In June 1975, Kedar Nath, a journalist from The Caravan—which had been launched by the Delhi Press as its first magazine in 1940—conducted an interview with Lal Krishna Advani at his residence in Pandara Road, Delhi. Advani, now a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was serving his third year as the elected president of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS). The BJS was the political arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and was in existence from 1951 to 1977, after which it merged with several parties such as the Bhartiya Lok Dal, Swatantra Party, the Janata Morcha and the Socialist Party of India of Raj Narain and George Fernandes to form the Janata Party. However, as differences began cropping up within the alliance, the erstwhile Bhartiya Jana Sangh formed a separate party: the BJP.

During this interview, Advani spoke of the widening gap between the political elite and the masses in India, why he believed Indian Muslims had to shed their “separatist tendencies” to achieve the vision of an Akhand Bharat—undivided India—and his view on the prevailing opinion that the RSS wielded an undue amount of influence on the Jana Sangh.

CARAVAN: Do you feel the gap between the political elite and the masses is widening and something should be done in the direction of bridging this gap? When I say political elite, I have in mind not only the ruling parties but the Opposition parties as well.

Advani: I wouldn’t deny what you’re saying. It is true that the most important conflict in our society is between the political elite and the masses. The closed elite system as it has emerged on the scene has alienated itself from the masses and this situation has led to social tensions. The rot set in immediately after the independence. The ruling party and its fountainhead, the late Jawaharlal Nehru have been to a great extent responsible for the existing not too happy situation. As for the survival of democracy, it raises a big question mark.

CARAVAN: What role do you have in mind for your party to bridge this gap?