These were the brightest days of the nineties. Liberalization and globalization were entering our lives. The world and politics were changing rapidly. In those days, I had come to Bhopal to study journalism, having gone through student movements, with the desire to change the world. One day, Mr. Prabhat Jha was suddenly in front of me. I was told that he has been a journalist and looks after the media of the BJP. In this way, a wonderful person, a friend, a loud laugher, a very open-hearted Jha sahab came into our lives. It was a big thing for a new journalist like me when he said, “You are in your homeland, I have also lived in my homeland.” The truth is that the innings he played in Gwalior as a journalist and reporter is still in the minds of the people. He is an example of how popular a reporter can be. I was also a member of the great family he created with creation, creativity, struggle and folk collection.
Prabhat ji’s nature of enthusiasm, energy and encouragement to young journalists made him special. Now he has no synonym. He was a politician of his own kind, who had cordial contact with journalists, writers, intellectuals and ordinary party workers. He was associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Then he worked in a newspaper associated with its ideology and later dedicated himself to the BJP. His journey to the post of National Vice President of the BJP is a one-sided introduction of him. He was a brilliant organizer, an excellent speaker and above all, a very generous person. There was no rigidity or fanaticism in his life. He was the symbol of an inclusive liberal Hindu mind. His absence is my personal loss. He remained my mentor, guide and advisor. His inspiration and encouragement inspired so many youths like me.
The void created in social life by his death is difficult to fill. His hand on my shoulder since my student days never left. Bhopal, Raipur, Bilaspur, Mumbai were the stops of my journalistic journey, Prabhat ji was with me everywhere. He would come and before that his phone would come. He had a rare gravitas. The pleasure of sitting with him and listening to him was also rare. He was a treasure of stories. Whatever I could understand about BJP politics and its sentiments, Shri Prabhat Jha and late Lakhiram Agarwal have a big contribution in that. He would tell the inside stories of BJP and then also give instructions, this is not for publishing, it is for your information and understanding.
I don’t know what Prabhat ji would have been if he had remained in journalism. But by being in BJP, he made a place for ‘idea’ and strengthened the side of publishing, writing and media. He got the BJP’s ideology accepted in the media and intellectual class on the land of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. He was the editor of BJP’s national mouthpiece like ‘Kamal Sandesh’ for years. His main concern was that BJP’s magazines and publications should come out well in the states. Prabhat ji was alert to those intellectual topics which politicians usually ignore. He was among those few people who had a dialogue with people from every party and ideology. Once he told me, “Invite everyone to your programs, only then there is joy. There is only monologue between speakers of the same ideology, dialogue is not possible.” He launched my book ‘Media Naya Daur Nayi Chunautein’ in a grand ceremony. In which the then Vice Chancellor of Makhanlal Chaturvedi National Journalism University Prof. BK Kuthiala, TV journalist and editor Ravikant Mittal were also present. I got his company on many platforms in Delhi. His company was such a shadow that after being deprived of it, the feeling of it has become very deep now. He was a hero who awakened dreams in the lives of many youths like us. He used to show the big sky to those of us who came from small cities and villages and leave us to fly.
He discovered many such talents and helped them reach positions of spokesperson, editor, minister, MP, MLA and many other organisational positions in the organisation. At one time, he was very powerful as the national secretary of BJP. President Rajnath Singh (now Defence Minister) trusted him a lot. Prabhat ji used this time to connect with the youth. I neither want to make the article cumbersome by counting names nor do I want to put those people in a dilemma who have become very big today. Today is the golden age of BJP, resources and worker base have expanded a lot. But Prabhat ji remained in the ‘old school’ of BJP. Where the party was run like a family and importance was given to personal contact. Activists, journalists, people active in various fields of society from not only Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh but many other states of the country used to meet him without hesitation. Amidst all this, he did not take care of his health at all. I have seen him living in a small room in Deendayal campus.
Family in Gwalior, he himself lived a solitary life in Bhopal. Here too the doors were open for everyone all the time, even when he became the president. He had no control over his routine, because there is no routine in journalism either. The whirlwind tours he undertook after becoming the Madhya Pradesh BJP president may have made the workers happy. The Rajputs did not like his activism. He not only became a victim of conspiracy, but also ruined his health. He was born a ‘journalist’, but he wanted to be seen as a ‘people’s leader’. By doing this, he not only harmed himself, but also created opponents in the party. Despite this, he was not one of those who would run away from the field. He stood firm and kept spreading light in the newspapers with his comments. Today, when attempts are being made to run a party like a family like a company, then the memory of a person like Prabhat Jha becomes very natural and poignant.
Tribute to his holy memory. Heartfelt tribute.
-Prof. Sanjay Dwivedi
(The author is former Director General, Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi)
