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Born: April 14, 1891
Died: December 6, 1956
Achievements: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was elected as the chairman of the drafting committee that was constituted by the Constituent Assembly to draft a constitution for the independent India; he was the first Law Minister of India; conferred Bharat Ratna in 1990.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar is viewed as messiah of dalits and downtrodden in India. He was the chairman of the drafting committee that was constituted by the Constituent Assembly in 1947 to draft a constitution for the independent India. He played a seminal role in the framing of the constitution. Bhimrao Ambedkar was also the first Law Minister of India. For his yeoman service to the nation, B.R. Ambedkar was bestowed with Bharat Ratna in 1990.
Dr.Bhimrao Ambedkar was born on April 14, 1891 in Mhow (presently in Madhya Pradesh). He was the fourteenth child of Ramji and Bhimabai Sakpal Ambavedkar. B.R. Ambedkar belonged to the "untouchable" Mahar Caste. His father and grandfather served in the British Army. In those days, the government ensured that all the army personnel and their children were educated and ran special schools for this purpose. This ensured good education for Bhimrao Ambedkar, which would have otherwise been denied to him by the virtue of his caste.
Bhimrao Ambedkar experienced caste discrimination right from the childhood. After his retirement, Bhimrao's father settled in Satara Maharashtra. Bhimrao was enrolled in the local school. Here, he had to sit on the floor in one corner in the classroom and teachers would not touch his notebooks. In spite of these hardships, Bhimrao continued his studies and passed his Matriculation examination from Bombay University with flying colours in 1908. Bhim Rao Ambedkar joined the Elphinstone College for further education. In 1912, he graduated in Political Science and Economics from Bombay University and got a job in Baroda.
In 1913, Bhimrao Ambedkar lost his father. In the same year Maharaja of Baroda awarded scholarship to Bhim Rao Ambedkar and sent him to America for further studies. Bhimrao reached New York in July 1913. For the first time in his life, Bhim Rao was not demeaned for being a Mahar. He immersed himself in the studies and attained a degree in Master of Arts and a Doctorate in Philosophy from Columbia University in 1916 for his thesis "National Dividend for India: A Historical and Analytical Study." From America, Dr.Ambedkar proceeded to London to study economics and political science. But the Baroda government terminated his scholarship and recalled him back.
The Maharaja of Baroda appointed Dr. Ambedkar as his political secretary. But no one would take orders from him because he was a Mahar. Bhimrao Ambedkar returned to Bombay in November 1917. With the help of Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur, a sympathizer of the cause for the upliftment of the depressed classes, he started a fortnightly newspaper, the "Mooknayak" (Dumb Hero) on January 31, 1920. The Maharaja also convened many meetings and conferences of the "untouchables" which Bhimrao addressed. In September 1920, after accumulating sufficient funds, Ambedkar went back to London to complete his studies. He became a barrister and got a Doctorate in science.
After completing his studies in London, Ambedkar returned to India. In July 1924, he founded the Bahishkrit Hitkaraini Sabha (Outcastes Welfare Association). The aim of the Sabha was to uplift the downtrodden socially and politically and bring them to the level of the others in the Indian society. In 1927, he led the Mahad March at the Chowdar Tank at Colaba, near Bombay, to give the untouchables the right to draw water from the public tank where he burnt copies of the 'Manusmriti' publicly.
In 1929, Ambedkar made the controversial decision to co-operate with the all-British Simon Commission which was to look into setting up a responsible Indian Government in India. The Congress decided to boycott the Commission and drafted its own version of a constitution for free India. The Congress version had no provisions for the depressed classes. Ambedkar became more skeptical of the Congress's commitment to safeguard the rights of the depressed classes.
When a separate electorate was announced for the depressed classes under Ramsay McDonald 'Communal Award', Gandhiji went on a fast unto death against this decision. Leaders rushed to Dr. Ambedkar to drop his demand. On September 24, 1932, Dr. Ambedkar and Gandhiji reached an understanding, which became the famous Poona Pact. According to the pact the separate electorate demand was replaced with special concessions like reserved seats in the regional legislative assemblies and Central Council of States.
Dr. Ambedkar attended all the three Round Table Conferences in London and forcefully argued for the welfare of the "untouchables". Meanwhile, British Government decided to hold provincial elections in 1937. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar set up the "Independent Labor Party" in August 1936 to contest the elections in the Bombay province. He and many candidates of his party were elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly.
In 1937, Dr. Ambedkar introduced a Bill to abolish the "khoti" system of land tenure in the Konkan region, the serfdom of agricultural tenants and the Mahar "watan" system of working for the Government as slaves. A clause of an agrarian bill referred to the depressed classes as "Harijans," or people of God. Bhimrao was strongly opposed to this title for the untouchables. He argued that if the "untouchables" were people of God then all others would be people of monsters. He was against any such reference. But the Indian National Congress succeeded in introducing the term Harijan. Ambedkar felt bitter that they could not have any say in what they were called.
