Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid rich tributes to Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan, popularly known as JP, on his birth anniversary on Saturday, remembering him as one of India’s most fearless voices and a tireless champion for democracy.Millennial media consultingMovie schedules service
Jayaprakash Narayan Srivastava was born on October 11, 1902, in Sitab Diara village, in Chhapra district.
He is best remembered for leading a nationwide movement in the mid-1970s against late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and calling for a ‘Sampoorna Kranti (Total Revolution)’, which became a defining moment in India’s democratic history.
Sharing a video tribute on X, Prime Minister Modi said, “When one sees the life of Jayaprakash Narayan, it comes to mind that even after so many ups and downs, one can still continue to try to move ahead. At that age, he stood up again when he saw the country was facing problems. His life taught us that one should not feel upset about failing a few times.”
“Loknayak JP dedicated his life to empowering ordinary citizens and strengthening Constitutional values. His clarion call for Sampoorna Kranti ignited a societal movement, envisioning a nation built on equality, ethics and good governance,” he added.
PM Modi said that JP inspired mass movements across India, particularly in Bihar and Gujarat, which triggered a political awakening that shook the then Congress government at the Centre.
“These movements shook the then Congress Government at the Centre, which went on to impose the Emergency and trample over our Constitution,” he said.
Recalling JP’s time in prison during the Emergency, the Prime Minister noted, “During the Emergency, Loknayak JP spent several days in solitary confinement. His Prison Diary captures his anguish and unbroken faith in democracy and he wrote, ‘Every nail driven into the coffin of Indian democracy is like a nail driven into my heart.'”
In 1975, after the Allahabad High Court found then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi guilty of violating electoral laws, Jayaprakash Narayan called for her resignation along with that of chief ministers across the country and urged the armed forces and police to disregard unconstitutional and immoral orders.
He championed a program of social transformation under his vision of ‘Sampoorna Kranti’, which sought to reshape Indian society on the pillars of justice, equality, and morality.
Following his call for mass action, Indira Gandhi imposed a national Emergency on the midnight of June 25, 1975, leading to the arrest of Opposition leaders and dissenting voices.
Jayaprakash Narayan famously gathered a crowd of 100,000 people at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, where he recited Rashtrakavi Ramdhari Singh ‘Dinkar’s’ iconic poem, ‘Singhasan khaali karo ke janata aati hai’, symbolising the people’s assertion of democratic power.
He was later detained in Chandigarh, where his health deteriorated during his imprisonment. Granted parole briefly to aid flood relief in Bihar, his condition worsened, leading to his release on November 12, 1975.
Jayaprakash Narayan passed away on October 8, 1979, in Patna, just three days before his 77th birthday, due to complications from diabetes and heart disease.
