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UPSC BABU JAGJIVAN RAM - English
BABU JAGJIVAN RAM
Why in News?
The Prime Minister paid tributes to freedom fighter Babu Jagjivan Ram on his 115th birth anniversary
About
- Jagjivan Ram, popularly known as Babuji, was a national leader, a freedom fighter, a crusader of social justice, a champion of depressed classes and an outstanding Parliamentarian.
- Jagjivan Ram was born on 5th April 1908 in Chandwa in Bihar to a Dalit family.
- He was considered ‘untouchable’ and had to drink water from a different pot.
- Jagjivan Ram protested against this by breaking the pot. The principal then had to remove the separate pot from the school.
- In 1925, Jagjivan Ram met scholar Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and was greatly inspired by him. On Malaviya’s invitation, he joined the Banaras Hindu University.
- Even at the university, Jagjivan Ram faced discrimination. This inspired him to protest against such social boycotts of a section of society. He also organised the scheduled castes to protest against injustice.
- Jagjivan Ram had organised a number of Ravidas Sammelans and had celebrated Guru Ravidas Jayanti in different areas of Calcutta (Kolkata).
Pre Independence Contributions
- In 1931, he became a member of the Indian National Congress (Congress Party).
- He was instrumental in the foundation of the All India Depressed Classes League, an organisation dedicated to attaining equality for untouchables, in 1934-35.
- He was a champion of social equality and equal rights for the Depressed Classes.
- In 1935, he proposed at a session of the Hindu Mahasabha that drinking water wells and temples be open to untouchables.
- In 1935, Babuji also appeared before the Hammond Commission at Ranchi and demanded, for the first time, voting rights for the Dalits.
Post Independence Contributions
- When Jawaharlal Nehru formed the provisional government, Jagjivan Ram became its youngest minister.
- He served as minister for food and agriculture and he was made minister of defence.
- The Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 was fought when he was the defence minister.
- He also holds another record for being the longest-serving cabinet minister in India (30 years).
- Jagjivan Ram was a member of the Parliament uninterrupted from 1936 to 1986 (40 years) and this is a world record.
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