If there is any leader who comes after Mahatma Gandhi, and belonged to the era of independence, it was J.P. Narayan
Dr. Jernail S. Anand
Every epoch in history has its own heroes and its own villains. It is a paradox that there won’t be great leaders if the times are comparatively happier and easier. We saw the emergence of great social reformers and faith leaders like Guru Nanak Dev ji from the debris of a social order which had morally collapsed. The evil that was rampant during the regime of Aurangzeb had its rebuttal in the form of Guru Gobind Singh who organized Khalsa Panth which gave a new turn to the history of mankind. In the wake of Indian struggle for independence also, we come across several brilliant faces which led the nation to freedom. The harder was the regime, the greater was the shine of these gems. In Indian history, 1947 and just prior to it, and 50 years thereafter, was the period, which was the blackest from political angle, but it was also the times when the best people emerged from the ranks, whose imprint is still felt on the world political scene. The world still remembers great leaders of Indian struggle: Netaji Subhash Chander Bose, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawahar Lal Nehru. They had around them hundreds of animated spirits, which turned into a ‘mashaal’ and drove away the darkness of the Empire from Indian soil.
Such a watershed again was witnessed in and around 1975. Smt. Indira Gandhi witnessed great social churning and discontent in the Indian subcontinent, and finally, she imposed emergency in 1975. The fiery leader from Bihar, who gave us the slogan of Total Revolution emerged from the struggle for social justice and rights of the people which was organized around the actions of Smt. Indira Gandhi. The nation remembers her as a great leader, who made great political blunders also, to her can be ascribed the rise of greater leaders who changed the perceptive parameters of Indian politics. And it was none other than J.P. Narayan and Rammanohar Lohia. They were on the scene already, inspired by greater leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, only their time arrived when in 1974 in the wake of Bihar movement.
I am talking of Idealism and Indian Politics. If we can find idealist leaders whose life can inspire the younger generation and touch their imagination, it was certainly the period of struggle for independence. The later period saw a political narrative which was conceived in mad-idealism of some political leaders who had inherited riches and had no grounding in struggle. Sanjay Gandhi stands on that point of Indian history after which the descend becomes sharper, the fall of politics becomes unbearable, but from this debris once again rise great men who were to guide the nation in the times to come.
If there is any leader who comes after Mahatma Gandhi, and belonged to the era of independence, it was J.P.
Jai Prakash Narayan was the man who was able to show to the youth a united dream of a revolution which took the shape of Janata Party which swept to power in 1977. Although the Janata Party’s rule fell apart, and offered on the plate a chance to Indira Gandhi again to rise to power, the dream of total revolution is a part of the Indian Political Idealism. Behind this ideal lie the martyrdom of great leaders of Indian struggle like Neta Ji, S. Bhagat Singh, Chander Shekhar Azad, Kartar Singh Saraba and thousands of others who died in oblivion.
National Icons
If anything inspires great love for our country, it is our Tiranga and the National anthem Jan Gan Man. And the most respected and loved name in this country is the name of Azad Hind Fauj. The Indian National Army. People love Jawahar Lal Nehru, the great philosopher, Mahatma Gandhi, the great idealist and reformer, but never forget to mention great Abul Kalam Azad, and Dr. Radha Krishnanan. The other most inspiring names are Jai Prakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia, and the idea of Total Revolution.
What makes JP most relevant today
We are passing through times which resemble 1974. Indian rulers are battling against the rights of the people. Justice has gone for a spin. During the ten years rule of the BJP, India’s reputation as a democratic country has nosedived. We have a leader who has stepped into the shoes of Indira Gandhi, the authoritarian, but he lacks the qualities of Indira Gandhi, the visionary, which she possessed in plenty. We as a nation even today are looking for a leader like JP around whom all the forces could rally and the dream of a total revolution could become a reality.
It is not that the socialist world is silent. Whenever there is an onslaught on justice and rights of people are vandalized, the socialist organizations come to life and wage a war against the authorities. On the Indian scene, Rahul Gandhi is coming up as a leader in whom the people have reposed their faith. But, we should remember. The war of independence was not won by one or two leaders. We had a large number of patriots and martyrs. We need more Rahuls. More people committed to political idealism.
And there is a vacuum so far as JP’s dream is concerned. Total Revolution is a persistent call, an insistent dream, and as at present, it is lying dispersed in the air like a rainbow. Indian political scene shows sparks of greatness here and there, and there are leaders who are giving sane leadership to the social movement. Still, there is a vacuum of alternative leadership who could steer the forces of transformational politics.
There are several organizations which are spreading the socialist ideal among the youth. Bihar has always been in the forefront of the great Dream. Even today, I can remember a poem by The Lost Leader, written in 1845, by Robert Browning. It was about William Wordsworth, who had accepted Laureateship, and it meant, he has been lost to the fighting brigade.
Blot out his name, and then record
One lost soul more,
One more devil’s triumph
And sorrow for angels
One wrong more to man,
One more insult to God.
This is how we felt when Nitish Kumar in whom we could see shades of JP was lost. But he does not match the great dreamers like JP and Ram Manohar Lohia because of his internal weaknesses. That is why I say, there is a vacuum. And the time looks up to the younger generation to rise above petty politicking, and fight the menaces at a philosophical level, without losing their grace.
Read: Catharsis is not a one time affair: Looking for eternal Catharsis
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Dr. Jernail S. Anand is a socialist campaigner, an ideologue who heads the International Academy of Ethics and authored 170 books. Winner of the international award Charter of Morava, his name is inscribed on Poets’ Rock in Serbia. A rare achievement for an Indian author, who was the only one to be honoured by the Serbian Writers Association after Rabindranath Tagore in 1926]
Visit: ethicsacademy.co.in Contact: anandjs55@yahoo.com
