Politics as a means of serving the last person in society — not a ladder to power. On the birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay on 25 September, Union Home Minister Amit Shah invoked that foundational idea in a heartfelt tribute, calling Upadhyay's philosophy a 'pole star' guiding national service and public welfare.

Shah wrote: 'अंत्योदय' और एकात्म मानववाद के प्रणेता, महान राष्ट्रसेवक श्रद्धेय पंडित दीनदयाल उपाध्याय जी की जयंती पर उन्हें कोटि-कोटि नमन।' — 'Heartfelt salutations to the revered Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, the pioneer of Antyodaya and Integral Humanism, on his birth anniversary.' He added that Upadhyay viewed politics not as a means to acquire power, but as an instrument for national service and the upliftment of the last person in society.

The philosopher who redefined political purpose

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay was the principal ideologue of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the predecessor of today's BJP. In 1965, he delivered a landmark series of lectures articulating Ekatma Manavvad — Integral Humanism — a philosophy that rejected both Western capitalism and Soviet-style socialism in favour of a distinctly Indian framework centred on the holistic development of the individual within society, the nation, and nature.

His concept of Antyodaya — 'rise of the last one' — placed the poorest and most marginalised citizen at the centre of governance. The idea was not charity but structural priority: policies must be measured by how they serve those at the very bottom. It is a principle that BJP governments have repeatedly cited as the intellectual scaffolding for welfare programmes targeting the rural poor, the homeless, and the unbanked.

Rashtradharma, Panchjanya, and a voice for national unity

Shah's tribute specifically highlighted Upadhyay's role as editor and writer for two influential publications — Rashtradharma and Panchjanya — through which he shaped nationalist intellectual discourse at a time when India was still defining its post-independence identity. Through these platforms and numerous movements, he raised questions of national unity with clarity and conviction.

For the BJP, invoking Upadhyay on his birth anniversary is an annual act of ideological reaffirmation. Party workers and leaders across the country mark the day with seminars, community service events, and tributes — a ritual that doubles as a reminder of the philosophical lineage the party claims to carry forward.

A legacy that still frames the debate

Shah's closing line — that Upadhyay's ideas will 'always show the way like a pole star' in the direction of national service and public welfare — captures how the BJP continues to anchor contemporary policy language in his thought. Schemes targeting the rural poor, cooperative sector reforms, and welfare-first budgeting are routinely framed through the lens of Antyodaya, keeping a 1960s philosophical vision alive at the heart of 21st-century governance claims.

Sixty-plus years after those Integral Humanism lectures, the question Deendayal Upadhyay posed — whether politics can genuinely serve the last person — remains the sharpest measure of any government's intent.