?I?ve lived my life; it'sall bonus now?
9, Ashok Road, New Delhi, the place where Jagdish Prasad Mathur lived. But now he will never return to the place. Because of his advanced stage he was used to alternating between visiting Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and returning to Ashok Road fully recovered. Doing so had become a part of his routine in life. He went to the hospital many times for some days and he returned to 9, Ashok Road. On October 20, 2007, at five in the morning he breathed his last. It appears he had some premonition. He had starting telling his friends and relations who visited him that he will not return to Number 9 this time, as if he had become aware of the invitation of Yamaraj, the god of death.
Mathurji was not keeping well for the past some years but he had taken the bouts of illness as a part of his life. Quite often, he would tell his friends, ?I have played my innings; what I am now leading is a life in bonus.? He had lived this life to the full. The hospital too had become another home for Mathurji. In the hospital too he stayed as if he was in his own home among his own friends and relations. The doctors and medical attendants had become a part of his family. When he was in the hospital they would all sit and enjoy his company like a family. The doctors would request Mathurji to recite some poems and narrate some jokes. In hospital he was not a patient but a guardian of the doctors. Dr. Tonk is a renowned physician in the hospital. Mathurji had great faith in him and Dr. Tonk too took him like a father.
But this time when he went to RML Hospital the atmosphere looked quite changed. Perhaps the doctors attending on him had realised his condition and visualised the things to come. This time no doctor asked him to recite poems or tell jokes. Since the day he put his foot in the hospital his condition never stabilised. On the contrary, it started deteriorating. He seemed physically worn out and weak and this had started telling upon him with the result that even when he wanted to speak words didn'tcome out of his throat.
On October 7, 2007, BJP had organised a shraddhanjali sabha (condolence meeting) for its former national president K. Jana Krishnamurthy. From the morning that day, he started pressing me to call Shri Advani, Shri Rajnath Singh, Shri Ramlal, and Shri Arun Jaitley. We had time and again been imploring him to go to hospital. We hoped that he will return fully recovered, as before. But this time he was not agreeable to our request. He went on repeating, ?If I go this time I won'treturn.? How did he get this intuition is beyond understanding. It pained him that for his daily personal routine in his life he had to depend upon others. He was a senior pracharak of RSS. We informed Advaniji, Rajnathji, Ramlalji and Arun Jaitleyji of his being adamant this time not to go to hospital. Before the shraddhanjali sabha on that day, all of them came to visit Mathurji. In the end Advaniji in his affectionate insistence said, ?Mathurji if you go to hospital, it would be better.? He agreed to what Advaniji and Rajnathji advised but said ?I will go to hospital only tomorrow.? And he did go as agreed and promised.
In the hospital he received the best of medical treatment and assistance. Yet one day he went breathless for about 10 minutes. The doctors attending on him succeeded in reviving him. Ultimately his breathing revived and under intensive care he was put on ventilator. The reports that came from doctors were not heartening to his friends and well-wishers. BJP national president Shri Rajnath Singh had to go for the darshan of Ma Vindhyavasini at Mirzapur but when he received the information that Mathurji'sbody was not responding to the best of medical treatment that was being administered to him, Shri Rajnath Singh felt worried and he immediately cancelled his Dussehra darshan programme. Some people advised him not to cancel his programme scheduled much earlier, yet he said that the condition of my senior leader Jagdishji does not permit me to leave Delhi for Devi darshan. He said his being in Delhi is very important. He did not go and kept himself in touch with the condition of Mathurji.
The night before, former Deputy Prime Minister Shri Lal Krishna Advani visited Mathurji along with the doctors attending on him in the hospital. This time he could not speak to Mathurji as he did always before. Lines of worry on the likely loss of his friend were quite visible on his face. Old associates and party karaykartas Shri Shambhu Kumar, Shri Pritam Sharma, and Shri Lalit Joshi looking after him and serving him in every way too appeared sad. When the news of deterioration in the health of Mathurji reached Keshav Kunj at Jhandewalan, RSS Sahsarkaryavah Shri Suresh Soni himself visited Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. He spoke to Mathurji, who was not able to see Sureshji though he continued to listen to him. Shri Lalit Joshi raised Mathurji'sbed and Mathurji could notice Sureshji then. He was not able to speak to him. Sureshji held his hand and said there is nothing to worry. God'swill will prevail. You are cheerful, that is a matter of satisfaction. Tears flowed down Mathurji'seyes. It looked as if a swayamsevak was seeking the permission of his superior to leave this world.
