Our correspondent
New Delhi, 13 Aug: The political legacy of Jayaprakash Narayan and the continuing relevance of his ideas on democracy, people’s power and ethical politics came into focus with the launch of a new biography on the socialist leader.
The India International Centre on Wednesday hosted the launch of ‘Jayaprakash Narayan: The People’s Leader’, authored by Arvindar Singh and published by Niyogi Books under its Pioneers of Modern India series, followed by a panel discussion.
The book traces Narayan’s journey as a revolutionary, freedom fighter and socialist thinker, examining his intellectual evolution from his early engagement with Marxism and Gandhian philosophy to his uncompromising critique of authority. It also looks at his role in some of independent India’s major political upheavals.
Singh said the biography seeks to examine JP’s political journey without turning it into either hagiography or indictment. “This book is neither hagiography nor indictment,” he said, describing it as a story of “conscience in politics — and of democracy tested, and renewed.”
Singh, a Dehradun-based author, freelance journalist and literary reviewer, has written on a variety of subjects for more than three decades. He has also authored ‘Morarji Desai: A Profile in Courage’.
Narayan, popularly known as JP, was a prominent figure in the Quit India Movement and later emerged as the principal leader of the 1974-75 JP Movement, which mobilised students and opposition groups around issues of corruption, governance and political accountability. His call for ‘Total Revolution’ became a defining slogan of the movement and influenced a generation of Indian political leaders.
“This book will help recall that period,” said Vinod Sharma, who chaired the programme and is a former Political Editor of The Hindustan Times.
The panel discussion featured Senior Supreme Court Advocate Sanjay Hegde, Delhi University Professor Apoorvanand and former BBC Urdu Service head Qurban Ali.
The discussion examined the contemporary relevance of JP’s ideas against the backdrop of continuing debates over democratic institutions, political accountability, decentralisation and ethical leadership. His emphasis on people’s participation, political morality and resistance to concentrated power was seen as providing an enduring reference point for contemporary political discourse.
