Jaglal Choudhary (5 February 1895 – 1975) was an

Indian independence activist The Indian independence movement consisted of efforts by individuals and organizations from a wide spectrum of society to obtain political independence from the British, French and Portuguese rule through the use of a many methods. This is a l ...

dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...

leader and politician from

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He was also a reformer who championed the causes of

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

, emancipation of dalits, education and land reforms in Bihar.

Freedom fighter

Choudhary discontinued his medical education and joined the

Non-Cooperation Movement The Non-cooperation movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920, by Mahatma Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance.

in 1921 heeding Gandhi's call. He became a member of the District Congress Committee and was arrested for his participation in the

Salt Satyagraha The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March to 6 April 1930 as a di ...

. In 1941 he was arrested and jailed for taking part in the Individual Satyagraha and in 1942 at the height of the

Quit India Movement The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in ...

he led a

satyagraha Satyagraha ( sa, सत्याग्रह; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone w ...

and captured the

police station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, al ...

and

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

at Garkha. For this he was arrested and sentenced to five years imprisonment. One of Choudhary's sons was shot dead by the police during the movement. From 23 August 1942 until his release on 30 March 1946 Choudhary remained in prison.

Reformer

Choudhary was an advocate of social reform in Bihar. During his term as excise minister, he introduced prohibition in Bihar. He was opposed to the

caste system Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

and advocated

land reforms Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...

in Bihar calling for a land ceiling of three acres per family. In 1953 he wrote ''A Plan to Reconstruct Bharat''.

Death and commemoration

Jaglal Choudhary died in 1975. The Jaglal Choudhary College in Chapra is named after him. A

commemorative postage stamp A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event, person, or object. The ''subject'' of the commemorative stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike de ...

on Jaglal Choudhary was released the

Department of Posts India Post is a government-operated postal system in India, part of the Department of Post under the Ministry of Communications. Generally known as the Post Office, it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world. Warren Hastings ha ...

in 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choudhary, Jaglal People from Saran district Bihar MLAs 1952–1957 1895 births 1975 deaths Dalit activists Patna University alumni Indian independence activists from Bihar Indian National Congress politicians from Bihar State cabinet ministers of Bihar Bihar MLAs 1957–1962 Bihar MLAs 1962–1967 Bihar MLAs 1969–1972