In 1947, when India became independent, the first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, invited Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, who had been elected as a Member of the Constituent Assembly from Bengal, to join his Cabinet as a Law Minister. The Constituent Assembly entrusted the job of drafting the Constitution to a committee and Dr. Ambedkar was elected as Chairman of this Drafting Committee. In February 1948, Dr. Ambedkar presented the Draft Constitution before the people of India; it was adopted on November 26, 1949.
In October 1948, Dr. Ambedkar submitted the Hindu Code Bill to the Constituent Assembly in an attempt to codify the Hindu law. The Bill caused great divisions even in the Congress party. Consideration for the bill was postponed to September 1951. When the Bill was taken up it was truncated. A dejected Ambedkar relinquished his position as Law Minister.
On May 24, 1956, on the occasion of Buddha Jayanti, he declared in Bombay, that he would adopt Buddhism in October. On 0ctober 14, 1956 he embraced Buddhism along with many of his followers. On December 6, 1956, Baba Saheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar died peacefully in his sleep.
She was born in a Bengali Brahma Samaj family at Kalka in Haryana. She married Asaf Ali a prominent lawyer of Delhi against convention. She actively participated in the National Movement for Independence. Following the arrest of all congress leaders in 1942 she went underground to guide the movement evading police arrest. She became the symbol of the spirit of youth in this country guiding and leading the National Movement from underground. She remained underground till 1946 when the warrant of arrest was withdrawn. Aruna belonged to the heroic age of Freedom Movement. With this background, after Independence she could not adjust to the political realities and chose to live in retirement till her death on 29th July 1996. She was awarded Bharat Ratna (1997) Posthumously.
Arun Asaf Ali, a radical nationalist played an outstanding role in the historic Quit India Movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi on August 9, 1942, and was a prominent leader of the underground movement. She published bulletins, went from place to place and even met Mahatma Gandhi avoiding arrest. She edited Inqulab a monthly journal of the Indian National Congress.
Many young girls were encouraged to adopt the revolutionary creed by Subhas Chandra Bose. Under his guidance the Rani Jhansi Regiment was formed as the women's wing of the Indian National Army. Military training camps were set up for women in Singapore, Malayasia and Myanmar.
The list of great women whose names have gone down in history for their dedication and undying devotion to the service of India is a long one. Gandhi squarely summed up the strength of womanhood in his tribute to the gender:
To call woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is man's injustice to women. If by strength is meant moral power then woman is immeasurably man's superior. Has she not greater intuition, is she not more self sacrificing, has she not greater power of endurance, has she not greater courage? Without her man would not be. If non-violence is the law of our being, the future is woman. I have nursed this thought now for years.
This flag is of Indian Independence! Behold, it is born! It has been made sacred by the blood of young Indians who sacrificed their lives. I call upon you, gentlemen to rise and salute this flag of Indian Independence. In the name of this flag, I appeal to lovers of freedom all over the world to support this flag." -- B. Cama , Stuttgart, Germany, 19she unfurled the first National Flag at the International Socialist Conference in Stuttgart (Germany) in 1907. A thousand representatives from several countries were attending. An Indian lady in a colorful sari was a rare phenomena in those days and her majestic appearance and brave and clear words made everybody think that she was a Maharani or at least a princess from a native state.
The tricolor-flag Madam Cama unfurled had green, saffron, and red stripes. Red represented strength, saffron victory, and green stood for boldness and enthusiasm. there were eight lotuses representing the eight provinces and flowers represented princely states. "Vande Mataram" in Devanagari adorned central saffron stripe which meant "salutation to Mother India." The sun and the moon indicated Hindu and Muslim faiths. The flag was designed by Veer Savarkar with the help of other revolutionaries. After Stuttgart, Madam went to United States. She traveled a lot and informed Americans about Indians struggling for Independence. She told about British efforts to smother the voice of educated Indians who protested against tyranny and despotism of British who always boasted themselves as "mother of parliamentary democracy" over the world! She could be called "Mother India's first cultural representative to USA."Where is the Flag Now?
The flag was smuggled into India by Indulal Yagnik, the socialist leader of Gujarat. It is now on public display at the Maratha and Kesari Library in Pune
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was born on May 28, 1883 into a family of jagirdars (landlords) in the village of Bhagpur near Nasik. Vinayak was one of four children others being, Ganesh (Babarao), Mainabai and Narayan, born to Damodarpant Savarkar and Radhabai. Being descendents of a line of Sanskrit scholars, the Savarkars inculcated the love of learning into their children. Vinayak and Babarao were sent to the Shivaji School in Nasik. When Vinayak was nine years old, his mother died of cholera. Damodarpant himself looked after his children thereafter.
Vinayak's father died of plague in 1899. The burden of the family fell on Babarao's shoulders. Vinayak's patriotic spirit found an outlet through an organization called the Mitra Mela that he formed. Vinayak inducted young patriotic men like himself into the Mela. He encouraged the members of the Mela to strive for "absolute political independence for India" by whatever means necessary. In the event of an armed revolt the young crusaders toughened themselves through physical training. The Mitra Mela served the city of Nasik in many ways, especially during the plague when the group carried victims for cremation.
