Ram Manohar Lohia ; (23 March 1910 – 12 October 1967) was an activist in the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

and a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

political leader. During the last phase of British rule in India, he worked with the Congress Radio which was broadcast secretly from various places in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

until 1942.

Early life

Ram Manohar Lohia was born on 23 March 1910 at Akbarpur, modern-day

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

in a Bania family. His mother died in 1912, when he was just two years old, and he was later brought up by his father Hiralal who never remarried.There was a lady who belonged to the Barber community, who brought him up in his early life. She was his family servant. In 1918 he accompanied his father to Bombay where he completed his high school education. He attended the

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916 ...

to complete his intermediate and work after standing first in his school's matriculation examinations in 1927. He then joined the

Vidyasagar College Vidyasagar College (Bengali: বিদ্যাসাগর কলেজ) is a state government-aided public college, affiliated to the University of Calcutta, located in North Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The college offers both post-gradu ...

, under the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

and in 1929, earned his B.A. degree. He decided to attend Frederick William University (today's

Humboldt University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

, Germany), choosing it over the educational institutes in Britain, to convey his dim view of British philosophy. He soon learnt German and received financial assistance based on his outstanding academic performance, studying national economy as his major subject as a doctoral student from 1929 to 1933. Lohia wrote his Ph.D. thesis paper on the topic of '' Salt Taxation in India'', focusing on Gandhi's socio-economic theory.

National movement

Lohia was one of the founders of the

Congress Socialist Party The Congress Socialist Party (CSP) was a socialist caucus within the Indian National Congress. It was founded in 1934 by Congress members who rejected what they saw as the anti-rational mysticism of Gandhi as well as the sectarian attitude of th ...

and editor of its mouthpiece ''Congress Socialist''. In 1936, he was selected by

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

as the secretary of the Foreign Department of the All India Congress Committee (A.I.C.C), the highest body of the Congress Party. By the time he quit that responsibility in 1938, Lohia started to develop his own political standpoint by critically examining positions held by the Gandhian leadership of the Congress and the Communists who had poured into the CSP. In June 1940, he was arrested and sentenced to a jail term of two years for delivering anti-war speeches. Already released by the end of 1941, Lohia became one of the leading figures of the Central Directorate which clandestinely tried to organise the

Quit India 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 i ...

revolt, sparked by Gandhi in August 1942. Captured in May 1944, he was incarcerated and tortured in Lahore Fort. As one of the last high security prisoners, Lohia, together with

Jayaprakash Narayan Jayaprakash Narayan (; 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), popularly referred to as JP or ''Lok Nayak'' (Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian independence activist, theorist, socialist and political leader. He is remembered for le ...

, was finally released on 11 April 1946. He was the one who gave the idea of sapta kranti.

Later political career

As a member of the Congress Socialist Party Lohia joined with that party when it left Congress. He remained a member of the Socialist Party when it fused in 1952 with the Kisan Majdoor Praja Party to form the Praja Socialist Party. Unhappy with the new party Lohia led a split from it to reform the Socialist Party (Lohia) in 1956. He lost to Nehru in 1962 general election in Phulpur. In 1963 Lohia became a member of the Lok Sabha after a by-election in Farrukhabad (Lok Sabha constituency) and in 1965 merged the Socialist Party (Lohia) into the ranks of the Samyukta Socialist Party. The two socialist factions merged, split and re-merged several times. In 1967, Lohia played an instrumental role in formation of the first non-Congress government in Uttar Pradesh. This alliance was formed by Lohia and Bharatiya Jan Sangh leader

Nanaji Deshmukh Chandikadas Amritrao Deshmukh, better known as Nanaji Deshmukh (11 October 1916 – 27 February 2010), was a social reformer and politician from India. He worked in the fields of education, health, and rural self-reliance. He was posthumously aw ...

