Knowledge Nugget of the day: Jay Prakash Narayan

Key Takeaways :

1. The archetypal brushwood of Jay Prakash Narayan (JP) with India’s state question happened during the Swadeshi question itself. He gave up his overseas apparel and footwear successful enactment of the Swadeshi movement. From the precise beginning, helium was greatly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi.

2. In December 1920, Gandhi visited Patna with the connection of Non-cooperation. Inspired by his speech, JP wanted to put each his time, energy, and passionateness into governmental enactment but was held backmost by a nagging consciousness of apprehension. His misgivings disappeared a period aboriginal erstwhile Maulana Abul Kalam Azad visited Patna and prompted students to springiness up their English education. Inspired by Azad’s speech, JP discontinue assemblage conscionable 20 days earlier the introspection and became portion of the Non-Cooperation Movement. In 1922, helium near India to survey astatine the University of California, Berkeley, wherever Karl Marx’s ideas influenced him.

3. In 1929, upon returning to India, helium joined the state conflict and the Indian National Congress. During the Civil Disobedience Movement, erstwhile each the salient leaders were arrested, Jay Prakash Narayan kept the Congress functional. He began moving connected gathering an extended amerciable underground web distributing printed lit and recruiting supporters. Several warrants were issued astatine antithetic places against him, yet starring to his apprehension successful September 1932. He was taken secretly to the Arthur Road Jail successful Bombay, sentenced to 1 year’s imprisonment, and sent to the Nasik Central Jail.

4. Influenced by Socialist ideas, the young congressmen successful Bihar founded the Bihar Socialist Party successful 1931, JP was intimately associated with the organisation since its inception. JP became instrumental successful the enactment of the All India Congress Socialist Party (CSP) successful 1934 with Narendra Deva arsenic president and himself arsenic secretary.

5.  It was during the Quit India Movement (1942) that JP came to the forefront of the nationalist conflict for freedom. He on with Ram Manohar Lohia and Aruna Asaf Ali, took complaint of the question aft each the elder leaders were arrested. Soon, helium was besides arrested nether Defence India Rules, a Preventive detention instrumentality that did not necessitate trial. He was taken to Hazari Bagh Central Jail from wherever helium escaped connected a Diwali nighttime successful November 1942.

6.  JP organised an “Azaad Dasta” (armed guerrilla revolutionaries) successful Nepal aft escaping from jail. Bakro ka Tapu, a forested country northbound of Jaleswar, served arsenic the Azad Dasta’s station. It was from present that Jayaprakash hoped to motorboat a countrywide revolution. However, helium was arrested connected the greeting of 19 September 1943, precisely 10 months and 10 days aft helium escaped from Hazaribagh jail. It was lone successful 1946 that helium was released from jail.

Jayaprakash Narayan’s question ended the escaped tally of the Congress. (Source: Express photograph by R K Sharma)

7. Following Independence, JP took the CSP retired of the Congress and formed the Socialist Party, which helium merged with J B Kripalani’s Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party to signifier the Praja Socialist Party. Soon afterward, aft turning down Nehru’s calls to articulation the national ministry, JP decided to locomotion distant from electoral authorities wholly and progressive himself with Acharya Vinoba Bhave’s Bhoodan movement, which aimed to transportation the landed to voluntarily springiness up a portion of their onshore to the landless.

8. In March 1974, students successful Bihar protesting against rising prices and unemployment, invited JP, who has fixed up from progressive politics, to usher the pupil movement. JP accepted it connected 1 information that the question volition stay non-violent and volition not bounds itself to Bihar.  JP demanded the dismissal of the Congress authorities successful Bihar and gave a telephone for a total revolution successful the social, economic, and political spheres to found what helium considered to beryllium existent democracy.

9. A monolithic protestation was organised successful Delhi’s Ramlila grounds connected 25 June 1975 wherever JP announced a nationwide satyagraha for her resignation and asked the army, the police, and authorities employees not to obey “illegal and immoral orders”. In response, the authorities declared a state of emergency connected 25 June 1975. Eventually, Indira Gandhi’s authorities was defeated successful 1977 paving the mode for the enactment of the first-ever non-Congress authorities astatine the Centre.

BEYOND THE NUGGET: Rammanohar Lohiya

(1) Rammanohar Lohiya belonged to the procreation of leaders who came to the limelight successful the aftermath of the Quit India Movement. 12th October marks his decease anniversary. Lohia and JP were the 2 astir fashionable leaders erstwhile CSP members walked retired of the Congress to signifier the Socialist Party successful 1948.

(2) Lohia wrote that Gandhians are of three kinds, priestly, governmental, and heretic, and that the Socialist Party was the abode of the heretic Gandhians.

(3) Lohia’s seven revolutions (sapta kranti) — for equality betwixt antheral and woman; against political, economic, and race-based inequalities; for the demolition of castes; against overseas domination and antiauthoritarian satellite government; for economical equality, planned accumulation and against backstage property; against interference successful backstage beingness and for democratic; and against arms and weapons and for satyagraha — successful a mode interprets the extremist Gandhi for our times.

(4) The Lohiaite is contiguous a governmental carnal similar the Gandhian, Nehruvian, Ambedkarite, Communist, Maoist, and truthful on. The Mandal gyration transformed authorities successful bluish India, but the ideological crushed for OBC empowerment was prepared by Lohia, some intellectually and organisationally.

(Source: Jayaprakash Narayan: The man, the question and his protégés, Jayaprakash Narayan: Reluctant messiah of a turbulent time, Read More: The Dream of Revolution: A Biography of Jayaprakash Narayan (book) by Bimal Prasad and Sujata Prasad)

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