In March 1901, Vinayak was married to Yamunabai, daughter of Ramchandra Triambak Chiplunkar, who agreed to help with Vinayak's university education. After his matriculation examination, Vinayak enrolled in the Fergusson College in Poona in 1902.
Savarkar very soon dominated campus life. He, along with a group of students began dressing alike and using swadeshi goods only. He renamed the "Mitra Mela" as "Abhinav Bharat" and declared that "India must be independent; India must be united; India must be a republic; India must have a common language and common script." In 1905, a huge Dussehra bonfire of foreign goods was lit in Poona by Savarkar and his friends to express resentment toward the partition of Bengal. Vinayak left for London to study law in June 1906 on receiving a scholarship. The "study of law," he said "shows the vital points in the system of government, and accurate base where to strike at advantage." He vowed never to take up service under the British Government and never to accept payment from them.
Savarkar stayed at the India House in London, which was established by Pandit Shyamji, a patriot, scholar and social reformer. Savarkar founded the Free India Society which held weekly meetings and celebrated Indian festivals and anniversaries of important figures and days in the Indian freedom struggle. On May 10, 1907, scuffles broke out between Indians and Britishers at the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of the 1857 martyrs organized by the Free India Society. In 1908, Savarkar completed "the History of the War of Indian Independence." The text was banned by the British even before it was published for being "revolutionary, explosive and seditious." The book was published in France and Germany later and it did much to inspire revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh and Subash Chandra Bose. In 1909, Madanlal Dhingra, follower of Savarkar, shot Sir Wyllie of the India Office after failing in his attempt on the Viceroy, Lord Curzon's life, for the atrocities committed on Indians. Dhingra was imprisoned and a meeting of Indians in London planned to unanimously condemn his action. At the meeting Savarkar angrily shouted, "No, not unanimously!" The meeting became unruly, Savarkar's spectacles broke and blood ran down his face. The meeting was broken up with Surendranath Banerjea leaving in protest of the attack on Savarkar. That night Savarkar wrote to the London Times to clarify the reasons for his action. He stated that the meeting had no right to condemn Dhingra like a law court.
In India, Savarkar's elder brother led an armed movement against the Minto Morley reforms. Babarao was sentenced to transportation for life to the Andamans jail. In protest, a youth called Kanhere shot dead the British Collector of Nasik, Mr. A.M.T. Jackson. Savarkar was implicated in the murder of Mr. Jackson because of his contacts with the India House. Savarkar moved to Madame Cama's residence in Paris. A warrant was issued and Savarkar was arrested on March 13, 1910. In his last letters to a close friend, he conveyed his plan to attempt to escape from custody at Marseilles. His friend was to be waiting there with a car. The escape attempt at Marseilles failed. The car arrived too late.
Savarkar was brought to Bombay on the S.S. Morea and detained at Yeravada jail. Savarkar was tried and found guilty on the counts of "waging war by instigation using printed matter, and providing arms... (and) for abetting the murder of Mr. Jackson (p.118, Berry)." Savarkar was awarded 25 years imprisonment on the former charge and 25 years for the latter. A sum total of 50 years imprisonment which he was to serve at the Andamans prison. "Veer" Savarkar was only 27 years old at the time of his sentencing!
Savarkar arrived at the Andamans prison on July 4, 1911. Life for the prisoners was very harsh. Savarkar's day began at 5 a.m. chopping trees with a heavy wooden mallet and then he would be yoked to the oil mill. If prisoners talked or broke queue at mealtime, their once a year letter writing privilege was revoked. Savarkar withdrew within himself, quietly and mechanically doing the tasks presented to him. He was successful in getting permission to start a jail library. With great effort and patience he taught the illiterate convicts to read and write.
In 1920, Vithalbhai Patel demanded the release of the Savarkar brothers in the Central Legislative Assembly. Tilak and Gandhiji also appealed for Savarkars freedom. On May 2, 1921, the Savarkar brothers were brought back to India on the S.S. Maharaja.
Savarkar remained imprisoned in Ratnagiri Jail and then in Yeravada Jail until January 6, 1924 when he was freed under the condition that he would not leave Ratnagiri district and abstain from political activity for the next five years. While in Ratnagiri Jail, Savarkar wrote "Hindutva" which was smuggled out and published under the pen-name "Maharatta." On his release, Savarkar founded the Ratnagiri Hindu Sabha on January 23, 1924 which aimed to preserve India's ancient culture and work for social welfare.
Through the Sabha, Savarkar worked hard to protect minority rights. During the celebration of Hindu festivals, Savarkar visited Muslim and Christian homes to promote good will. He encouraged intercaste marriage and assisted Dr. Ambedkar in the liberation of the untouchables. He appealed for a wider use of Hindi as the mother tongue and suggested reforms to the Devanagiri script to facilitate printing. While in Ratnagiri he wrote the "Hindu Padpadashashi" and "My Transportation for Life" and a collection of poems, plays and novels.
