Bharat Ratna L.K. Advani Enters His 100th Year

Lal Krishna Advani, holder of the Bharat Ratna and a former Deputy Prime Minister of India, entered his 100th year on 8 November 2026. Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent him greetings on the occasion and called the day a landmark one in a post on the platform X.

An article on the occasion

Rather than mark the day with a line of good wishes alone, the Prime Minister wrote an article setting out what he called Advani’s everlasting contribution to India. He said he had recalled the whole arc of Advani’s life in it. The piece was published in both English and Hindi on the Prime Minister’s website.

The journey the Prime Minister recalled

• Living through the horrors of Partition and rebuilding life from nothing after it
• Strengthening the Jana Sangh, the party that preceded his later political home
• Building the Bharatiya Janata Party into a national force
• Standing up for democracy during the Emergency
• Leading the Somnath to Ayodhya Rath Yatra
• Serving the country from within government

The man away from politics

The Prime Minister also wrote about the sides of Advani that political history tends to pass over. He described him as a voracious reader, dwelt on his affection for culture and for cinema, and noted his output as a prolific writer. Taken together, the Prime Minister’s note presents a public life of unusual length, running from the upheaval of Partition through the Emergency and on to high office, alongside a private life of books and the arts.

Why aspirants should note this

Questions on persons in news usually turn on the honour a figure holds, the office held and the single event most closely tied to the name. For Advani those three are the Bharat Ratna, the post of Deputy Prime Minister and the Somnath to Ayodhya Rath Yatra, and the date of the milestone is 8 November 2026.