Jayprakash Narayan was born on October 11, 1902, to Harsudayal and Phulrani in Sitabdiara, a village on the border of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. His father was a junior officer in the canal department. His work demanded lot of touring. In order not to disturb Jayprakash's schooling, he was left in the care of his grandmother in Sitabdiara. Jayprakash was lovingly called Baul.
Jayprakash was an avid reader. He read magazines like Saraswati, Prabha and Pratap to keep track of the current affairs. He also read books and poems by Maithilisharan Gupta and Bharatendu Harishchandra, which inspired in him the courage and valor of the Rajput kings. He drew inspiration also from the Bhagwad Gita. From a tender age, his life was well molded. The seeds were sown for the evolution of a great leader.
Education
Life Companion
At the age of 20, he was wedded to Prabhavati Devi, daughter of a lawyer and nationalist Brij Kishore Prasad. Prabhavati Devi was a self-willed woman, having her own independent thinking. She was an ardent follower of Gandhi. At the behest of Gandhiji she wanted to stay in his ashram, while her husband continued his studies. Prabhavati Devi was taken up by Gandhian ways. Jayprakash Narayan respected her individuality and gave her full freedom to pursue her goals. She was treated as an adopted daughter by Kasturba and Gandhiji. Jayprakash Narayan's acquaintance with Nehru made Prabhavati Devi a close friend of Kamala Nehru. They joined hands and worked for the upliftment of women's status in society.
Sojourn in the US
Gandhiji started the non-cooperation movement to protest against the Rowlatt Act of 1919. Jayprakash Narayan was keeping a close watch on the political developments. Maulana Azad's fiery speech to abandon English education took its toll on Jayprakash Narayan. He was so overwhelmed by the clarion call that he gave up his studies and fully immersed himself in the movement. He joined the Bihar Vidyapeeth, a college run by the Congress.
Jayprakash Narayan was very young and had recently married. This venture did not please his family members. They had decided to send him to the US, so that he would better equip himself for his family responsibility, quite ignorant of the revolutionary lurking within the youth.
Jayprakash continued his schooling in Patna, since the village did not have a high school. His hard work earned him laurels. His mastery over language and subject earned him an award for his best essay on 'The present state of Hindi in Bihar'. Jayprakash pursued his higher studies in the prestigious Patna College with the help of government scholarship. His favorite subjects were English, Hindi and Mathematics in which he always scored very high marks.
Political Awareness
The prevailing political conditions in the Indian subcontinent were pathetic. This troubled Jayprakash Narayan a lot. In order to be aware of the colonial atrocities, he attended political meetings. He studied the repercussions of a foreign rule in any country. In his early years he was an ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi's political philosophy. The ghastly incident of Jallianwala Bagh at Amritsar left an indelible mark on his mind. He vowed to attain Swaraj (self-rule) at all cost.
Bon Voyage
At the age of 20, Jayprakash Narayan left Indian soil. He sailed in a cargo ship Janus. His wife did not accompany him. She was left in the able care of Gandhiji in his ashram. He enrolled himself at Berkeley in California. Having hailed from a middle class family, he had to support himself by doing odd jobs.
He had tried his hands on many jobs. He learned the trade of picking grapes, drying and packing them. This was the first lesson he learnt from a canning factory. Apart from this he had washed dishes, worked at a garage and at a slaughterhouse. He even sold lotions and accepted teaching jobs. He really learnt a lot from these jobs, mainly of the plight of middle class.
In spite of all these slogging, he was not able to continue studies in Berkeley. He had to leave because of the alarming fees and shifted to Iowa. Before the fulfillment of his literary career, he had to shift to many places.
Another grave concern for him was that he had married young. He wanted to earn enough on the foreign soil to support his wife. Undeterred, he pursued his studies. Sociology was his line of interest. He received much help from Professor Edward Ross, the father of Sociology. He acquired an MA in sociology. His dream was to get doctorate in sociology. This was not fulfilled, since he had to return to his motherland because his mother had taken ill.
