Sahajanand Saraswati

Sahajanand Saraswati (pronunciationⓘ (22 February 1889 – 26 June 1950) was an ascetic, a nationalist and a peasant leader of India. Although born in United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh), his social and political activities focussed mostly on Bihar[1] in the initial days, and gradually spread to the rest of India with the formation of the All India Kisan Sabha. He had set up an ashram at Bihta, near Patna, Bihar carried out most of his work in the later part of his life from there. He was an intellectual, prolific writer, social reformer and revolutionary.

Sahajanand Saraswati
Born(1889-02-22)22 February 1889
Ghazipur, United Provinces, British India
Died26 June 1950(1950-06-26) (aged 61)
Patna, Bihar, India
Occupation(s)Social reformer, historian, philosopher, writer, ascetic, revolutionary, Farmer rights activist, politician

Biography

Swami Sahajanand Saraswati was born in Deva Village near Dullahpur, Ghazipur district in eastern Uttar Pradesh Provinces in 1889 to a family of Bhumihars.[2] He was the last of six sons and was then called Naurang Rai. His mother died when he was a child and he was raised by an aunt.[3]

The Kisan Sabha movement started in Bihar under the leadership of Saraswati who had formed in 1929 the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (BPKS) in order to mobilise peasant grievances against the zamindari attacks on their occupancy rights, and thus sparking the farmers' movements in India.[4][5]

Gradually the peasant movement intensified and spread across the rest of India. All these radical developments on the peasant front culminated in the formation of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) at the Lucknow session of the Indian National Congress in April 1936 with Saraswati elected as its first President[6] and it involved prominent leaders such as N. G. Ranga and E. M. S. Namboodiripad. The Kisan Manifesto, which was released in August 1936, demanded abolition of the zamindari system and cancellation of rural debts. In October 1937, the AIKS adopted the red flag as its banner.[7] Soon, its leaders became increasingly distant with Congress, and repeatedly came in confrontation with Congress governments in Bihar and United Province.

Saraswati organised the Bakasht Movement in Bihar in 1937–1938. "Bakasht" means self-cultivated. The movement was against the eviction of tenants from Bakasht lands by zamindars and led to the passing of the Bihar Tenancy Act and the Bakasht Land Tax.[8][9] He also led the successful struggle in the Dalmia Sugar Mill at Bihta, where peasant-worker unity was the most important characteristic.[10]

On hearing of Saraswati's arrest during the Quit India Movement, Subhash Chandra Bose and All India Forward Bloc decided to observe 28 April as All-India Swami Sahajanand Day in protest of his incarceration by the British Raj.[11]

Saraswati died on 26 June 1950.

Subhash Chandra Bose, leader of the Forward Bloc, said:

Swami Sahajanand Saraswati is, in the land of ours, a name to conjure with. The undisputed leader of the peasant movement in India, he is today the idol of the masses and the hero of millions. It was indeed a rare fortune to get him as the chairman of the Reception Committee of the All India Anti-Compromise Conference at Ramgarh. For the Forward Block it was a privilege and an honour to get him as one of the foremost leaders of the Left movement and as a friend, philosopher and guide of the Forward Block itself. Following Swamiji's lead, a large number of front-rank leaders of the peasant movement have been intimately associated with the Forward Block.[11]

Publication

Saraswati's publications include:[12]

Books
  1. Bhumihar Brahmin Parichay (Introduction to Bhumihar Brahmins), in Hindi.
  2. Jhootha Bhay Mithya Abhiman (False Fear False Pride), in Hindi.
  3. Brahman Kaun?
  4. Brahman Samaj ki Sthiti (Situation of the Brahmin Society) in Hindi.
  5. Brahmarshi Vansha Vistar in Sanskrit, Hindi and English.
  6. Karmakalap, in Sanskrit and Hindi.

Autobiographical works
  1. Mera Jeewan Sangharsha (My Life Struggle), in Hindi.
  2. Kisan Sabha ke Sansmaran (Recollections of the Kisan Sabha), in Hindi.
  3. Maharudra ka Mahatandav, in Hindi.
  4. Jang aur Rashtriya Azadi
  5. Ab Kya ho?
  6. Gaya jile mein sava maas
  7. Samyukta Kisan Sabha, Samyukta Samajvadi Sabha ke Dastavez.
  8. Kisanon ke Dave
  9. Dhakaich ka bhashan

