By Lalit Garg
In every phase of the history of India, there have been a few people who have not only created a new history in the upliftment of the nation, but have also shaped or nurtured �the dreams of a happy free India. In this way, the name of Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan is prominent among the great leaders who played important roles in the politics of the independence movement of India. He remained in the custody of the British rulers during the Civil Disobedience Movement, and then decades after the Government of Azad Hindustan arrested him during the emergency. Dedicated to the upliftment of the country and the people of the country, JP has always held democratic values. He continued to live his life to do something unique and new to shape up the growth of India, after independence he could achieve great positions, but he set a goal to live life in accordance with Gandhian ideology.
In the politics of independent India, when confusion, selfishness, greedy nature, ethnicity, communalism, denial of democratic values, distortions of power, etc. started spreading, then JP felt sad, he felt that power was suffering from autocracy and corruption, and then he again jumped into the battlefield. He struggled throughout his life and became a role model in front of the society, blazing like gold in the fire of this struggle. In present politics, there is a great need to establish his ideals and remember them again.
Jayaprakash Narayan had become a memorial before death due to renunciation and struggling life. Only two leaders of JP attained the halo like saints in their lives. One was Mahatma Gandhi and the other Vinoba Bhave. So when he came to the field in 1974 after shying away from active politics with the slogan of ‘Empty the throne, the public comes’, then the whole country followed him, as if following a saintly Mahatma. Born on 11 October 1902, Jayaprakash Narayan was an Indian freedom fighter, social reformer and politician. He was a social worker, also known as �Loknayak�. In 1999, he was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna.
In addition, he was awarded the Magsaysay Award in 1965 for social service. Patna’s airport is named after him. The biggest hospital of Delhi Government, Loknayak Jayaprakash Hospital, is also named after him.
Loknayak Jayaprakashji’s entire life journey was full of struggle and spiritual practice. There were many stops in it, he gave a new direction not only to Indian politics but also to the common people, he created new standards. Such as materialism to spirituality, politics to social work, forced social reform and change of individual minds. He was in favor of ethics from foreign power to domestic power, system from domestic power, change from system to person and change from person to person. He dreamed of village self-rule all over India and also worked tirelessly to shape it.
His entire life appeared for solutions to the problems of Indian society, like an avatar, like a messiah. He wanted to bloom the lotus of good services in the mud of power in Indian politics. He did a lot for Indian society but the values he wanted to establish in public life were not acceptable to the political parties of the country to a large extent. Because these values were in favor of challenging the current structure of politics as well as ending the conditions of selfishness and greediness, their aim was to establish a sense of nationalism and morality, to make politics a medium of service.
The life characteristics of Loknayak Jayaprakashji and the ideals of his personality are somewhat unique and amazing due to which he holds a different place among the heroes of Indian politics. In protest against the Jallianwala Bagh incident, he left school in British style schools and completed higher education from Bihar Vidyapeeth. In 1948, along with Acharya Narendra Dev founded the All India Congress Socialist Party. He later broke away from electoral politics and joined the �Bhoodan movement� of Vinoba Bhave.
He played a decisive role in creating a non-Congress government for the first time at the center by agitating against the Emergency.�Loknayak� was Jayaprakashji’s greatest ideology which deeply inspired the Indian life, that he lacked power, was not fascinated, he kept himself away from power and kept looking for consent in the national interest and this is the tragedy of a patriot. He may not have been a skilled politician but was in favor of advanced directions of politics, was an inspiration. He deeply felt the future directions of the country’s politics. This is the reason why he continued to advocate purity and selflessness in politics.
Mahatma Gandhi was an admirer of Jayaprakash’s courage and patriotism. His escape from Hazaribagh jail was quite popular and due to this he had become the emperor of innumerable youths. He was extremely passionate but also a great revolutionary. He was in favor of restraint, discipline and dignity. Therefore, he never violated the limit of decorum. He did not give up his studies even in odd circumstances and the financial crisis did not break his morale. It only reflected his commitment to any task, reflecting his conviction.
Jayaprakash Narayan has been an inspiration for Indian politics. The anomalies of politics can be overcome by basing their views. Because he believed that a democratic government represents the people and has certain principles, according to which it works. The Government of India cannot call anyone a traitor, unless the entire legal process proves that he is a traitor. When the political situation in the country was becoming uncontrollable, he said that the country’s leaders are not doing justice to the people. It is the job of leaders to lead, but most of them are so timid that they cannot make truthful statements on unpopular policies and cannot face public outrage if such circumstances arise.
His interest was not in the possession of power, but in the control of power by the people. He was a supporter of non-violence, so he said that a violent revolution has always brought some kind of dictatorship. After the revolution, gradually a new class of privileged rulers and exploiters stand, people once again become subject to it.
I did not see Jayaprakash Narayan but his inspirations have been the foundation of my family environment. My mother Satyabhama Garg was his exclusive active social worker and servant. She used to run JP’s programs in Rajasthan, her ideals and inspirations were part of our family because of her personal connection. Jayaprakash also has an invaluable contribution in resolving a very hostile environment associated with the life of my spiritual teacher Acharya Shri Tulsi. When the riots broke out across the country about his famous book Agniksha, he was calmed by JP’s call. At the behest of JP, Acharya Tulsi also withdrew his book.
Jayaprakash Narayan is known for leading the opposition against Indira Gandhi in 1970. To remove Indira Gandhi, she started a movement called ‘Sampoorna Kranti’. Loknayak said that the entire revolution consists of seven revolutions – political, economic, social, cultural, intellectual, educational and spiritual revolutions. These seven revolutions combined lead to a complete revolution. The heat of the entire revolution was so terrible that the Congress lost power in the center. The group of youngsters used to go out on the streets on the shout of Jayaprakash Narayan. The spark of the entire revolution that erupted from Bihar had flared up in every corner of the country.
Jayprakash Narayan, popularly known as JP, was synonymous with revolution in every household. Lalmuni Chabe, Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar, Ram Vilas Paswan or Sushil Modi, all today’s leaders were part of his youth army. The name of JP, Jayaprakash Narayan, who held the torch of all the movements in the country from the freedom struggle to the year 1977, emerges as a person who had set the direction of the country with his ideas, philosophy and personality. As soon as his name is taken, several images emerge in the minds of people about him simultaneously.
Jayaprakash Narayan, who truly described Loknayak’s words, was not only a devoted public figure and a humanist thinker, but his image is also of a very decent and poised public life. His slogan of socialism is still echoing everywhere. Even if those who do politics on their slogans are forgetting their principles, because the slogan and movement of the entire revolution was aimed at ending the evils, all the evils lie in these political parties and their leaders. In the call for complete revolution, he said that ‘eradication of corruption, removal of unemployment, revolution in education, etc. are things which cannot be fulfilled by today’s system because they are the product of this system. So, in today�s time there is a need for complete revolution. And this revolution of improvement should start from person to system.
(Lalit Garg is a Journalist, columnist, writer and member of Rajbhasha samiti, Ministry of Home Affairs. He can be reached at lalitgarg11@gmail.com)