He won Lok Sabha general election of 1967 from

Kannauj (Lok Sabha constituency) Kannauj is a Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Assembly segments Members of Parliament ^ by poll Election results General election 2019 General election 2014 Bye Election 2012 Dimple Yadav from ...

, but died a few months later.

Major writings in English

* ''The Caste System'': Hyderabad, Navahind 964147 p. * ''Foreign Policy'': Aligarh, P.C. Dwadash Shreni, 963?381 p. * ''Fragments of World Mind'': Maitrayani Publishers & Booksellers ; Allahabad

949 Year 949 ( CMXLIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab-Byzantine War: Hamdanid forces under Sayf al-Dawla raid into the theme of Ly ...

262 p. * ''Fundamentals of a World Mind'': ed. by K.S. Karanth. Bombay, Sindhu Publications, 987130 p. * ''Guilty Men of India’s Partition'': Lohia Samata Vidyalaya Nyas, Publication Dept.,

970 Year 970 ( CMLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 970th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' designations, the 970th year of the 1st millennium, the 70th yea ...

103 p. * ''India, China, and Northern Frontiers'': Hyderabad, Navahind

963 Year 963 ( CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 25, probably of poison admini ...

272 p. * ''Interval During Politics'': Hyderabad, Navahind 965197 p. * ''Marx, Gandhi and Socialism'': Hyderabad, Navahind

550 p. * ''Collected Works of Dr Lohia'' A nine volume set edited by veteran Socialist writer Dr Mastram Kapoor in English and published by Anamika Publications, New Delhi.

Writings in Kannada Translation

* The complete works of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia were translated and published in six volumes by the Government of Karnataka at the subsidized price. * There were lot of books available in Kannada about Lohia and also many private publications published the works of Lohia.

Memorials

Avadh University Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University, commonly known as Avadh University or Ayodhya University, is situated on NH330 in Faizabad, Ayodhya in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established in 1975 by the government of Uttar Pradesh. H ...

Faizabad Faizabad (Hindustani pronunciation: ɛːzaːbaːd is a city situated near the southern banks of Saryu river in Ayodhya district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The area of this Faizabad region is administered by Ayodhya Municipal Corpor ...

was renamed as "

Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University, commonly known as Avadh University or Ayodhya University, is situated on NH330 in Faizabad, Ayodhya in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established in 1975 by the government of Uttar Pradesh. H ...

". * The

Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University (RMLNLU) is a public law school and a National Law University located in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was established as Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law Institute in 2005, and since then, ...

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

, one of India's top National law schools, is named after him. * 18th June Road, in

Panjim Panaji (; also known as Panjim) is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river estuary ...

, Goa, is named after him. It was that date in 1946 where he launched an agitation against colonial rule. * The Willingdon Hospital of

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

was renamed

Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (formerly known as Willingdon Hospital) is a government hospital in New Delhi, India. The hospital was founded, with 54 beds, in 1932 by the British Raj for their own government staff. In 1954, in the newly inde ...

in the 1970s. Ram Manohar Lohia died in this hospital due to health complications following a surgery * Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences is a medical institute for undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Lucknow. *Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya Bhawan is a community hall in his hometown of

Akbarpur, Ambedkar Nagar Akbarpur is a city, municipal corporation, tehsil, and the administrative headquarters of Ambedkar Nagar district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is a part of Ayodhya division. Mythology According to the ''Ramayana'', Akbarpur is w ...

and is the only memorial in his name.

References

External links

Lohia Pictures at Kamat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lohia, Ram Manohar 1910 births 1967 deaths Banaras Hindu University alumni Vidyasagar College alumni University of Calcutta alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Goa liberation activists Indian socialists Praja Socialist Party politicians Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh People from Ambedkar Nagar district Prisoners and detainees of British India Indian independence activists from Uttar Pradesh Indian National Congress politicians from Uttar Pradesh India MPs 1967–1970 India MPs 1962–1967 People from Farrukhabad People from Kannauj district Samyukta Socialist Party politicians Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party politicians