Ideological works
  1. Kranti aur Samyukta Morcha
  2. Gita Hridaya (Heart of the Gita)
  3. Kisanon ke Dave
  4. Maharudra ka Mahatandav
  5. Kalyan mein chapein lekh
  1. Kisan kaise ladten hain?
  2. Kisan kya karen?
  3. Zamindaron ka khatma kaise ho?
  4. Kisan ke dost aur dushman
  5. Bihar prantiya kisansabha ka ghoshna patra
  6. Kisanon ki phasane ki taiyariyan
  7. On the other side
  8. Rent reduction in Bihar, How it Works?
  9. Zamindari kyon utha di jaye?
  10. Khet Mazdoor (Agricultural Labourer), in Hindi, written in Hazaribagh Central Jail.
  11. Jharkhand ke kisan
  12. Bhumi vyavastha kaisi ho?
  13. Kisan andolan kyun aur kya?
  14. Gaya ke Kisanon ki Karun Kahani
  15. Ab kya ho?
  16. Congress tab aur ab
  17. Congress ne kisanon ke liye kya kiya?
  18. Maharudra ka Mahatandav
  19. Swamiji ki Diary
  20. Kisan sabha ke dastavez
  21. Swamiji ke patrachar
  22. Lok sangraha mein chapen lekh
  23. Hunkar mein chapein lekh
  24. Vishal Bharat mein chapein lekh
  25. Bagi mein chapein lekh
  26. Bhumihar Brahmin mein chapein lekh
  27. Swamiji ki Bhashan Mala
  28. Krishak mein chapein lekh
  29. Yogi mein chapein lekh
  30. Kisan sevak
  31. Anya lekh
  32. Address of the chairman, Reception Committee, The All India Anti-Compromise Conference, First Session, Kisan Nagar, Ramgarh, Hazaribagh, 19 & 20 March 1940, Ramgarh, 1940.
  33. Presidential Address, 8th Annual Session of the Kisan Sabha, Bezwada, 1944.

Translations into English
  • Swami Sahajanand and the Peasants of Jharkhand: A View from 1941 translated and edited by Walter Hauser along with the unedited Hindi original (Manohar Publishers, paperback, 2005).
  • Sahajanand on Agricultural Labour and the Rural Poor translated and edited by Walter Hauser Manohar Publishers, paperback, 2005.
  • Religion, Politics, and the Peasants: A Memoir of India's Freedom Movement translated and edited by Walter Hauser Manohar Publishers, hardbound, 2003.
  • Walter Hauser, along with K.C. Jha, (editor and translator of Swami Sahajanand's autobiography Mera Jivan Sangharsh – My Life Struggle) Culture, Vernacular Politics and the Peasants: India, 1889-1950, Delhi, Manohar, 2015.
  • Ramchandra Pradhan (editor and translator), The Struggle of My Life: Autobiography of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2018.

Biographies
  • Nilanshu Ranjan, Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, National Book Trust, New Delhi, ISBN 978-81-237-6486-3.
  • Raghav Sharan Sharma, Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, Publications Division, Government of India, 2008.

Official recognition

The Government of India issued a commemorative stamp in commemoration of Saraswati on 26 June 2000 by Ram Vilas Paswan, the then Minister of Communications.[13][14]

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research gives the Swamy Sahajanand Saraswati Extension Scientist/ Worker Award.[15]

In 2001, a two-day Kisan Mahapanchayat was organised on the occasion of the 112th birth anniversary of Saraswati.[16]

Bihar Governor R. S. Gavai released a book on the life of Saraswati on his 57th death anniversary in Patna.[17]

Swami Sahajanand Postgraduate College is established in his home district Ghazipur (U.P.) in the pious memory of Swami Sahajanand.

See also

References
  1. Nadkarni, MV (2016). The Bhagavad-Gita for the Modern Reader: History, Interpretations and Philosophy. Routledge. p. 111. ISBN 9781315438993.
  2. Robb, Peter (2007). Peasants, Political Economy and Law (at p. 38, fn. 36). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-568160-4.
  3. "Swami And Friends – Arvind N. Das". virginia.edu.
  4. Bandyopādhyāya, Śekhara (2004). From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India. Orient Longman. p. 406. ISBN 978-81-250-2596-2.
  5. Desai, Akshayakumar Ramanlal (1979). Peasant Struggles in India. Oxford University Press. p. 349.
  6. Bandyopādhyāya, Śekhara (2004). From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India. Orient Longman. p. 407. ISBN 978-81-250-2596-2.
  7. Ghose, Sankar (1991). Mahatma Gandhi. Allied Publishers. p. 262. ISBN 81-7023-205-8.
  8. Kumar, Dalip (2007). Rural Development And Social Change: Thoughts Of Swami Sahajanand. Deep & Deep Publications. ISBN 9788184500004.
  9. Das, Arvind N. (1982). Agrarian Movements in India: Studies on 20th Century Bihar. Psychology Press. ISBN 9780714632162.
  10. Judge, Paramjit S. (1992). Insurrection to Agitation: The Naxalite Movement in Punjab. Popular Prakashan. ISBN 9788171545278.
  11. Bose, S. K. (2004). Subhas Chandra Bose: The Alternative Leadership – Speeches, Articles, Statements and Letters. Orient Longman. p. 244. ISBN 978-81-7824-104-3.
  12. Saraswati, Sahajanand (2003). Swami Sahajanand Saraswati Rachnawali in Six volumes. Delhi: Prakashan Sansthan. ISBN 81-7714-097-3.
  13. "Photo". pib.nic.in.
  14. Chadha, Sushma (10 July 2000). "A dull June for philatelists". Financial Express. Archived from the original on 26 February 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  15. "Indian Council of Agricultural Research Awards". Indian Council of Agricultural Research. 3 September 2008. Archived from the original on 31 May 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2008.
  16. "Cong erred by joining RJD govt, says Rama Pilot". The Times of India. 23 February 2001. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  17. "Governor Pays Rich Tribute to Swami Sahajanand". PatnaDaily.com. 26 June 2007. Archived from the original on 1 October 2008. Retrieved 19 August 2008.