In 1951-52, Mathurji was a pracharak in Aligarh. Shri Bhaurao Devras had made him a pracharak. After sometime when Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya was sent to Jana Sangh from RSS and his headquarters was fixed at Delhi, Pt. Deeendayalji with RSS permission brought Mathurji to Delhi and smiling said, Mathurji, now central office of Jana Sangh is in your hands. Mathurji gave Shri Deendayalji company in Delhi and during his last journey when Panditji was found murdered in Mughalsarai. While in the central party office, he developed close contacts with party karyakartas all over the country. Everybody used to say that he may or may not be able to meet any other office-bearer, but he would certainly have the opportunity to meet Mathurji.
On coming to Delhi, Mathurji'slife underwent a great change. He involved himself in deep study. He became part of the resolutions on policy principles and politics of the party. He had equal command over English and Hindi languages. After some years be became national secretary of Jana Sangh. He nurtured a rapport more on social level than on political level with the media. Journalists did not come to seek news from him but to understand the issues in depth. He maintained his relations with journalists when Bharatiya Janata Party came into being in 1980. A series of his articles on ?Why BJP?? were the talk of the journalist community. His articles published in various national newspapers every now and then were a living proof of his scholarship and political acumen. Later he became general secretary of BJP, the spokesperson and then vice-president. When he turned 75 he himself volunteered to serve the party without holding any office in the organisation. He said whatever he would be able to contribute to the party as a karyakarta he would continue to do so. But he would not be able to do injustice with any office he holds because of his age. He followed it up too. He stood by his determination till the last. BJP sent this veteran karyakarta to the Rajya Sabha not once, but twice. He emerged as a leading speaker in the Rajya Sabha. He presented his views in a forthright manner with determination and commitment. He was always in tune with the poor and committed karyakartas.
How much the people loved him was proved by the example set by a karyakarta, Shri Sobhit Kumar of Gangok, Saharanpur. We had so far heard of people adopting children as their sons and daughters but this Sobhit Kumar adopted Mathurji as his father and floated a trust in Mathurji'sname to extend financial help to poor students to pursue higher studies. This continues even today. With the courtesy of Sobhit family every year on Mathurji'sbirthday on November 9, a yajna was organised and the invitees were served with food. On his last birthday on November 9, Mathurji wished that Sarsanghachalak Shri K.S. Sudarshan should be present. When Sudarshanji came to know of Mathurji'swish he respected his feelings and at short notice he came and participated in the yajna sitting by Mathurji'sside. He presented him a shawl, a sriphal and put kumkum on his forehead.
Mathurji quit this world on the holy Ramnavami day. He infused life into BJP office and was a respectable guardian. He looked after the arrangements and decided in advance before going to bed at night what should be cooked in the kitchen next day for all those who had food there. He ensured that everybody had nutritious and fresh food. In the evening with a torch in hand he would walk up to the residence of Bapu Apte and inquired of the wellbeing of everybody who met him on the way. He was very meticulous in his food. He would himself take less and make others eat more. He is the example of those who continue to work for the organisation till the last breath. He received cutting of newspapers every morning and evening. He studied them very carefully and selected what news was to be put on the BJP website after editing. He had quit this work 15 days before his death.
During his stroll in the morning he would minutely survey the new lawn, cut the dry branches, decaying flowers and leaves with a scissor. Where he felt necessary to dig the soil he would do it himself. Sometimes his fingers would get injured, bleed. When somebody would ask him how did his fingers got cut, he would have a laugh and say, if a soldier can sacrifice his life protecting the borders of the country, can I not shed a drop of blood in protecting the office garden and the trees and the plants grown there? If a person has to protect the policy, principles, country, society, ideology and the people one must, he would add, accomplish this job at the cost of shedding one'sblood a little. ?We have been taught it in the RSS?, he would explain.
Holding his hand Deendayalji had brought Mathurji to the Jana Sangh office in Ajmeri Gate. Since then his work continued unhindered. Even when he was not keeping a good health he never missed a meeting of the national executive. But this time he could not attend the national executive meeting at Bhopal. This time Mathurji also bade good-bye for all times to come to his life of dedication and commitment. We bow in reverence?shat shat naman!
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