careers of many of its tallest leaders began there too, including Narendra Modi.

Let me explain.

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