At the end of his five year confinement in Ratnagiri, Savarkar joined Tilak's Swaraj Party and founded the Hindu Mahasabha as a separate political party. He warned of the Muslim League's designs of partitioning the nation. In 1937, Savarkar was elected President of the Hindu Mahasabha. He toured the nation widely and delivered the simple message that followers of Vedism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism were all Hindus.
At declaration of war by Britain on Germany and the arbitrary inclusion of India in the war, Savarkar said that Britain's claim of safeguarding human freedom was simply meaningless.
Savarkar agreed to join hands with the Congress in support of Gandhiji's Quit India movement as long as the Congress did not compromise the unity of the nation to the Muslim League. "The Quit India Movement must not end in a Split India Movement!" he thundered on a BBC broadcast of his speech.
After matriculation in 1901, he took admission in Fergusson College of Poona. He was however more interested in IndiaÂ’s freedom from British rule. The young college students in Poona were charged by the speeches by the patriots and political leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bhopatkar etc. The news papers in Poona were also actively participating in creating anti-British atmosphere in the society and appealing societyÂ’s feelings of Nationalism. Savarkar was the uncrowned leader of the youth in this movement. In 1905 he burnt the imported clothes as a token of IndiaÂ’s protest to imported clothes. In May 1904, he established an International Revolution Institute named "Abhinav Bharat". His instigating patriotic speeches and activities irritated the British Government. As a result his B.A. degree was withdrawn by the Government. In June 1906 he left for London to become Barrister. However, once in London, he united and inflamed the Indian students in England against British. He believed in use of arms against the foreign rulers and created a network of Indians in England, equipped with weapons . Although he passed Barrister Examination in England, because of his anti-government activities, he was denied the Degree.
He was the prime inspiration for the Indian students to rise against British rule. The British Government Officers were waiting for some opportunity to arrest him. He was arrested in London on 13 March 1910 on some fabricated offenses. The case against him was to be heard by the court in India. So he was to be sent to India. During his travel in a ship, as the ship neared Marseilles in France, he jumped through a porthole and swam to the port. This was on 8 July 1910. As per the plan, his colleagues were to reach there beforehand. However, they reached late and he was caught by French Police. The French Government denied him asylum.
After the case was decided in India, he was sentenced to 50 years rigorous life imprisonment in Andaman on 24 December 1910. Since 4 July 1911, he was in Andaman Jail in solitude. On 2nd May 921 he was brought to India from Andaman. Since 1921 to 1922, he was in Alipur (Bengal) and Ratnagiri (Maharashtra) Jails. On 6th January 1924, he was released from the jail on two conditions viz. a) He will not actively participate in politics and b) he will stay in Ratnagiri District. He was in house arrest at Ratnagiri.
Thereafter he spent his life in different fields of social work. He breathed his last at the age of 83, on Saturday, February 26, 1966. "Prayopveshana" , meaning fast till death, was what he observed and refused any intake of food. His death was like a true warrior. Death did not grab him, he approached death with erect head.
Reading Habits
Right from his childhood he used to like reading. Invariably found in Library, he used to read the news papers like Kesari, Kal, Dnyanprakash etc. He read "Short History of the World" in childhood. He studied History of India from Vedic time. History was his favorite subject. He had good command over Sanskrit and thoroughly read Sanskrit as well as English literature. Amongst other books, he was impressed by the biographies of Mazini, Garibaldi, Napoleon etc. He read Bible, and Holy Koran, philosophers like Spencer, Mill, Darwin, Huxlay , Emerson etc. He also studied Economics, Geology etc. He could by heart half of Ravindranath Tagore’s literature. He had also carefully studied Lenin and Trotsky.
Pioneer
He is proved to be pioneer in many fields such as -
He studied the original records available in London about IndiaÂ’s history and proposed that the "mutiny" of 1957 in India, as stamped by British, was not a mutiny but a freedom fight. While in Andaman Jail, he took lead in uniting the prisoners and made representation to the British Government against the subhuman conditions of the jail and worst treatment given to the prisoners. This persuaded the Government to improve the jail conditions and some facilities were sanctioned to the prisoners. He made history in Marathi Poetry by writing an epoch making poetry "Kamala" , in Andaman Jail. He was a gifted poet who wrote poems, which can be compared to those of Kalidas in Sanskrit. He was the pioneer to get back the converted Indians to Hindu Religion. To follow the guiding principle of "Swadeshi movement" by Lok Manya Tilak , he was the first to set ablaze imported clothes. Purification of Mother tongue He was against the influence of Urdu, English or any other languages on Marathi - his mother tongue Hence he professed for use of pure Marathi Language. To replace many conversant words adopted from languages like Urdu, Persian or English, he coined many words and brought them in use. Since Marathi originates from Sanskrit, which is a proliferate language, why should invasion of words from other languages be tolerated, he used to emphasis. The following Marathi words , which we use in day to day language are brought in by Savarkar - Prashala (High school), Aacharya (Principal), Dhani (Malak - Owner), Dinank (Tarikh - date), Upasthita (hajar - present), Nabhowani (radio), Mahapour (mayor), Vishwasta (Trustee) etc.
