Jayaprakash Narayan

Higher education in the United States

After exhausting the courses at the Vidyapeeth, Narayan decided to continue his studies in the United States. At age 20, Jayaprakash sailed aboard the cargo ship Janus while Prabhavati remained at Sabarmati. Jayaprakash reached California on 8 October 1922, and was admitted to the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) in January 1923 as a chemistry undergraduate. To pay for his education, Narayan picked grapes, packed fruits at a canning factory, washed dishes, and worked as a garage mechanic. These jobs gave Narayan an insight into the difficulties of the working class. While at Berkeley, Narayan, then one of 45 students from India, joined the university's Hindustan Club. At the end of the semester, however, his fees doubled and he was forced to transfer to The University of Iowa, where he continued his studies in applied science and his activities with the Hindustan Association of America, a national association of Indian students studying in the United States. Narayan chaired the association's 1923 national convention, which was held at the university at the end of December 1923.

In Wisconsin, Narayan was introduced to Karl Marx's book Das Kapital. News of the success of the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War made Narayan conclude Marxism was the way to alleviate the suffering of the masses. He studied books by Indian intellectuals and Communist theoreticians M. N. Roy. Narayan's paper on sociology Cultural Variation was declared the best of the year. Narayan graduated from University of Wisconsin with a MA in sociology, and from Ohio State University with a BA in behavioural science. While in the United States, he met K. B. Menon, then teaching at Harvard, ultimately persuading him to return to India and join the independence movement there.

Politics

Having become a Marxist, Narayan returned from the US to India in late 1929. The same year, he joined the Indian National Congress on the invitation of Jawaharlal Nehru; Mahatma Gandhi became Narayan's mentor in the Congress. Narayan shared a house at Kadam Kuan in Patna with his close friend and nationalist Ganga Sharan Singh (Sinha) with whom he shared a lasting friendship. Many young socialist leaders like Ram Manohar Lohia, Chhotubhai Puranik and Aruna Asaf Ali took part in the movement. Because Narayan was ill, Yogendra Shukla walked to Gaya with Narayan on his shoulders, Narayan also served as the chairman of Anugrah Smarak Nidhi (Anugrah Narayan Memorial Fund).

After the PRC's crackdown on the 1959 Tibetan uprising, in accordance with his Gandhian worldview, Narayan stated in 1959 that, "Tibet may be a theocratic state rather than a secular state and backward economically and socially, but no nation has the right to impose progress, whatever that may mean, upon another nation."

After Independence Between 1947 and 1953, Jayaprakash Narayan was President of All India Railwaymen's Federation, the largest labour union in Indian Railways.

Emergency In the year 1975, Allahabad High Court found Indira Gandhi guilty of violating electoral laws. Narayan called for Gandhi and the CMs to resign, and the military and police to disregard unconstitutional and immoral orders. He advocated a program of social transformation, which he termed Sampoorna kraanti (total revolution). Immediately afterwards, Gandhi proclaimed a national Emergency on the midnight of 25 June 1975. Desai, opposition leaders, and dissenting members of Gandhi's own party were arrested that day.

Jayaprakash Narayan gathered a crowd of 100,000 people at Ramlila grounds and recited Rashtrakavi Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar' poem Singhasan Khaali Karo Ke Janata Aaati Hai.

Narayan was detained at Chandigarh; he asked for one month of parole to mobilise relief in flooded parts of Bihar. His health suddenly deteriorated on 24 October 1975, and he was released on 12 November the same year. At Jaslok Hospital, Bombay, Narayan was diagnosed with kidney failure; he would be on kidney dialysis for the rest of his life.

In the UK, Surur Hoda launched "Free JP", a campaign for the release of Jayaprakash Narayan that was chaired by Nobel Peace Prize winner Philip Noel-Baker.

On 18 January 1977, Indira Gandhi revoked the emergency and announced elections. The Janata Party, a vehicle for the broad spectrum of the opposition to Gandhi, was formed under JP's guidance. The Janata Party was voted into power and became the first non-Congress party to form a central government. In the 1977 Indian presidential election, Narayan was proposed as President of India by Janata Party leaders but he refused and Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, then Speaker of the Lok Sabha, became president.

Private life At the age of 17, Jayaprakash was married to Prabhavati Devi, daughter of lawyer and nationalist Brij Kishore Prasad in October 1919. Prabhavati was very independent and on Gandhi's invitation, went to stay at his ashram while Jayaprakash continued his studies. Prabhavati Devi died on 15 April 1973 after a long battle with cancer.

Death In March 1979, while he was in the hospital, Narayan's death was erroneously announced by the Indian prime minister Morarji Desai, causing a wave of national mourning, including the suspension of parliament and regular radio broadcasting, and the closure of schools and shops. When he was told about the mistake a few weeks later, Narayan smiled. Narayan died in Patna, Bihar, on 8 October 1979, three days before his 77th birthday, due to the effects of diabetes and heart disease.

Awards

Bharat Ratna, 1999 (Posthumous) for Public Affairs: It is India's highest civilian award. Rashtrabhushan Award of FIE Foundation, Ichalkaranji JP Setu the Digha-Sonpur Bridge, a rail-road bridge across river Ganga in Bihar Jayaprakash Nagar, Bengaluru (JP Nagar) a residential area in Bangalore. Jayaprakash Nagar, Mysore (JP Nagar) a residential area in Mysore. Lok Nayak Hospital (hospital in New Delhi) Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan National Institute of Criminology & Forensic Science (college in New Delhi) JPN Centre of Excellence in Humanities (Indian Institute of Technology Simrol, Indore) Loknayak Jai Prakash Institute of Technology (Engineering college in Chhapra, Bihar).

Artistic depictions of Jayaprakash Narayan Prakash Jha directed a 112-minute film "Loknayak", based on the life of Jayaprakash Narayan. Chetan Pandit played the role of JP in that film. Achyut Potdar played Narayan in ABP News show Pradhanmantri and Aaj Tak Aandolan. Anupam Kher portrayed Narayan in the 2025 film Emergency directed by Kangana Ranaut.