Jayaprakash Narayan

Jayaprakash Narayan ( 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), popularly referred to as JP or Lok Nayak (Hindi for The People’s Leader), was an Indian independence activist, theorist, socialist and political leader. He is also known as the “Hero of Quit India Movement” and he is remembered for leading the mid-1970s opposition against Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, for whose overthrow he had called for a “total revolution”. His biography, Jayaprakash, was written by his nationalist friend and an eminent writer of Hindi literature, Rambriksh Benipuri. In 1999, he was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, in recognition of his social work. Other awards include the Magsaysay award for Public Service in 1965.