Jayaprakash Narayan: News

Jayaprakash Narayan, born in 1902 in present-day Bihar, was an Indian independence activist, political leader, and socialist. He pursued higher education in the US, where he got acquainted with the Marxist ideology. On his return, he joined the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1929. Narayan was a staunch activist and experienced several run-ins with the authorities during his time in the political scene. He was arrested for the first time by the British in 1932 for participating in the civil disobedience movement during the independence struggle. In 1933, Narayan, along with other party members, formed the left-wing Congress Socialist Party within the Congress. In 1939, he was once again imprisoned by the British for opposing India’s World War II participation on Britain’s side. This time, however, he managed to escape but was arrested for the third time in 1943. Post-Independence, Narayan decided to leave the Congress in 1948 and later formed the Praja Socialist Party in 1952. However, he disengaged from politics and joined Vinoba Bhave’s Bhoodan Yajna Movement in 1954 that aimed at distributing land to the landless. Narayan was a very staunch critic of Indira Gandhi and campaigned extensively against the government and its measures, especially the Emergency. Irrespective of their ideological differences, he mobilized forces against the mighty Congress by bringing the RSS and the Jana Sangh into his movement. Narayan died in 1979 in Patna.