Understanding history

NOTWITHSTANDING the grandiose celebrations that marked the fiftieth year of independence a couple of years ago, the long and glorious legacy of the freedom struggle, the privations that the participants underwent and the debates that were central to the movement are no longer a part of the popular discourse of the nation today. One finds a whole new generation, occupying positions in the various institutions that determine the thought processes of society, lacking a sense of history.

Such a state, indeed a fallout of the short-sightedness (in a way conscious too) that marked the ways of the post-independence ruling elite, is beginning to eat into the vitals of the democratic polity; with very little knowledge about the many leaders who influenced the internal dynamics of the freedom struggle, the achievements of the movement are now being sought to be underplayed and distorted in a big way.

A compilation of the writings of Jayaprakash Narayan, who was not only one of the legendary heroes of the freedom struggle but also one of those who refused to compromise their principles in the post-independence phase, is in this sense an important contribution to the national political discourse. And there could not have been a better scholar than Professor Bimal Prasad, one of those in the academic community who accepted the Gandhian way of life in every possible manner, to do this. This commitment of his is reflected in the manner in which JP's writings have been compiled.

For instance, there is a circular issued by JP, on behalf of the Congress Socialists in June 1934: "The resolution of the Working Committee regarding the Congress Socialist movement is shocking beyond words. It shows how reactionary the present leadership of the Congress has become. For us socialists, it can mean only one thing - the redoubling of our efforts to overthrow the leadership."

The statement was in response to the accusations by the Congress Working Committee president (Babu Rajendra Prasad) against the Congress Socialists and their resolution that socialism shall be the creed of the Indian National Congress and reminding the platform of the Karachi resolution. By including this and other papers (pertaining to the debate JP had carried on within the Indian National Congress) the compilation helps correct a "perspective" that tends to look at the party as just a monolith.

This statement and many others (letters, circulars and statements) also bring out the fact that JP, even while he remained steadfast in his commitment to the Gandhian way of life and accepted the Mahatma's prescriptions on many aspects of the freedom struggle, was equally emphatic about expressing his differences with the Mahatma; at least on the question of the need to ensure that the Congress accepted the broader principles of socialism - egalitarianism - as its creed rather than remain a platform holding the interests of the propertied classes high on its agenda.

The importance behind recalling such facts is two fold. On the one hand it serves the cause of reminding the nation (in the present) that the Indian national movement was not just a linear course of events that progressed on a course that the leaders decided; on the other, such facts also bring out the dynamism that marked the nationalist discourse in which there was criticism against everyone including the Mahatma. In other words, JP and his life was an illustration of how it was possible to remain a Gandhian without deifying the Mahatma; and this aspect is brought out by Professor Prasad through the manner in which he has selected the documents and arranged them.

This, after all, was what JP had prescribed to his comrades in the Congress Socialist Party: "The working committee," he says in the circular, "has thrown us a challenge. Let us accept this challenge and put forth our utmost energy to have this reactionary resolution rescinded and our programme adopted by the Bombay Congress." JP's differences, and, at times, violent disagreement with such other leaders of the freedom struggle as Sardar Patel, Syed Mahmud or even with J. C. Kumarappa (whose approach to industrialisation and advocacy of village and cottage industries are legendary) are brought out, in this collection, through his own writings at various stages.

The volume is an important addition to the list of publications dealing with those who were in the thick of the freedom movement. One looks forward to the other volumes (a series has been promised), particularly the volumes that deal with the activities during the Quit India agitation, of which JP himself and the Congress Socialists were the prime movers.

V. KRISHNA ANANTH

Jayaprakash Narayan: Selected Works, Volume I, edited by Bimal Prasad, Issued under the auspices of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi, Published by Manohar, Rs. 500.

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