By chhotebhai

Kanpur, June 5, 2023: The Gandhi Peace Foundation in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh has organized a meeting to mark the 49th anniversary of Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan’s call for total revolution.

Noted Gandhians and representatives of various political parties attended the June 5 program. The star attraction was a telephonic address by M Gd Devasahayam from Bengaluru, southern India.

Jayaprakash Narayan, JP as he was known, on June 5, 1974, called for the “Sampoorn Kranti” (Total Revolution) before a 500,000 strong crowd in pouring rain at Gandhi Maidan, Patna, capital of Bihar.

While JP was going around the nation exhorting youth in particular to be agents of change, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi felt increasingly threatened; and imposed Emergency in June 1975. It was then that JP was arrested and incarcerated in Chandigarh jail.

At that time Devasahayam, a former army man, happened to be the District Magistrate of Chandigarh. Sensing Indira Gandhi’s animosity and suspicion of JP, Devasahayam, a Catholic, risked his career to ensure that JP was protected and well cared for in jail. In turn he was greatly inspired by JP.

Now aged 83, Devasahayam is actively espousing various social and political causes, notably against the electronic voting machines, and the communalization of political life. He also played a major role in the recent canonisation process of his namesake, Devasahayam.

Addressing the Kanpur program, In Kanpur, Devasahayam said the JP movement had two special takeaways — the need for civil disobedience and complete truth.

Though JP began life as a communist he gradually turned to the Gandhian way, embracing both Swarajya (self-rule) and Sarvodaya (the socio-economic uplift of all),

Devasahayam said that the political environment today was far more draconian than the Emergency of 1975-1977, hence the ever greater need for total revolution.

Veteran journalist Mahesh Sharma noted seven dimensions to JP’s total revolution – political, economic, social, cultural, intellectual, educational and spiritual. All had their importance.

Several speakers observed that what began as a social movement got hijacked by the RSS elements, converting it into a purely political movement aimed at unseating Indira Gandhi. In 2011 Anna Hazare’s India Against Corruption movement met a similar fate.

Gandhian Suresh Gupta said that JP was against all manifestations of caste, including the tilak on the forehead and the jeneu or sacred thread.

While Jagdambabhai quoted one of Mahatma Gandhi’s sins, rajneeti (politics) without neeti (moral values), Marxist Pratap Sahni said that today’s politicians were obsessed with the chitra (picture or icon) rather than the charitra (character) of the leaders of yesteryear.

All present resolved to communicate and collaborate with each other in bringing JP’s vision to fruition and to be agents of change wherever they are.