Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan
Jayaprakash Narayan was an Indian socialist, pro-independence activist, theorist, and political leader. He was popularly known as Lok Nayak. Also known as the Hero of the Quit India Movement, he is known for leading the opposition to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the mid-1970s, whom he called for a total revolution to overthrow.
His friend Rambriksh Benipuri wrote his biography titled Jayaprakash. In the year 1999 he was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civil honor, in recognition of his social merits. He also won the Magsaysay Public Service Award in the year 1965.
Highlights
Save Democracy Day is celebrated on Lok Nayak Jay Prakash Narayan’s birthday (11th October, 1902) for his invaluable contribution to the agitation against the emergency in the year 1975-76. He in the year 1921 joined the non-cooperation movement and was influenced by Gandhian ideology. Later he went to the USA, where he was strongly influenced by Marxist ideology. However, he rejected the definitive solution of the “revolution” advocated by Marxists to overthrow capitalism. On the contrary, he advocated socialism. In the year 1929, joined the INC at the invitation of Nehru and in the year 1934 founded the Socialist Congress Party along with, Acharya Narendra Deva, Ram Manohar Lohia, Achyut Patvardhan, Minoo Masani and Ashok Mehta.
In the year 1974 he had called for a total revolution to combat unemployment, corruption and the weakening of various democratic institutions. This along with various other events caused the state of emergency. It eventually paved the way for a reorganization of the country’s political forces and gave the country’s politics a new direction with far-reaching consequences.
He firmly believed that youth should be at the forefront of system change.
JP mobilized students in Bihar to fight corruption and authoritarianism after Nav Nirman Andolan in Gujarat. He had such a fascinating influence on the political scene that under his leadership several splinter parties in Congress, such as Jana Sangh, Congress (O), the Swatantra Party, and various other socialists came together to form the Janata Party.
He had participated in the fight for freedom and in the year 1942 led the Quit India movement in the absence of high-ranking leaders. He was also active in the Vinoba Bhave Bhoodan movement. His legacy is similar to that of Gandhi and is reflected in questions that have arisen in the post-Gandhi era.