Jayprakash Narayan never forgot the time he spent on American soil. He always felt greatly indebted to it for transforming a callow youth from the feudal surrounding of Bihar into a well-experienced young man.
Jayprakash Narayan had spent the best part of his youth in America. He not only excelled in his curriculum but he was aware of the happenings around him. He was exposed to the ideologies of Marx and Lenin. At the onset, Jayprakash Narayan decided that Marxism was the only way that can bring relief to the under privileged. He pondered over the books of Indian intellectuals and Communist theoretician M N Roy. The essence of all his readings found its way into his paper on Sociology titled Social Variation. This paper was appreciated and acknowledged as the best.
Beginning of a Political Career
Jayprakash Narayan returned to India in 1929. He was a well-experienced, wise young man 'bursting with social doctrines and hopes'. He found political awakening in all the realms of Indian society under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. Subhash Chandra Bose was in the forefront with the left wing Congress. Jawaharlal Nehru was handling the responsibility of the President of Congress. Jayprakash Narayan met Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru and exchanged his political views with them. Both Gandhi and Nehru liked young Jayprakash Narayan and invited him to work for the cause of Swaraj.
His active life in politics began when he and Prabhavati Devi accompanied Gandhi and Nehru to the Lahore Congress. While he was steeped in communist ideals, his wife was a staunch Gandhian.
Meanwhile, he received an offer of an academic assignment from the Banaras Hindu University. Nehru intervened and persuaded him to join as head of the newly created Department of Labor Research in the office of the All India Congress Committee at Allahabad. He accepted this offer, which in turn led to a long drawn association between Jayprakash and Nehru. They consulted each other on several socio-economic and political issues of our country.
During the Civil Disobedience Movement following the Dandi March in 1930, many of the prominent leaders of Congress were in jail. Jayprakash Narayan rose up to the situation and became the Acting General Secretary for some time. He set up an underground office in Mumbai to continue Congress work.
He organized party work and conducted meetings. Through his speeches and meetings he impressed the masses with the non-violent methods for achieving Swaraj. He propagated the political ideology of the Congress against the Raj. He traveled all over the nation. For his activities against the British rule, he was arrested. The media carried the news saying 'Congress Brain Arrested'.
Arrests
In Nasik jail he had an opportunity to meet great minds like Ram Manohar Lohia, Ashok Mehta, Minoo Masani, P Dantawala and Achyut Patwardhan. All these thinkers had the same frame of mind; they wanted to break Indian kingdom free from foreign rule. Jayprakash Narayan was able to lure them with his socialism and they all agreed to achieve freedom using the socialistic tool. They formed a youth wing of the congress and called it Congress Socialist Party in 1934. The party was to support the programs of congress keeping in mind the poor and peasants as their main beneficiaries.
Jayprakash Narayan was imprisoned for his vehement speeches denouncing World War II. He was adamant in his views that India should not be a party to this war in any manner. India regarded both German Nazism and British Imperialism as evils and enemies. Jayprakash Narayan felt that both the quarrelling sides did not have any genuine cause. "They were only driven by selfish ends of conquest and domination, exploitation and oppression." Britain's intention was not to quell Nazism but to curb the might of the Germans.
British Government did not lend an ear to any of India's concern. According to Jayprakash Narayan, it was utilizing India's resources to promote its own interest. He gave a clarion call to all the Indians to protest against British Imperialism.
He was sent to Deoli detention camp in Rajasthan.
The appalling condition in this camp made him rebel. He took into confidence all the inmates in the jail and organized a hunger strike. He was released and on close heels, he was again arrested for taking part in Quit India Movement. He was kept in Hazari Bagh jail.
Jayprakash Narayan made a dramatic escape by scaling the walls of the jail with a rope. It was Diwali time. The jail was agog with plans for entertainment. A play was to be staged by the inmates of the jail. Jayprakash Narayan and his friends managed to escape taking advantage of the situation. Many of their well-wishers were waiting to whisk them away to safe places.
