Hindutva Icon and Vishwa Hindu Parishad patron Ashok Singhal died on Tuesday. Mr Ashok Singhal, who was on ventilator support, breathed his last at 2.24 PM in a private hospital in Gurgaon. He was 89-year-old. Ashok is often referred as one of the prominent pillars of Hindutva.
Born on Sep 15, 1926 in Agra, Singhal’s father was a government official. Ashok was well-read in those days. He did a Bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Benaras Hindu University Institute of Technology in 1950.
Having been in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since 1942, Singhal became a full-time pracharak after his graduation. He worked in various locations around Uttar Pradesh, becoming a prant pracharak for Delhi and Haryana.
In 1980, he was deputed to the VHP, becoming its joint general secretary. In 1984, he became its general secretary and, later, the working president, a role in which he continued till 2011. Following a long bout of diminishing physical health, he was replaced in December 2011.