Jagdeo Prasad

Jagdeo Prasad (2 February 1922 – 5 September 1974) was a politician in Bihar, India. Prasad is described as revolutionary since his early childhood. Once, he was beaten up by teacher for no reason in class and later retaliated by slapping the same teacher when he was sleepy in the classroom during lecture period. The feudal mentality of the contemporary period being wary of the backward caste people emulating the lifestyle of the upper castes, Prasad had to face several incidents which reveals the ongoing class conflict within society. Though his mother was deeply religious he was a sharp critic of Brahmanical philosophy.[1]

Jagdeo Prasad
Statue of Jagdeo Prasad near Jagdeo Path, Belly road (Patna)
Born
Kurtha, Jahanabad District[2]
Died5 September 1974
Bihar, India
NationalityIndian
Political partyShoshit Samaj Dal
MovementBihar Movement
Parent(s)Prayag Narayan Kushwaha (father)
Raskali (mother)

Life

Prasad was a member of the Koeri caste,[3] and was referred to as the "Lenin of Bihar" due to his charisma.[4] He led the Shoshit Samaj Dal[5] and during the early 1970s, at the height of the caste tensions known as the Bihar Movement, he was able to attract much support from both members of the Other Backward Classes and the Dalits in their opposition to upper-caste landlords.[3]

Jagdeo Prasad's son, Nagmani is a veteran politician who started his career from his father's party itself. He later joined Rashtriya Janata Dal and remained minister in RJD government.[6] The former Chief Minister of Bihar, Satish Prasad Singh, who held the office for shortest tenure in Bihar's history as a nominee of Shoshit Samaj Dal, was brother in law of Jagdeo Prasad.[7]

Career

Born in Kurtha village, Jahanabad district of Bihar; Jagdeo Prasad went to Jahanabad town for higher studies. He further moved to Patna University, from where he pursued his post graduation studies. Jagdeo is said to have revolutionary mindset since his early childhood as in his adolescence, he fought to end prevailing practices like "Panchkathia System", in which farmers had to leave 5 katta of their land for the elephant of landlord to graze.[2]

Later he came into contact with Chandradeo Prasad Verma, who persuaded him to study the political philosophers to know the prevalent societal condition in depth. Jagdeo agreed and soon he became sympathetic to idea of socialism. Later, he joined Samyukta Socialist Party and in the days of ideological wars between Ram Manohar Lohia and Jayprakash Narayan, he chose to go with Lohia. Jagdeo also became editor of the magazine of SSP called "Janata". Later he moved to Hyderabad and started editing two more magazines Uday and Citizen. His ideas brought great fame to the magazines but he had to face intimidation from orthodox section of society. This led him to leave the magazine and move to Patna once again.[2]

Though, initially he remained an active member of SSP, he later realised that the fruits of labour of many are reaped by few in the party and given his ideological difference with Lohia, he resigned and formed a new party called Shoshit Samaj Party (SSP). He also remained active member of Arjak Sangh a platform led by Ramswaroop verma.[2] The "Shoshit Samaj Party" was more a revolutionary organisation than a political party as it urged the landless labourers to grab the lands of landlords, a practice which gave rise to a number of caste armies and private senas in Bihar.[8]

"Das ka shashan nabbe par,

Nahin chalega, nahin chalega

Sau mein nabbe shoshit hain,

Nabbe bhag hamara hai,

Dhan, dharti aur rajpaat mein,

Nabbe bhaag hamara hai

(The rule of ten over ninety cannot continue

Ninety of hundred are exploited

We are owners of ninety parts

We have ninety per cent share in wealth, land and power)"

—Jagdeo Prasad [9]

Due to his critic of upper caste dominance, Prasad many a times is branded as Anti-forward caste.He remained Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar for a brief period of time when SSP was at peak. Prasad was called as Bihar's Lenin in his lifetime due to his radical views, he also coined the politically radical slogan of:

"Abki saal ke bhadon mein, gori ungli kado mein (next paddy sowing season will see the slim white fingers of upper caste women in mud, transplanting paddy)"[10]

Death

Prasad was killed by police on 5 September 1974 while leading a protest involving 20,000 people. There have been claims that his death was ordered by a minister in the Government of Bihar who belonged to the Bhumihar landowning caste,[3] although police said that the protesters were not peaceful, as claimed, and instead were armed. Vinayak Prasad Yadav, then a member of the Samyukta Socialist Party, resigned from the Legislative Assembly of Bihar in protest of this killing at Kurtha.[5]

References
  1. "Jagdev Prasad: Bihar's Lenin". Forward Press. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  2. PATEL, ANOOP (5 May 2016). "babu-jagdev-prasad-bahujans-real-hero". forward press. Archived from the original on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  3. Kumar, Sanjay (2018). Post-Mandal Politics in Bihar: Changing Electoral Patterns. SAGE Publishing India. p. 39. ISBN 978-9-35280-587-7.
  4. Sinha, A. (2011). Nitish Kumar and the Rise of Bihar. Viking. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-670-08459-3.
  5. Tiwari, Lalan (1987). Democracy and Dissent: A Case Study of the Bihar Movement, 1974-75. Mittal Publications. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-8-17099-008-6.
  6. Ahmed, Suroor. "bihar-seat-sharing-amit-shah-had-no-time-to-meet-kushwaha-rlsp-leaders-upset". Nationalheraldindia.com. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  7. Law Kumar Mishra. "'Three-days-chief minister' Satish Prasad Singh dies of COVID-19". The Free Press Journal. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  8. Sinha, A. (2011). Nitish Kumar and the Rise of Bihar. Viking. pp. 82–83. ISBN 978-0-670-08459-3. Retrieved 7 April 2015.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  9. "Translation: Three day-jagdev-fair-started-with-the-rally". Jagran.com. Retrieved 14 September 2020. First the flag of the Shoshit Samaj Dal was hoisted at the place of martyrdom by the national president of the party, Raghuni Ram Shastri and the flag song was sung.After laying a wreath at the memorial, the party workers took out a huge procession with musical instruments that reached the fair complex through various routes. People involved in the procession were chanting the popular slogan of; The rule of ten over ninety cannot continue Ninety of hundred are exploited We are owners of ninety parts We have ninety per cent share in wealth, land and power
  10. Kalam, Farhana. "Lenin-waits-wrapped-in-plastic". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 July 2020. Besides being called as Bihar's Lenin in his lifetime, Prasad coined the politically radical slogan of Abki saal ke bhadon mein, gori ungli kado mein (next paddy sowing season will see the slim white fingers of upper caste women in mud, transplanting paddy),

Further reading
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