He had planned an escape because he was not able to communicate his plan of action to the outside world. After his escape, he traveled through all the provinces issuing directions to his party regarding the August 1947 movement.
A reward of Rs 10,000 was declared to the person who could give information about him. He fled to Nepal and organized a guerilla army called the 'Azad Dasta'. Jayprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia were on the run for sometime. During their sojourn, they were captured for a brief period of time, but the 'Azad Dasta' force helped them to escape to Bihar.
The British were at his heels, when he was on his way to Rawalpindi to meet Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan. He was intercepted and taken to Lahore Fort, which was notoriously known as the 'Torture Chamber'.
Jayprakash Narayan underwent inhuman treatment by the British for three long years. He was placed in solitary confinement. He was interrogated for long intervals of time. He was released in 1946.
Jayprakash Narayan felt a sea of change in the India scenario. At first, India was invited under one banner and its sole motive was to throw away the shackles of British Raj. At present, talk of partition was in the air and riots between Hindu and Muslim dominated the atmosphere. Jayprakash Narayan could not digest all these developments. He pleaded with the Congress working committee to ponder over the plans of the partition. Bihar was bursting with riots. He rushed there to quell the riots.
The Son Set at The Sun Rise
Independence dawned on the Indian horizon on August 15, 1947. Before the bitter sweetness could be felt, Gandhiji fell to an assassin's bullet. A pall of gloom descended over India. Prabhavati Devi tried to keep herself busy behind a spinning wheel with welling eyes. Jayprakash Narayan's sorrow knew no bounds. Violence shattered him. Gradually, Gandhiji's unshaken faith in truth and non-violence began to take hold of his mind and he determined to pursue the cause at any cost. Gandhiji's success in freedom struggle made him accept that changes can be achieved without sacrificing one's values.
The Congress in 1952 elections defeated the socialist party. This left a sour feeling in Jayprakash Narayan. Nehru asked him to join the Congress and work for its upliftment. Earlier, Jayprakash Narayan had put forward a 14 point program to reform the constitution, the administration and judicial system, to nationalize banks and redistribute land to the landless, to revive Swadeshi and set up cooperatives. Nehru was not able to assure him of the executions of all the programs. This dampened his spirit and he refused to join hands with the Congress.
A New Venture
In 1954, Jayprakash Narayan revealed his intentions in a meeting in Gaya. He had decided to join the Sarvodaya Movement started by Vinoba Bhave. The sole motive of the movement was to distribute land among the poor farmers. Jayprakash Narayan himself dedicated his land. He set up an ashram in Hazari Bagh, a poor and backward village. Prabhavati Devi was much indebted by the decision.
Jayprakash Narayan's dream was to form villages that would be independent and self-sufficient. His ideals were a mix of Gandhian ideals and modern democracy. These views were expressed in his book The Reconstruction of Indian Policy, which won him the Ramon Magsaysay Award.
Jayprakash Narayan's other milestone achievement was his understanding of the Naxalite movement. At first, they were a threat to human civilization. He understood and sympathized with their problem of poverty and unemployment. He tried to solve their fundamental problems and thus showed them the brighter side of life. He was their savior and lived among them to eliminate their fears.
The dacoits in the Chambal Valley surrendered due to his efforts. He single-handedly went into the ravines armed only with love asking them
to hand over their weapons.
A deeply compassionate human being, Jayprakash Narayan committed himself to the cause of relief work during the disastrous Bihar famine of 1966-67.
The Dusk
His wife Prabhavati Devi died of cancer in 1974. Even though they followed different political ideologies, Prabhavati Devi and Jayprakash Narayan shared a very understanding relationship. He was left a lonely man now.
It pained him to see the political condition in India. After all these years of independence, there was no improvement in condition of the downtrodden. High inflation, unemployment and shortage of essential commodities existed as it was before independence. Jayprakash Narayan was asked to lead a peaceful agitation by the Navnirman Andolan of Gujarat. He led a silent procession in Patna.
