28th November 2021
The journey of this extraordinary man has been brought to life in a biography of JP titled 'The Dream of Revolution' by Bimal Prasad, a noted scholar and close associate of JP, and Sujata Prasad.
For those of us who have lived through and survived the tumultuous 1970s, including the harsh realities of the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi, the name of Jayaprakash Narayan or JP evokes reverence, not just for his singular contribution to the restoration of democracy, but for reinforcing the idea that one needs moral force to stand up to tyranny.
JP was the Gandhi that India needed in the second half of the 20th century, when the youth felt disenchanted with poor governance, corruption and the lethargic pace of development. He virtually stepped into the Mahatma’s shoes when everything seemed to be falling apart in the 1970s because of the growing unrest among students. And when he took the lead, calling for a “total revolution”, Indira Gandhi hit back by throttling democracy and jailing her opponents. Despite his deteriorating health, JP made great sacrifices to fight the Emergency regime, stitch up a rag-tag coalition of disparate political entities, ensure the defeat of Indira Gandhi and the restoration of democracy.