Further reading
  • Sahajanand on Agricultural Labour and the Rural Poor, edited by Walter Hauser, Manohar Publishers, paperback, 2005, ISBN 81-7304-600-X
  • Swami And Friends: Sahajanand Saraswati And Those Who Refuse To Let The Past of Bihar's Peasant Movements Become History By Arvind Narayan Das, Paper for the Peasant Symposium, May 1997 University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
  • Bagchi, A.K., 1976, 'Deindustrialisation in Gangetic Bihar, 1809– 1901' in Essays in Honour of Prof. S.C. Sarkar, New Delhi.
  • Banaji, Jairus, 1976, "The Peasantry in the Feudal MOde of Production: Towards an Economic Model", Journal of Peasant Studies, April.
  • Bandopadhyay, D., 1973, `Agrarian Relations in Two Bihar Districts', Mainstream, 2 June, New Delhi.
  • Banerjee, N., 1978, `All the Backwards', Sunday, 9 April, Calcutta. Bihar, 1938, Board of Revenue, Average Prices of Staple Food Crops from 1888, Patna.
  • Judith M. Brown, 1972, Gandhi's Rise to Power: Indian Politics, 1915–1922, London.
  • Datta, K.K., 1957, History of the Freedom Movement in Bihar, Patna.
  • Devanand, Swami, 1958, Virat Kisan Samaroh (Massive Peasant Convention), in Hindi, Bihar Kisan Sangh, Bihta.
  • R, R.Diwakar, ed., 1957, Bihar Through the Ages, Patna.
  • Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, 1921, 'The Zamindar and the Ryots', Young India, Vol. III (New Series) No. 153, 18 May.
  • Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, 1940, An Autobiography or The Story of My experiments in Truth, Ahmedabad.
  • Maharaj, R.N., 1976, 'Freed Bonded Labour Camp at Palamau', National Labour Institute Bulletin, October, New Delhi.
  • Mishra, G., 1968. 'The Socio-economic Background of Gandhi's Champaran Movement', Indian Economic and Social History Review, 5(3), New Delhi.
  • Mishra, G., 1978, Agrarian Problems of Permanent Settlement: A Case Study of Champaran, New Delhi.
  • Mitra, Manoshi, 1983, Agrarian Social Structure in Bihar: Continuity and Change, 1786–1820, Delhi : Manohar.
  • Mitra, N., ed, 1938, Indian Annual Register, July–December 1937, Vol. II, Calcutta.
  • Jawaharlal Nehru, 1936, An Autobiography, London.
  • Pouchepadass, J., 1974, 'Local Leaders and the Intelligentsia in the Champaran Satyagraha', Contributions to Indian Sociology, New Series, No.8, November, New Delhi.
  • Prasad, P.H., 1979, 'Semi-Feudalism: Basic Constraint in Indian Agriculture' in Arvind N. Das & V. Nilakant, eds., Agrarian Relations in India, New Delhi.
  • Rajendra Prasad, 1949, Satyagraha in Champaran, Ahmedabad.
  • Rajendra Prasad, 1957, Autobiography, Bombay.
  • N. G. Ranga, 1949, Revolutionary Peasants, New Delhi.
  • N. G. Ranga, 1968, Fight For Freedom, New Delhi.
  • Shanin, Teodor, 1978, "Defining Peasants: Conceptualisations and Deconceptualisations: Old and New in a Marxist Debate", Manchester University.
  • Anugrah Narayan Sinha, 1961, Mere Sansmaran (My Recollections), in Hindi Patna.
  • Indradeep Sinha, 1969, Sathi ke Kisanon ka Aitihasic Sangharsha (Historic Struggle of Sathi Peasants), in Hindi, Patna.
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