Jayprakash Narayan was an extreme nationalist. He was very articulate in his views. He was critical about Mrs Gandhi's regime. In 1975, the Allahabad High Court held the Prime Minister guilty of rigging the elections. Jayprakash Narayan asked her to resign until her name was cleared. Mrs Gandhi did not heed his advice and declared a state of Emergency.
At this time Jayprakash Narayan was advancing in age. He was imprisoned and kept in Chandigarh jail. As his health declined, he was moved to Mumbai. He fought tooth and nail against Emergency. At once Emergency was lifted and fresh elections were announced. Jayprakash Narayan formed the Janata party. He succeeded in his attempts and Morarji Desai sworn in as the Prime Minister of India.
Jayprakash Narayan dreamt of a total revolution. He wanted to purge politics. He was able to pinpoint the ailments persisting in India. His remedy was yet to take wings. Internal squabble made the Janata Party collapse like a house of cards. His dreams were shattered. He was looked upon as a 'Lok Nayak' who never let his people down, but the people let him down. The 'Lok Sevak' died on October 8, 1979 with the world lying in shambles around him.
Jayprakash Narayan stands as a beacon among the politicians who were engaged in a long drawn battle against the British rule. He was drawn towards the freedom struggle from a very tender age. His exposure to Marxism made him a staunch believer in socialism. He had great respect for the ideals of Gandhi. He wanted to make socialism the goal of Congress.
Jayprakash Narayan worked for the upliftment of the downtrodden. He wanted the villages to be self-sufficient. He did not take up politics for vested interest. He worked at the grassroots level to improve the lot of the farmers. He was greatly influenced by Vinoba Bhave's Sarvodaya Movement. He took active part in all the protests that were organized by the Congress. He was imprisoned many a time for voicing his opinions without mincing words against the British rule. He was regarded as the best Prime Minister, which India did not have. He was supposed to possess "Nehru's administrative and diplomatic skills and Gandhi's vision and commitment to the multitude."
Jayprakash Narayan was a towering figure at the time of emergency. He was the mastermind under whose guidance all the parties united to form the Janata Party. It quelled authoritarianism and restored democracy. He knew to embrace even the under privileged with love and sympathy. He won over the Naxalites and made them lay down their weapons.
Jayprakash Narayan was a man with a deep vision and revolutionary ideals. He created an independent and self-sufficient village of his dream in his book The Reconstruction of Indian Policy, which won him the Ramon Magsaysay Award.
October 11, 1902
Born in Sitabdiara, Bihar.
1919
Left Patna College.
1920
Married Prabhavati Devi.
1922
Decided to go to America to pursue his studies.
1923
Gained admission to Berkeley in California.
1929
Returned to India.
Joined the Congress.
1930
Set up an underground office at Bombay to continue Congress work.
Arrested in Madras.
1932
Wrote a book Why Socialism.
1933
Released from Jail.
1934
Formed the Congress Socialist Party.
1940
Sent to Deoli detention camp in Rajasthan.
1941
Organized a hunger strike.
1942
Arrested for participating in the Quit India Movement.
1943
Arrested on his way to Rawalpindi.
1946
Released from Jail.
1954
Made the announcement of dedicating his life to Vinoba Bhave's Sarvodaya Movement.
1971
Sarvodaya workers in Muzaffarpur, Bihar received a letter threatening to kill him.
1973
His wife died of cancer.
1974
Led a silent procession in Patna and addressed a mammoth crowd.
1975
Arrested and sent to Chandigarh during 'Emergency'.
1977
Under Jayprakash's guidance many parties joined to form the Janata party.
October 8, 1979
Died after witnessing the collapse of Janata party.
(Mr Jinnah) believes that he can get what he wants from Britain. But Britain is not accustomed to handing over parcels of her Empire to its tools. There is no doubt that after she has made full use of Mr Jinnah she will throw him into the dustbin of discarded tools.