Realizing the importance and influence of print media, he made appropriate changes in the Devnagari script, so as to ease printing. "Savarkar script" reduced print type faces from 200 to 80.
He was the President of Hindu Mahasabha and toiled for building Hindu Nationalism.
He campaigned for incorporation of Hindus in Indian Military from 30% to 65% during British Raj.pparently this was misunderstood as helping British for fighting the Second World War. However military training was very essential for the revolution, which could be used against British Rule on opportune time. That was the purpose of this campaign. This was appreciated by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose saying that this movement facilitated supply of trained soldiers to his "Swatantra Sena".
At his instance, Madam Cama represented India in the International Socialists Conference with IndiaÂ’s flag. The participants in the conference not only saluted Indian Flag , but also agreed that they should support the freedom movement in India. After IndiaÂ’s independence, while deciding the flag of the country, SavarkarÂ’s suggestion to adopt Dharmachakra on the Sarnath Pillar (Ashok Stambh) was accepted and implemented.
Literature
Savarkar was a prolific writer and poet. His literature from the age of 11 till 70 can be divided in five parts. The first part consists of poems and ballads, mainly related to freedom movement. The second part consists of his writings while being in England. Amongst them "Joseph Mazini"- a biography of the famous Italian freedom fighter - is world famous. Another one is "Sattavanche watryantsamar" - "The freedom fight of 1857", which is a deep study of the 1857 "Mutiny" (as called by British) in India . He also wrote "Shikhancha Itihas" (History of Shikhs). He used to write in the Indian news papers called "Kal" and "Vihari" on various politics related topics. The third part is during his imprisonment in Andaman. While enduring the rigorous imprisonment, he did not get even pen and paper to write. In such adverse conditions he wrote "Kamala" - an epic on the prison walls with the help of shart thorns. The fourth part is after he was shifted to Ratnagiri under house arrest. The immortal book "Mazi Janmathep" (My life imprisonment) was written during this period. It describes the dreadful life in prison. This part also includes his "Vidnyannishtha Nibandh" (scientific essays), three dramas named "Ushshap", "Sanyasta Khadga" and "Uttarkriya" regarding imancipation of untouchables, conversion of religion and the adverse effects of extremity of "Ahinsa" on the nation, "Kale Pani" (Black water) - a novel based on his experiences in Andaman Jail and "Mala kay tyache" (What do I care?), on the background of the mutiny of Mopla- Muslims in Malbar. He wrote two books in English named "Hindutwa" and "Hindupadapadshahi" on the history of Marathas. After he was released from house arrest he became the President of Hindu Mahasabha.His presidential ddresses have been compiled in "Hindurashtra-Darshan" which throws light on his political thinking. In the fifth and the last part, after he retired from day to day political work, he wrote "Hindurashtrachya itihasateel saha soneri pane" (Six golden pages in the History of Hindu Nation) about the critical study of History of Hindus. So far the impression was that Hindus have always been losing the battle, which is not true. He has quoted the heroism of Hindus, which gives Hindus stimulus and pride of their glorious legacy. His contribution of Marathi literature is invaluable. Therefore he was selected as the President of Maharashtra Sahitya Sammelan in 1938. Nagpur University and Poona University conferred on him the Honorary D.Lit. degree on 14th August 1943 and on 8th October 1959 respectively. After IndiaÂ’s independence, he had to face the judicial inquiry for assassination of Gandhiji , since Nathuram Godse, GandhijiÂ’s assassinator was the disciple of Savarkar. No charges were proved against him.
His two very famous poems are Sagara Pran Talamalala and Jayostute.
He was a living "Sthitapradnya" as described in "Bhagwat Geeta" and used to live as per the philosophy of "Bhagwat Geeta".
JAYAPRAKASH NARAYAN was born on October 11, 1902 in the tiny village of Sitabdiara, in the state of Bihar in Northern India. His father was a farmer and minor provincial irrigation official.
"As a boy, like most boys of those days," NARAYAN recalls, "I was an ardent nationalist and leaned toward the revolutionary cult of which Bengal was the noble leader at that time. . . .Before my revolutionary leanings could mature, Gandhi's first non-cooperation movement swept over the land as a strangely uplifting hurricane. I, too, was one of the thousands of young men who, like leaves in the storm, were swept away and momentarily lifted up to the skies. That brief experience of soaring up with the winds of a great idea left imprints on the inner being that time and much familiarity with ugliness or reality have not removed. It was then that freedom became one of the beacon lights of my life, and has remained so ever since."
NARAYAN was 18 when Gandhi visited his district and urged students to withdraw from local government-supported high schools. Although only a few weeks short of graduation from Patna College, the local high school, NARAYAN withdrew—over the furious objections of his parents. They then tried to get him to enroll in Benares Hindu University, but he refused because Gandhi's non-cooperation campaign called for boycott of all educational institutions aided by the British. Instead he decided to complete his studies in the United States where he heard it was possible for poor students to work their way through college. He sailed from Calcutta in August 1922 leaving his young wife Prabhabati Devi—whom he had married while still in his teens—with his parents. She later engaged in social service work and, like her husband, became deeply involved in the movement for independence.
