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ShareLal Krishna Advani started his political career with the Karachi branch of the Rahtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at the tender age of 15. Born on November 8, 1927, Advani finished his schooling from St Patrick's High School, Karachi, and attended DG National College in Hyderabad, Sindh.
Advani became the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1986, bringing in a shift in the party's ideology by taking a Hindu-hardline stand. In 1989, he embarked on a rath yatra to mobilise people to converge on the Babri Masjid. Two years after his yatra, regarded as the biggest ever mass mobilisation campaign in living memory, the Babri Masjid was demolished by kar sevaks December 6, 1992.
His political career has been littered with controversy and scandal, from the Jain-Hawala scandal, in which he was accused of allegedly receiving payments through hawala brokers, to his daughter-in-law filing an affidavit, saying Advani melted down idols of Hindu gods and goddesses and used them to make household cutlery. She also alleged he was a Sikh and did not believe in Hinduism.
Many see L K Advani as a divisive figure who has taken advantage of Hindu-Muslim tensions, while others regard him as the champion of the Hindutva cause. There is no doubting, however, that he is the most powerful leader the BJP has had.
What message would you like to give LK Advani on the occasion of his 83rd birthday on November 8, 2009?