I tried to bring about ever so little change in government policy through conferences but the effort was wasted even in Nehru's time. The leviathan went its own way.
Government of the people by the people', 'Government of the nation by its representatives,' these are fine phrases for arousing enthusiasm and fashioning eloquent orations. Fine phrases with an empty ring.
A good man is not born. He becomes good by training.
Democracy does not consist merely in its formal institutions. It lives really and truly in the life of the people; it is a way of life.
mpires are founded to loot and to rob and to exploit. And the amount of British loot and exploitation in India would stagger anyone for its astronomical figures.
Every Englishman in India is a Muslim Leaguer, not that he loves but he finds the Leaguer a convenient tool in his hands.
From time immemorial there have been politicians who have preached that there is no ethics in politics.
I am a professional law breaker, I do not respect your laws. I am in jail for this very purpose. I have been breaking the law outside the jail and would not hesitate to break them again, whenever an opportunity occurs.
I have as much faith in non-violence as Maulana Azad has, Maulana Azad has much faith in violence as I have. I understood Mahatmaji's non-violence, I bow before it. But since I do not posses that much soul force, I think it easy to fight with guns.
should add that I have no hesitation in admitting that non-violence of the brave, if practiced on a sufficiently large scale, would make violence unnecessary
I should like to start by saying that socialism is 90 % practice and 10 % theory.
I spent the best part of my youth in your great country and seven of my happiest years. I went there as a student and learned much, not only from its universities, but also from its factories and farms.
I would like to define a socialist society as one in which the individual is prepared voluntarily to subordinate his own interest to the larger interest of society.
In order that there should be no quarrel and all communities live in peace and prosperity it was very necessary that there should be no British Raj. As long as the British remained in India there could be no peace.
It is not that Communists do not know the truth. It is only that communism cannot bear the truth.
It may be said without fear of contradiction that there is not a single Indian who wants to annex a single inch of foreign territory.
It therefore becomes the patriotic duty of every Indian to oppose the attempt of the British government to use the country's resources for its imperialistic ends.
Marxism of Karl Marx was meant to be an objective science of society. But present-day communism is nothing if not a complete travesty of objectivity.
My country is not a party to this war in any manner, for it regards both German Nazism and British Imperialism as evils and enemies.
My world lies in shambles around me.
No man can live alone, or if he does, can have any human significance. He is then a freak of nature or an accident of life.
Patriotism, courage, faith can perform miracles.
Socialism has placed before mankind noble ideals of equality, freedom and fellowship, of peace and international brotherhood. But these ideals are yet distant dreams.
Some people talk of science and technology as if they were like forces of nature, like an earthquake, let us say, about which nothing can be done except adjusting ourselves to it.
The Congress is supposed to be helping the British to pack their bedding but it looks as if the British during their 200 years in India, have collected so much that the bedding takes years to pack.
The history of all Revolutions show that a Revolution is not an event. It is a phase, a social process. And during the evolution of a revolution, tides and ebbs are normal.
The relation of the individual to society is not like that of the grain to sand to the sand dune. The relationship is rather like that of the living cell to the living organism.
The task of preparing the soil in which the plant of democracy may take root and grow is not a political but an educative task.
The world is plagued by wars - cold and shooting wars - and threatened with total destruction, not because there is not enough for everyone, but because everyone wants the most for himself.
There were many things that Mahatma Gandhi taught us. But the greatest thing he taught us was that means are ends, that evil means can never lead to good ends and that fair ends require good means.
Tibet is being gobbled up by the Chinese dragon. A country of less than 10 million souls is being crushed to death by country of six hundred and fifty million people.
Tyrannies have come and gone and Caesar and Czars and dictators. But the spirit of man goes on for ever.Critical about the British rule in India "The world has been told by them two tremendous lies. The first that British holds India down only to educate and train her in the arts of self-government and will continue to do so only until such time as she is able properly to look after herself. The second that Britain is prepared to free India immediately if Indians united among themselves."