NARAYAN remained in America for seven years. During that time he studied at four different universities and worked at whatever jobs he could get—in a vineyard, a canning plant, a foundry, a stockyard, a terracotta factory, and as salesman of a hair-straightener and complexion cream in the Negro quarter of Chicago.
"This was the first time in my life," NARAYAN later recalled, "that I had worked with my hands and earned something. It left a deep impression. . . .The equality of human beings and the dignity of labor became real things to me."
NARAYAN enrolled first at the University of California at Berkeley where he studied natural science. He later transferred to the University of Iowa, because the tuition was cheaper, and from there to the University of Wisconsin. It was at Wisconsin that he became a convert to Soviet Communism. He joined a Marxist study group where he became friends with a young instructor in the German Department, Avrom Landy. Landy gave him some of his own translations of works by Marx and arranged for him to meet several American and Mexican Communist Party officials. NARAYAN read the writings of Marx and Trotsky "voraciously," and pamphlets by the Indian Communist, M. N. Roy, "completed the conversion."
"Freedom," NARAYAN has written about this period, "still remained the unchanging goal, but the Marxian science of revolution seemed to offer a surer and quicker road to it than Gandhi's technique of civil disobedience and non-cooperation. . . .At the same time, Marxism provided another beacon light for me: equality and brotherhood. Freedom was not enough. It must mean freedom for all—even the lowliest—and this freedom must include freedom from exploitation, from hunger, from poverty."
Following a three-month illness NARAYAN returned to the University of Wisconsin and switched to the social sciences on Landy's advice. When Landy was given a lectureship at Ohio State University, NARAYAN went with him. Here he received his Bachelor of Arts Degree on August 31, 1928. He earned his Master of Arts in Economics the following year. His thesis, "Societal Variations," argued that change in human society is the result of improvements in the tools of production.
NARAYAN returned to India in October of 1929 to find that "nationalism was reaching white heat." Early the next year, following Lord Irwin's refusal to agree to unrestricted dominion status for India, Mahatma Gandhi and his followers launched a full-scale independence movement. "Naturally," says NARAYAN, "I plunged into the fray with all my heart. . . .But I did not find the Indian Communists anywhere on the battle lines. . . .Worse, I came to know that they were denouncing the national movement as bourgeois and Mahatma Gandhi as a lackey of the Indian bourgeoisie. . . .My differences with the CPI (Communist Party of India) thus marked the beginning of my ideological alienation from Soviet Russia. . . ."
Unable to reconcile his Marxism with "Soviet dictated policy," NARAYAN joined the Congress Party in January 1930. Both Gandhi and Nehru were impressed with the young man and Nehru appointed him director of the Labor Research Department of the Congress Party. Within a short time he helped organize the civil disobedience movement. In 1932 he was arrested by the British for participation in this movement and sentenced to Nasik Central Prison. There he met a group of similarly disposed young radicals. Some, like NARAYAN, were Marxists, others socialists, but they all shared a growing dissatisfaction with the "vagueness" of Congress Party policy and the lack of an adequate program for social change.
Upon their release they banded together to form the Congress Socialist Party (CSP) on May 17, 1934, as a party within the Congress Party. The goal of the CSP was to change the middle class domination of the Congress and to "link the movement for national freedom with the movement for economic and social emancipation of the masses."
Following Hitler's rise to power and the subsequent Soviet sanction of popular front coalitions throughout the world, the Communist Party of India (CPI) offered its support to the Indian National Congress as a National Front. In spite of the opposition of some of his leading colleagues, NARAYAN welcomed this new policy. "I began," he said, "to dream of the possibility of a united socialist-communist party and of the rapid strides that both the freedom movement and Indian socialism could make under such united leadership."
In January 1936, largely on NARAYAN's recommendation as General Secretary, the CSP agreed to establish a united front with the Communists. Membership in the CSP was opened to individual communists, and it was agreed they would work together in the trade union movement. By 1938 most of South India was controlled by the CPI; they dominated the powerful All-India Trade Union Conference and were moving to control the Congress Socialist Party.
"That nightmarish experience resulted in one great good," said NARAYAN. "We learned, some of us with not little regret that. . .when the Communist parties talk of united front, it is always a ruse and at best a temporary policy dictated by the exigencies of the situation. . .and that the Communists can never think of sharing power with anyone, except as a makeshift with convenient stooges."
In March 1940 the CSP leadership decided to expel all communist members. CSP units in the South moved in a block to the Communist Party, and so many others joined them that one socialist leader called the CSP "all but finished."
NARAYAN’s final break with the Indian Communists came in 1941, when, following Hitler's attack on Russia, Indian Communists dropped all talk of freedom and urged support of the Allied war effort. NARAYAN denounced them for playing the imperialist game, and, impatient with the slowness of the freedom movement, he split from the Congress Party and demanded a complete boycott of the government until the British left India.
