Deendayal Upadhyay's thoughts formed basis of NEP 2020: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar

New Delhi: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday said the thoughts of Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Deendayal Upadhyay are relevant even in contemporary times and his vision on education was the basis of the new National Education Policy (NEP).

Speaking at the launch of a book titled 'Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay - Jeevan Darshan Aur Samsamyikta' here, the vice president hoped that it will serve as a source of enlightenment for all.

Dhankhar highlighted the relevance of Upadhyay's thoughts in contemporary times and quoted him as saying "education is an investment in the sense that an educated man will serve the society better."

He stated that the above idea was the basis of the National Education Policy, 2020.

"If India has to attain its past glory, it will have to go beyond GDP and economics, and take a holistic view of human development in every sense as suggested by Pt Deendayal Upadhyay Ji," Dhankhar said.

Speaking on the occasion, veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi referred to the increasing frequency of extreme climatic events all over the world and emphasised the need to respect and live in harmony with nature.

He said Upadhyay had cautioned humanity against mindless exploitation of nature and its resources in its single-minded pursuit of materialistic development.

Joshi disapproved of the 'unidimensional western worldview' that focuses on 'economic man' only and underlined the importance of all dimensions of human existence -- economic, emotional, and spiritual.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh delved into the philosophy of Upadhyay and said the Narendra Modi government is working on his vision for everyone's overall development.

Who is Deendayal Upadhyay?

Deendayal Upadhyay, leader of the political party Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), the forerunner of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), started the monthly publication named 'Rashtra Dharma' to spread the idea of Hindu Nationalism.

Upadhyaya is credited with creating Integral Humanism, the Jan Sangh's official political theory, by incorporating some cultural-nationalism elements and selectively adopting a few Gandhian socialist tenets like sarvodaya (development for all) and swadeshi (self-sufficiency).