50th Anniversary of Sampoorna Kranti

• 07 Jun 2025

Why in News? 

The 50th anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan's call for Sampoorna Kranti (Total Revolution) was observed recently in Patna.  

Key Points 

• About Sampoorna Kranti:  
  • Launch: On 5th June 1974, Jayaprakash Narayan called for a Total Revolution at Gandhi Maidan, Patna. 
  • Objective: The 1974 movement sought societal reforms to address hunger, corruption, injustice, economic hardship and political oppression. 
  • Impact: United diverse opposition groups in the 1970s to challenge the ruling establishment. 
    • Non-electoral focus and mass movements shaped future political strategies and actions. 
    • The Total Revolution inspired political change, spreading to Delhi and influencing national politics. 
    • Growing unrest from the movement contributed to the declaration of the Emergency in 1975. 

Jayaprakash Narayan 

• He is popularly known as Loknayak, was a revolutionary, political philosopher, and mass leader.  
• He was born in Sitabdiara, Bihar on October 11, 1902, and became a prominent leader in India’s freedom struggle and post-independence democratic revival. 
• Initially influenced by Marxism, he later embraced Gandhian Sarvodaya, focusing on non-violence, village self-reliance (Gram Swaraj), and social reforms. 
• He actively participated in the Indian freedom struggle and later helped form socialist organizations like the Congress Socialist Party and the Praja Socialist Party. 
• In March 1943, JP, along with leaders like Ram Manohar Lohia, Phoolena Prasad Verma, Suraj Narayan Singh, and Yogendra Shukla, formed the Azad Dasta in the Rajvilas forest (Terai region of Nepal). 
  • The Azad Dasta was a revolutionary guerrilla group with the goal of: 
    • Sabotaging British administrative operations to weaken their control. 
    • Destroying communication lines such as telegraphs and railways to disrupt British infrastructure. 
    • Spreading anti-British propaganda to inspire resistance against colonial rule. 
• He played a key role in forming the Janata Party in 1977, advocated for civil liberties and ethical politics, leaving a lasting impact on India’s democratic movements.