He was arrested and sent to Hazaribagh Prison in a remote part of Bihar. On the night of November 8, 1942 he and five fellow inmates escaped, scaling a 22-foot wall with the aid of a rope made of their clothing. Eluding capture for nearly a year, he traveled about India, working with the underground freedom movement to recruit and train saboteurs.
He was captured again near Lahore in September 1943 while on his way to Kashmir to rouse the Pathan tribesmen against the British. Tales of the brutality of his confinement circulated throughout India. Finally released on April 12, 1946 he emerged as the hero of the underground freedom movement.
NARAYAN immediately accepted an appointment to the Congress Working Committee, believing that the socialists could eventually wrest control of the party. Still advocating armed struggle NARAYAN wrote that "the fire of revolution alone can burn down the edifice of imperialism together with the supporting edifices of feudalism and communism."
On August 15, 1947 when Britain gave India its freedom, formal Partition of the subcontinent became effective. Riots had erupted between Hindus and Muslims during negotiations. In the weeks following independence violence and killings engulfed all of the Punjab and many other cities and states as well. One estimate states that "as many as 100,000 men, women and children were killed in the orgy of communal anger as nearly five million refugees crossed into India from Pakistan and an almost equal number of Muslims journeyed in the opposite direction."
Gandhi had opposed Partition and left the negotiations to undertake a village-by-village walking tour in eastern Bengal in an effort to restore calm. When renewed violence broke out, he began to fast in an appeal to leaders of both sides to stop the killings. On January 30, 1948 he was assassinated in New Delhi.
The increasingly powerful conservatives in the Congress Party, in 1947, had defeated Gandhi's proposal of NARAYAN for the presidency of the party. Pointing to the need for national unity, they now outlawed political parties within Congress; this resulted in most Socialists, led by NARAYAN, leaving the Congress Party in 1948.
NARAYAN meanwhile was continuing his critical examination of Marxist theories. Looking at Soviet Russia he saw overcentralization of political and economic authority as "not only the absence of socialism, but also of its negation." He began to believe, as Gandhi, that good ends could never be achieved by bad means. Speaking to the Eighth National Congress of the Socialist Party in Madras in 1950, NARAYAN stated: "The aims of the socialist movement. . . .[are] the creation of a society of free and equal peoples. . . based on certain values of human and social life, values which should never be sacrificed in the name of theory or the Party line or expediency of any sort."
India's first national election was held in 1951. Nehru's Congress Party won a decisive victory; the Socialist Party came in third, behind the Communists. In the aftermath of this defeat, NARAYAN sought to bolster the position of the Socialist Party by merging with the Kissan Mazdoor Praja Party into the Praja (Peoples) Socialist Party (PSP). The merger gave further emphasis to NARAYAN’s shift toward Gandhism, as the Kissan Mazdoor Praja Party in the 1951 election had supported Gandhi's ideals of nonviolence, redistribution of land, and the rehabilitation of villages.
In 1953 Prime Minister Nehru invited NARAYAN and the Praja Socialists to consider merging with the Congress Party. As a basis for coalition the Socialists presented a 14-point minimum program which included nationalization of banking, insurance and mining, and a constitutional change to permit sweeping land reforms. These proposals were too drastic for the Congress Party to accept, and negotiations for a PSP-Congress Party alliance fell through. Nevertheless, NARAYAN called Nehru's offer "a statesmanlike step," and promised to continue to meet with him.
At the time of Nehru's offer, NARAYAN was already involved in the Bhoodan Movement. This voluntary land reform began in 1951 when Vinoba Bhave, on one of his frequent walking tours, was approached by a group of poor peasants who begged his help in getting land so they could raise food for their families. Turning to the crowd, Bhave asked, "Are there any among you who will give land to your brothers so that they may not die of starvation?" One landlord stepped forward and offered 100 acres.
Out of this incident, Bhave* was inspired to devote the rest of his life to soliciting voluntary donations of land to alleviate the plight of India's huge landless rural population. His goal was 50 million acres, enough to give five acres to every family. Within a few months of walking about the countryside, he had been given 20,000 acres. Bhoodan quickly caught the imagination of the country. It "lit a moral fire and loosed a fervor for non-political constructive work" that drew to it, among many others, JAYAPRAKASH NARAYAN.
Recalling this time, NARAYAN says, there were two factors in the situation which. . .forced me to give it serious thought. One was the author himself of bhoodan. . . .When a person like Vinoba had started something it could not just be brushed aside as a stunt or a futile gesture. The other was the steady growth of the movement."
Not long afterwards, NARAYAN went to see Bhave, while he was traveling about the Banda district of Uttar Pradesh, to discuss the land distribution problem. It was then he decided to join Bhave's movement. After the 1951 elections, NARAYAN made a trip to the Gaya district of Bihar as a Bhoodan worker. "My brief experience," he said, "was exhilarating beyond expectations. Within a week nearly seven thousand acres of land were obtained as a gift—most of them spontaneous and from small holders . . . ."
