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| | the bridge since then. | | the bridge since then. |
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| − | =1977: against Indira Gandhi=
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| − | [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=In-77-he-dared-to-rebel-against-Indira-23062017016026 Jun 23 2017, In 1977, he dared to rebel against Indira, The Times of India]
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| − | Meira Kumar's father Jagjivan Ram was an influential political figure for almost four decades. A very bright student who overcame social discrimination, to which he was subjected because of being Dalit, Ram acquired the reputation of a good administrator and was at ease tackling the complexities of governance: a terrain which politicians often fail to negotiate.
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| − | Referred to as `Babuji' in his later years, he was the defence minister when India defeated Pakistan in 1971. His tenure as agriculture minister in the late 1960s saw fruition of the efforts to launch the Green Revolution, leading to food self-sufficiency.
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| − | The talented politician had caught the attention of leaders of the freedom struggle when he was a young labour leader working in Kolkata. He was among those who contributed to the All India Depressed Classes League: an outfit of Dalits and others who had suffered social discrimination.
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| − | Recognition came early and he was appointed the youngest member of Jawaharlal Nehru's interim cabinet. He remained a minister through the 1970s.
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| − | His rise was also facilitated by the Congress leadership's consideration to develop him as a counterweight to Dalit icon B R Ambedkar, whom it had fallen out with.Though Babuji suffered discrimination too, unlike Ambedkar, he did not turn into a rebel against Hinduism: perhaps because his father was deeply religious and, after quitting the Army , became a mahanth of the Shiv Narayani sect. In fact, there are references to Jagjivan `Babu' once attending a conference of Hindu Mahasabha.
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| − | He sided with Indira Gandhi when she split the party . In fact, he was made the head of the breakaway faction. Though no tional, the designation reflected his impor tance. However, his re lationship with the Nehru-Gandhi family turned bitter when Indira suspected him of harbouring the ambition of replacing her as PM after the Allahabad HC nullified her election to the Lok Sabha. He was consigned to the political doghouse during the Emergency.
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| − | Ram launched a rebellion when Indira announced elec tions in 1977. He and H N Bahuguna formed Congress for Democracy and joined forces with Janata Party to inflict a humiliating defeat on Indira.
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| − | He was among those in the running to be PM, and reportedly enjoyed the support of Jaiprakash Narayan. The candidature, however, could not find enough support among Janata Party MPs and Jagjivan Babu had to be content with being deputy PM.Janata Party projected him as its choice for PM in the 1980 polls but was routed.
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| − | He left Janata Party to float Congress (J), which turned out to be a spectacular failure. While he somehow scraped through in his Lok Sabha seat of Sasaram in 1984 under controversial circumstances, his party bombed at the hustings. He passed away in 1986.
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| | =See also= | | =See also= |
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Babu Jagjivan Ram with Pandit Nehru
By Meira Kumar
A many Splendoured Journey
India Harmony VOLUME - 1 : ISSUE - 6 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 2012
Babu Jagjivan Ram
Babu Jagjivan Ram with his indomitable
will and social
reformist zeal
so successfully
carried forward
the torch of the
untouchability
movement
started by
Gandhiji.
Babuji's
childhood was not as privileged as his daughter's.
Son of Sobhi Ram, a soldier in the British Army,
he grew up in his native village of Chandwa,
Bihar. His father died early after having quit his
army job in an act of rebellion, leaving the family
to a life of struggle. However, Babuji did not give
up his education and in 1922 joined the english
medium Arrah Town School. Unfazed by caste
discrimination in his school, even being made
to drink water from a pot marked
“untouchables”, he doggedly continues
his education. However, this incident
became a turning point that lit in him the
lamp of determination to fight a social
evil that millions like him had learned
to bear over the centuries.
Pandit
Madan Mohan Malviya, on a
visit to his school was so
impressed by his passionate
oratory that he invited him to
join the Banaras Hindu
University where he was
awarded the Birla
Scholarship. But his Dalit
origins hounded him there
too. He could not be served
food in his hostel room as no
attendant was ready to wash his
dishes and no barber would give
him a hair cut because he was an
untouchable. In disgust, he left for
Calcutta where he finally earned
his B. Sc. Degree from Calcutta
University. It was here that he
organized conferences and rallies
on the issue of discrimination and
came to the notice of Subhash
Chandra Bose.
His journey as a
freedom fighter, social activist and
political crusader had begun. The
next sixty years were to see him rise from those
early troubles to the post of Deputy Prime
Minister of India, a national leader who was
undisputedly the most charismatic, efficient and
committed leader of the backward classes. He
contributed to the establishment of the “All India
Depressed Classes
League” and dedicated
himself to attaining
equality for
untouchables. The rest is
history.
In 1985, Babuji
had the satisfaction of
seeing his daughter
Meira Kumar take over
the baton from him
when she won her first
election from Bijnor. It
was not a cake walk. In
the fray were two other
young Dalit leaders,
Ram Vilas Paswan and
Mayawati. It was a close
victory as her two rivals
also scored a significant
number of votes
launching their careers
as Dalit icons in the
years to come. Much
water has flown under
the bridge since then.
See also
Babu Jagjivan Ram
Meira Kumar
