Jayprakash Narayan

Jayprakash Narayan

Jayprakash Narayan was an Indian independence activist and political leader. He joined the Congress party after his education in the US and had close ties with Nehru. Initially influenced by Marxism, he founded the Congress Socialist Party as an adjunct of the Congress in 1934 that aimed at elimination of exploitation and indebtedness of poor peasantry. He gradually came to dissociate himself from the communists who supported the British war effort and justified Stalinist excesses. He became more influenced by Gandhian philosophies, such as satyagraha and non violence as was seen when he fasted for sixteen days in protest against the ill treatment of prisoners in Deoli.

He is known for instigating the call for a movement called Total Revolution against Indira Gandhi in the 1970s. Indira Gandhi was found guilty of violating electoral laws by the Allahabad High Court. Narayan called for Indira to resign, and advocated Sampoorna kraanti [Total Revolution], a massive movement of pacifist noncooperation with the government. Narayan called for the Prime Minister’s resignation asked the military and the police to disregard unconstitutional and immoral orders. However, Indira Gandhi announced a state of Emergency on June 25th, 1975 and arrested Jayaprakash Narayan, opposition leaders and dissenting members of her own party. The Janata Party was formed under his guidance when Indira Gandhi revoked the Emergency in 1977. It was made up of the broad spectrum of anti Indira Gandhi opposition and was the first non Congress party to form a government at the centre. Though he never had a formal position within the government, he was still a leading political personality. He died in October 1979.