Freeindia > Biographies > Freedom Fighters > Jayaprakash Narayan
Jayaprakash Narayan
Jayaprakash Narayan was born on 11th October 1902 in his ancestral home at Sitabdiara village in Bihar. After his early education at home, he shifted to Patna for higher education. He left Patna College in 1921 in response to Mahatma gandhi's call for non-cooperation. In 1922, he sailed for the United States for higher education. He joined the University at Berkeley (California) and worked hard to pay for his needs. From Berkeley he moved to Iowa State University and later to the Universities of Wisconsin and Ohio. He took his Master's degree in Sociology from the University of Ohio.During his seven years stay in America, he drank deep at the fountain of Dialectical Materialism to become a thorough Marxist.
He had already married Shgrimati Prabhavati in 1920.During his absence she stayed with Gandhiji as his adopted daughter.On his return, he went to Gandhiji ashram at Waardha. With the blessings of Gandhiji and Nehru he plunged headlong into the freedom struggle. He attended the Lahore Session of the Indian National Congress in December 1929 at which Jawaharlal Nehru at a young age of 40, was elected President. Shri Narayan was arrested and jailed at Nashik in 1922, where he conferred with his friends to form a socialist Group within the congress. After his release, he organised relief for the victims of the devastating earthquake in Bihar in January 1934.Thereafter he organised a Conference to set up the Congress Socialist Party with Acharya Narendra Dev as President and himself as Secretary.
Jayaprakash Narayan was in Hazaribagh prison when Mahatma Gandhi launched the Quit India Movement in 1942.He escaped from the prison to organise anti-British Azad Dasta, a guerilla force.He was are rrested in 1943 and was incarcerated in Lahore Fort where he was subjected to physical toture.After his release in 1946, he gave the call for struggle to oust the British.
After Mahatmaji's death in January 1948 Jayaprakash Narayan formed an independent Socialist Party. Later, he announced withdrawal from active politics and joined Achaarya Vinoba Bhave's Bhoodan campaign. He threw himself whole-heartedly into it. A Gandhian crusader by then, he championed for diverse causes. He journeyed into the ravinces of the Chambal river leading to the surrender of a number of hardened desperadoes.By 1974, he started moving back to active politics.Beginning with open support to the Gujarat agitation he plunged deeper into aactive politics by his lead to an aagitation in Bihar and by his call for what he called 'The total revolution'. Shri Jayaprakash Narayan also given a call to serving Government employment and to the armed personnel for furthering the movement initiated by him. These events led to his arrest in June 1975. He was, however, released from detention in November, 1975. Later, he played a crucial role in the formation of the Janata Party which was voted to power in the General Elections in March 1977. He was a gifted theoretician and a forceful writer. His writings include works on Socialism and Democracy. He passed away on 8th October 1979.
Indian P & T Department is privileged to issue a commemorative stamp in his honour.
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