As the movement progressed it took new forms. In 1952, in the village of Mangroth in Uttar Pradesh, gramdan (gift of village) was announced, later came sampattidan (gift of wealth), and shramdan (gift of labor).
NARAYAN has stated that the use of the word dan was perhaps unfortunate; in modern usage it connotes charity, whereas Bhave meant it in the classical sense of "sharing together." Thus bhoodan signified distribution of the land to the landless. Gramdan was equitable sharing together of the lands of the village by the people of the village. Sampattidan demonstrated that the methodology of the new revolution was not restricted to the problem of land, but could be applied to the entire social field. Finally, as NARAYAN said, "If we have nothing to give let us give our service—shramdan—our love and goodwill—fremdan."
In bhoodan, NARAYAN saw the essence of Mahatma Gandhi's theory of trusteeship—that man is not the master of what he possesses but only a trustee of what in reality belongs to society. And a trustee should take from his trust no more than what is necessary to fulfill his needs and give all the rest back to society.
Shortly after the announcement of the Mangroth gramdan, NARAYAN made a special trip to the village to see for himself what had happened there. "What I saw," he recounted, "opened a new vista into the future. It was thrilling to visualize the great moral, economic, political and social revolution that would sweep over the country if Mangroth was repeated in every village. And I could find no reason to suppose that what had happened in Mangroth could not happen in all the villages of India. The people of Mangroth were by no means angels.
"Vinoba's movement thus supplied an answer to the question I had long been asking: could Gandhiji's philosophy offer a practical method to accomplish the social revolution? In a brilliant extension and development of Gandhiji's work, Vinoba demonstrated that there was such a method."
NARAYAN saw it as a two-pronged method. One prong, a mass campaign of what Gandhi termed "conversion" (satyagraha—the technique of non-violent protest to achieve change of heart), to persuade men to give up those ideas, ways and values of life that have been found harmful and to accept in their place certain others. The other prong "to devise a program of self-help and self-government through which men—first those living in small communities—may learn to manage their own affairs and, moved by the new ideas and values, cooperate together to create new institutions and forms of social life. . . .The revolution in ideas as represented by bhoodan, sampattidan and gramdan and the revolution in the outward organization of society represented by community ownership of land and community self-government together constitute a full revolutionary program that is different both from revolutions of violence and revolutions made by law."
On April 18, 1954 the Sixth Sarvodaya Conference began at Bodh Gaya under the leadership of Vinoba Bhave. Most of India's political notables were in attendance, including Prime Minister Nehru, President Rajendra Prasad, Vice President Radhakrishna, head of the Praja Socialist Party Acharya Kripalani and many others. On the second day of the Conference JAYAPRAKASH NARAYAN rose to announce that he was making a jeevandan—an offer of his life. He was giving up politics to devote himself to the Bhoodan Movement and the sarvodaya (service) ideal. This decision, NARAYAN emphasized, was in no sense a repudiation of his long-held ideals, but rather, "that I had realized that those ideals could be achieved and preserved better through Bhoodan or the Gandhian way."
Thus, at the age of 50 NARAYAN gave up political power and leadership
Once in the United States, Jayaprakash Narayan studied the political science, sociology and economics at the Universities of Berkeley, Iowa, Wisconsin and Ohio State. He was really impressed by Marxism during his study at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The ideas and writings of M.N. Roy also equally impressed him. But financial problems and his mother's health caused him to give up his dreams of securing a PhD.
It was while Narayan was returning to India that he got the chance to meet revolutionaries like Rajani Palme Dutt in London on his way back to India. As such, he joined the Indian National Congress in 1929 upon receiving an invitation from Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. In the time to come, the great Mahatma Gandhi turned out to be the mentor and guide of Jayaprakash Narayan. Narayan was jailed and tortured by the British forces several times during the war for Independence.
Jayaprakash Narayan played a crucial role in the Quit India movement and earned a lot of fame and respect for this. JP wedded freedom fighter Prabhavati Devi, who was a follower of Kasturba Gandhi. She resided at the Sabarmati Ashram while Jayaprakash Narayan was studying abroad. Though she nurtured viewpoints that contradicted JP's, yet her husband always respected her independence.
Jayaprakash Narayan met Ram Manohar Lohia, Minoo Masani, Ashok Mehta, Yusuf Desai and other national leaders when he was put behind bars in 1932 because of the civil disobedience movement. After JP came out of jail, the Congress Socialist party was set up. While Acharya Narendra Deva was elected as its President, JP was chosen its general secretary. During the Quit India Movement in 1942, JP was again at the helm of the agitation.
Post independence and death of Gandhiji, Jayaprakash Narayan, Acharya Narendra Dev and Basawon Singh directed the CSP out of Congress to create the first opposition Socialist Party. This unit later on took the title Praja Socialist Party. Basawon Singh became the first leader of the Opposition in the state and assembly of Bihar, whereas Acharya Narendra Deva became the first leader of opposition in the state and assembly of U.P.
