New Delhi:
Students are agitating against BPSC in Bihar. Thousands of students are on the streets. Police have taken Prashant Kishore into custody. Bihar has a long history of student movement. Since independence, students of Bihar have been taking to the streets and protesting violently. In the year 1974, there was a widespread movement against Abdul Ghafoor, the Chief Minister of Bihar. Later that movement grew into ‘complete revolution’ and emergency was declared in the country by Indira Gandhi’s government. Due to the Emergency, there was huge public anger against Indira Gandhi’s government and Congress had to face a crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections held in 1977.
How did the Bihar student movement start?
In the 1970s, there was a deep sense of discontent among the people in India against corruption, rising unemployment, inflation and administrative failures. The situation in Bihar was very bad due to floods and drought. There was huge anger among the students in Bihar due to administrative corruption in universities and colleges and the decline of the education system. In January 1974, students of Patna University and other educational institutions raised their voice on the issues of corruption, reforms in the education system, and unemployment. The students started the movement by forming Bihar Chhatra Sangharsh Samiti.
This movement grew from Bihar to a nationwide movement and became the basis of opposition unity against Indira Gandhi’s government. This movement culminated in the form of Emergency in 1975, which is known as an important chapter to save Indian democracy.
The movement started by the students of Patna University soon spread throughout Bihar. Students from all over the state started taking part in this movement. These are the important dates when the small movement of students took a big form.
- 18 March 1974: There was a massive demonstration by students in Patna. On this day, students organized a “Gherao” movement against the Bihar government, due to which the movement started taking a bigger shape.
- 8 April 1974: Bihar Chhatra Sangharsh Samiti (BCSS) appealed to JP to lead the movement. This is the date when JP decided to actively participate in this movement and gave it the form of a mass movement.
- 1 June 1974: Bihar bandh was called by the students. On this day, widespread strikes and demonstrations took place across the state, which further strengthened the movement. During this period, police lathicharged the students at many places.
- 5 June 1974: JP called for “total revolution”. Jayaprakash Narayan addressed a huge public meeting at Gandhi Maidan in Patna. In this meeting he gave the slogan of “Total Revolution”, in which reforms were demanded in the political, social, economic, and educational systems.
- 25 June 1975: Due to Bihar movement and other protests, there was tremendous pressure on Indira Gandhi’s government. As a result, emergency was declared in the country on 25 June 1975.
Who were the main faces of Bihar student movement and who did it? Many great leaders were born through Bihar student movement. Later, these leaders have influenced the politics of Bihar for a long time.
- Lalu Prasad Yadav: Was a student leader of Patna University. He played an important role in this movement.
- Nitish Kumar: Students joined the movement through politics. He later made his mark as the Chief Minister of Bihar.
- Sushil Kumar Modi: Was a student leader associated with RSS, who played a major role in this movement.
- Shivanand Tiwari: A prominent student leader, who took the movement to the rural areas of Bihar.
- Raghuvansh Prasad Singh: An active leader, who supported the movement through rural and socialist ideology.
- The movement also got support from many established leaders.
- Ram Vilas Paswan: Took active participation in this movement. Ram Vilas Paswan had already become a leader before this movement.
- George Fernandes: He was recognized as a prominent leader who played an active role in supporting the JP movement. Earlier, he had been agitating for the workers in Mumbai.
- A.K. Roy: A.K. Roy was a member of the Bihar Assembly at that time and was the biggest face of the separate Jharkhand state movement. Roy had resigned from the membership of the Assembly in support of this movement.
Why is Bihar student movement still discussed?
Bihar student movement had changed the politics of the country. The leaders emerging from this movement have influenced the politics of the country for the last 5 decades. The Congress government was challenged for the first time in the country through this movement. After this movement, student politics in the entire country got a new direction. This movement was the first major organized effort against corruption in Indian politics. Even today, when we talk about corruption and social justice, the Bihar student movement is remembered as an example.
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