Vice President Radhakrishnan to visit Bihar today, pay tribute to Jayaprakash Narayan (Ld)

Patna, Oct 11 (IANS) Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan will visit Bihar on Saturday to pay tribute to Bharat Ratna Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan on his birth anniversary.

The Vice President will visit Sitab Diara, the native village of Jayaprakash Narayan in Saran district, to offer floral tributes to the legendary freedom fighter and social reformer.

He will also visit the Prabhavati Library, established in memory of Narayan's wife, Prabhavati Devi.

This will be Radhakrishnan's second visit to Bihar since assuming office.

Earlier, on September 28, he attended the valedictory session of the third edition of the Unmesha International Literature Festival in Patna, held at Gyan Bhavan, Samrat Ashoka Convention Centre.

Born on October 11, 1902, in Sitab Diara, Jayaprakash Narayan is remembered as a key figure in India's freedom movement and the architect of the Total Revolution movement.

Bharat Ratna Jayaprakash Narayan was the towering freedom fighter and social reformer.

Having embraced Marxist ideology, Narayan returned to India from the United States in late 1929.

The same year, he joined the Indian National Congress on the invitation of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, who later became his mentors within the party.

When Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed a National Emergency on the midnight of June 25, 1975, Jayaprakash Narayan emerged as the face of the 'Sampoorna Kranti' (Total Revolution) movement, calling for the restoration of democracy.

At the historic Ramlila Maidan rally in New Delhi, he gathered a massive crowd of nearly one lakh people and recited poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar's powerful lines: 'Singhasan khaali karo ke janata aati hai' (Vacate the throne, for the people are coming).

Subsequently, Jayaprakash Narayan was detained and imprisoned. His health deteriorated on October 24, 1975, prompting the government to release him on November 12 of the same year.

Jayaprakash Narayan remains an enduring symbol of courage, integrity, and the power of people’s movements in India’s democratic history.

--IANS

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