JP’s Quest

JP called upon the youth to fight against undemocratic methods. He wanted them to be in the forefront to agitate for the removal of ills that parties had injected into the country’s body politic. Morality was the point he underlined. He was in favour of a party less government, all political parties giving their shoulder to task of building the country and the betterment of people. JP went from Bihar to Gujarat where the students’ stir (navnirmaan) forced the state government to quit. It was another matter that students like Laloo Yadav, who was in the chair at the meeting, derailed the movement when the Janata government assumed the reins of the government. The only morality they knew was how to capture power and to sustain it by hook or by crook. This was an anti-thesis of what JP stood for. Today’s Bihar, the cradle of JP’s stir, is an example. JP’s movement was for cleansing. Was it possible to retrieve the nation which showed the best of its qualities of sacrifice and dedication during the struggle for independence? Could he put it back on the road to idealism and values? Although the target was Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s autocratic and corrupt rule, JP raised the larger question of propriety and morality in public life. Ultimately, the movement developed into people’s wrath against the mode of governance. The JP movement was a failure because it evoked very little response when the time came. As Mrs. Gandhi put it, not even a dog barked. People were not inspired with lofty ideals of liberty and fair play to rise against Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s dictatorial ways. They were where they were: cowards. Fear instilled in their mind made them avoid contact with the families of their friends in detention. The middle class did not stand up even against the excesses committed before their eyes. However, they defeated her when the occasion arose. That was their catharsis.