The JP Movement Of 1970s: How Bihar Sparked A National Revolution

It was the early 70s, and India was still a young nation, not even 25 years old. The country had lost two formidable political figures and sitting Prime Ministers, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri, in quick succession in the decade gone by. Leading the country was Indira Gandhi, who became a national icon after victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war,  which led to the creation of Bangladesh. 

Beneath the nationalistic fervour was a brewing crisis. Food shortages, skyrocketing prices, mass unemployment, inflation, and allegations of corruption surfaced. Within a couple of years, student-led protests metamorphosed into full-fledged movements in Gujarat and Bihar.

In 1974, a hostel fee hike in Ahmedabad snowballed into the Nav Nirman movement, toppling the Congress government in Gujarat.

It was Bihar's turn next. The state had seen 11 governments between 1967 and 1974. Corruption and unemployment pushed students to the streets. On March 18, 1974, the Chhatra Sangharsh Samiti (CSS), an umbrella body of student groups, including the ABVP and Samajwadi Yuva Jana Sabha, surrounded the Bihar Assembly in Patna.

The protest ended with police firing; three students were killed. More deaths followed in April, and unrest spread. Students looked for leadership, and a socialist veteran, Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), arrived.

At 71, JP had retired from politics, preferring social reform to party battles. Once close to Nehru, he still addressed Indira Gandhi as "Indu". So it was no surprise that he initially resisted. Urged by students, poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, and journalist Ramnath Goenka, he finally agreed.

Born in 1902 in Sitab Diara, Bihar, Jayaprakash Narayan had studied in the United States, embraced socialism, and thrown himself into India's freedom struggle. A leader of the Congress Socialist Party, he spent years in prison during the Quit India movement of 1942.

After Independence, he walked away from electoral politics, devoting himself to the Bhoodan and Sarvodaya movements alongside philosopher Vinoba Bhave, championing land redistribution and rural upliftment. He was revered as the Lok Nayak, or People's Leader.

On June 5, 1974, at Patna's Gandhi Maidan, he gave the call for Sampoorna Kranti (Total Revolution). He demanded an end to corruption, the cleansing of politics, and a rebuilt India rooted in grassroots democracy. He urged students to boycott classes for a year and awaken political consciousness across the nation.

Through late 1974, JP toured Bihar and beyond, rallying students and citizens. These included socialists, landlords, Hindu nationalists, and ordinary citizens who felt betrayed by the Congress.

Indira Gandhi saw it as a direct challenge to the democratic order. On November 1, 1974, she met JP in Delhi. He demanded dissolution of state assemblies; she refused.

The talks ended bitterly.

Days later, police manhandled JP at a Patna rally. The sight of the frail veteran dragged by his hair enraged the public.

By the end of 1974, India was polarised. While critics of Indira Gandhi accused her of corruption and authoritarianism, those against JP claimed that he was undermining democracy by aligning with the Jana Sangh.

The ground was shifting. Two events in June 1975 sealed the course. On June 12, the Allahabad High Court nullified Indira Gandhi's 1971 election victory for electoral malpractice. On June 25, as protests swelled, she declared an Emergency.

For 21 months, civil liberties were suspended, Opposition leaders jailed, and the press censored.

When elections finally took place in March 1977, the Janata Party, forged under JP's moral leadership, swept to power, ending the Congress monopoly. 

The movement had achieved its goal. It defeated the country's 'Iron Lady', who, only a few years ago, looked invincible.