Girilal Jain

Girilal Jain (1924 – 19 July 1993), was an Indian journalist. He served as the editor of The Times of India from 1978 till 1988. He was sympathetic to Hindu nationalism and authored books on the subject, the best known of which, The Hindu Phenomenon, was published posthumously. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan in 1989.[1]

Personal life

Girilal Jain was born in a rural village 50 miles (80 kilometeres) from New Delhi. He received a bachelor's degree from Delhi University. He married Sudarshan Jain in 1951. They had a son and three daughters, among whom are the historian Meenakshi Jain and the columnist Sandhya Jain.

He died on July 19, 1993 at the age of 69.[2]

His views

Khushwant Singh wrote that, towards the end of his career, Girilal Jain's writings showed a "distinct anti-Muslim, anti-Christian and anti-Sikh bias."[3] Jain was reportedly fired as the editor of the Times of India as a result of his Hindutva sympathies.[4][5]

After retirement, he became an even more vocal supporter of the Hindutva organisations and penned the book The Hindu Phenomenon which was edited and published by his daughter Meenakshi Jain posthumously.[3]

Girilal Jain welcomed the movement for the Ram Temple at Ayodhya as part of the process of Hindu self-renewal and self-affirmation.[6]

He believed that the political-economic order that Jawaharlal Nehru had fashioned was as much in its last throes as its progenitor, the Marxist–Leninist- Stalinist order. He believed that the two major planks of this order, secularism and socialism, have "lost much of their old glitter" while the third, non-alignment, has become redundant.[7]

According to him, the concept of nation is alien to Hindu temperament and genius. For, it emphasized the exclusion of those who did not belong to the charmed circle (territorial, linguistic or ethnic) as much as it emphasized the inclusion of those who fell within the circle. By contrast, the essential spirit of Hinduism was inclusivist, and not exclusivist by definition. Such a spirit must seek to abolish and not build boundaries. That is why, he held, that Hindus could not sustain an anti-Muslim feeling, except temporarily and, that too under provocation.[8]

Jain was criticised for his 1982 Times Of India editorial titled "De-Turbaning of Sikhs" for its anti-Sikh bias.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Girilal Jain, 69, Editor; Backed Indira Gandhi". The New York Times. 1993-07-26.
  3. 1 2 Khushwant Singh (31 Aug 1994). "Biased view - Book review of Girilal Jain's 'The Hindu Phenomenon'". India Today. Retrieved 26 Aug 2014.
  4. ↑ Koenraad Elst (2001). Who is a Hindu?. 7. Are Jains Hindus? (Voice of India). Retrieved 2012-08-11.
  5. ↑ Mahalingam, Sudha (3 July 1998). "Citizen Jain". Frontline. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  6. ↑ back page, The Hindu Phenomenon, ISBN 81-86112-32-4.
  7. ↑ editors note, The Hindu Phenomenon, ISBN 81-86112-32-4
  8. ↑ page vi, editors note, The Hindu Phenomenon, ISBN 81-86112-32-4
  9. ↑ "Congressional Record — Extensions of Remarks September 28, 1996" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-08-11.

External links

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