Upendra Nath Verma, known with the honorific "Lokratna", is an Indian 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 ...

. He was elected to the lower House of the Indian Parliament, the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

from

Chatra Chatra is the headquarters of Chatra district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. History Chatra was the “headquarters” of Ramgarh district in the 18th-19th century. The renowned reformer, Raja Rammohan Roy, was ''sheristadar'' in Ramgarh di ...

, as a member of the

Janata Dal Janata Dal (“People’s Party”) was an List of political parties in India, Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal, Indian National Congress (Jagjivan), and the Jan Morcha united on 11 ...

. He was the Union Minister for State, Rural Development in 1989-90 in the cabinet of

Vishwanath Pratap Singh Vishwanath Pratap Singh (25 June 1931 – 27 November 2008), shortened to V. P. Singh, was an Indian politician who was the 7th Prime Minister of India from 1989 to 1990 and the 41st Raja Bahadur of Manda. He is India's only prime minister ...

. Verma was a distinguished

social reformer A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary move ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, who published numerous works on the social issues prevalent in Indian society. In his political career, he was associated with

Samyukta Socialist Party Samyukta Socialist Party (; SSP), was a political party in India from 1964 to 1972. SSP was formed through a split in the Praja Socialist Party (PSP) in 1964. In 1972, SSP was reunited with PSP, forming the Socialist Party. The General Secret ...

besides

and has served as Minister of Education and Revenue in

Government of Bihar The Government of Bihar, known locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Bihar and its 9 divisions which consist of 38 districts . It consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Bihar, a jud ...

in 1967 and 1977 respectively.

Life and political career

Verma served as member of legislative assembly in Bihar and was considered as an influential leader of

Koeri The Koeri (spelt as Koiry or Koiri) and also referred to as Kushwaha and Maurya in several parts of North India are an Indian non-elite caste, found largely in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, whose traditional occupation was agriculture. According ...

s in the Magadh region. Prior to his entry into active politics, he was a teacher by profession. Verma was a

and freedom fighter as well. He is known for active participation in

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 ...

. Having served as minister in both

and

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

, he is known for his work in the education sector. As state minister for education in Government of Bihar, Verma led establishment of 22 High Schools and 2

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

s. He also served as minister for land reforms and revenue. His son Bagi Kumar Verma is a member of Bihar Legislative Assembly from Kurtha Assembly constituency. His daughter in law, Kumud Verma has served as member of

Bihar Legislative Council Bihar Vidhan Parishad, also known as Bihar Legislative Council, is the upper house of the bicameral Bihar Legislature of the state of Bihar in India. History A new Province of Bihar and Odisha was created by the Government of India on 12 Decem ...

(Kumud is wife of his second son Abhijat Verma). Verma was born on 23 August 1921, in Mukhdumpur bloc of

Gaya district } Gaya district is one of the thirty-eight districts of the Indian state of Bihar. It was officially established on 3 October 1865. The district has a common boundary with the state of Jharkhand to the south. Gaya city is both the district head ...

. The name of his village is Imanbigha. He was 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 ...

leader and considered as one of the pillars of socialism in the state of Bihar. He, along with

Karpoori Thakur Karpoori Thakur (24 January 1924 – 17 February 1988) was an Indian politician from the Bihar state. He was popularly known as Jan Nayak (Hindi for people's hero). He served as the Chief Minister of Bihar from December 1970 to June 1971 (Socia ...

Basawon Singh Basawon Singh or Basawan Singh also known as Basawon Sinha, (23 March 1909 7 April 1989) was an Indian independence activist and a campaigner for the rights of the underprivileged, industrial labourers and agricultural workers. He spent a tot ...

and others were instrumental in fighting against the

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

in the state of Bihar. He won his first election from Konch Assembly constituency in 1967, and was appointed as state minister for education in first non-congress government in Bihar. In 1977, he was made revenue minister in Government of Bihar. In 1989 and 1991 General Elections, he won from Chatra constituency and subsequently appointed to Rural Development ministry in the cabinet of V.P Singh. Verma has served as state president of

for 9 terms, for the state of Bihar. In 1977, he was elected to Bihar Legislative Assembly from Gurua Assembly constituency, as a candidate of

Janata Party The Janata Party ( JP, lit. ''People's Party'') was a political party that was founded as an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the Emergency that was imposed between 1975 and 1977 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Indian Nati ...

. He was also appointed as president of "Bihar State Farmers Commission" by

Nitish Kumar Nitish Kumar (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician, who is serving as Chief Minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previous held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. The leader of the Janata Dal (Unite ...

, the post, which he held till his death. Verma also played important role in bringing Bhagwati Devi into active politics. In 1960s, Devi, who belonged to rat-eater

Musahar Musahar or Mushahar are a Dalit community found in the eastern Gangetic plain and the Terai. They are also known as ''Banbasi''.The other names of the Musahar are Bhuiyan and Rajawar Their name literally means 'rat-eater' due to their main form ...

caste, used to work as casual labourer as stone crusher. On one such occasion, while she was breaking the stones with rural women and discussing about the rights of women with other labourers, she was spotted by Verma. Verma informed

Ram Manohar Lohia Ram Manohar Lohia ; (23 March 1910 – 12 October 1967) was an activist in the Indian independence movement and a socialist political leader. During the last phase of British rule in India, he worked with the Congress Radio which was broadcast s ...

about her, and in 1969, Lohia granted her ticket to contest state assembly elections as a candidate of

. Thus, in 1969, Devi became a member of

Bihar Legislative Assembly The Bihar Legislative Assembly, also known as the Bihar Vidhan Sabha, is the lower house of the Bihar Legislature where the first elections were held in 1952. The total strength of membership in the Assembly was 331, including one nominated m ...

Writings

Verma also established himself as writer, his works were primarily in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

language and dealt with social issues. He authored "Anna Sankat", "Khet Mazdooron Ka Sawat", "Bihar Mein Savinaya Awagya", "Bihar Mein Madhyavadhi Chunav", "Cheeni Hamle Ka Mukabila", "Apani Lathi Apana Raj" in Hindi. Besides this, he was also the editor of 'Mook Awaj', a Hindi Weekly published from Gaya since 1980.

Legacy

In order to commemorate his work in field of education, several colleges are established in various parts of Bihar and

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...

. In

Gaya, Bihar Gaya (IAST: ) is a city, municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Gaya district and Magadh division of the Indian state of Bihar. Gaya is south of Patna and is the state's second-largest city, with a population of 470,839. ...

, Upendera Nath Verma Inter college has been established, which is named after him.

References

External links

Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verma, Upendra Nath Janata Dal politicians India MPs 1989–1991 India MPs 1991–1996 Lok Sabha members from Bihar Indian independence activists State cabinet ministers of Bihar