Bhagwat Jha Azad was an Indian freedom fighter and politician. He served as

Chief Minister of Bihar The chief minister of Bihar serves as the head of the Government of Bihar, overseeing its administration and governance within the constitutional framework of India. While the Governor of Bihar holds the ceremonial role of the constitutional h ...

from 14 February 1988 to 10 March 1989. He was at various times a member of parliament and a member of the

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

state legislature.

Political career

Azad was a 20-year-old college student when he took part in a demonstration as part of the Quit India Movement in 1942. He was hit by a bullet in his leg, which incident made him famous in the press. After this, there was no going back for the young man, and a glittering political career was born. Later, Azad was also arrested several times by the British.Indian Parliament (1952-57): "Personalities"-Series 2 Authentic, ...by Trilochan Singh – 1954 Independence came in 1947, exactly five years after the Quit India Movement, and Azad was advantageously poised to make a career in politics. He was part of an influential cohort of politicians from Bihar who gained prominence on the national stage during the post-independence stage, known as the "Young Turks." He was a contemporary of

Bindeshwari Dubey Bindeshwari Dubey (14 January 1921 – 20 January 1993) was a freedom fighter, trade unionist and politician who served as Chief Minister of Bihar between 12 March 1985 and 13 February 1988. Dubey was involved in the nationalisation of Indian ...

, Abdul Gafoor, Chandrashekhar Singh,

Satyendra Narayan Sinha Satyendra Narayan Sinha (12 July 1917 – 4 September 2006) was an Indian politician and statesman, participant in the Indian independence movement, a leading light of Jaya Prakash Narayan's ‘ ''complete revolution''’ movement during the E ...

and

Kedar Pandey Kedar Pandey (14 June 1920 – 3 July 1982) was an Indian freedom fighter and Indian National Congress politician, who remained the Chief Minister of Bihar from March 1972 to 2 July 1973 and Minister of Railways in the Union Cabinet from 12 Nov ...

(all future chief ministers of Bihar); and of

Sitaram Kesri Sitaram Kesri (15 November 1919 – 24 October 2000) was an Indian politician and parliamentarian. He became a union minister and served as President of the Indian National Congress from 1996 to 1998. __TOC__ Political career Pre-Independenc ...

, future national president of Indian National Congress. Azad represented Bhagalpur constituency in the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

for five terms. He was elected to the third, fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth Lok Sabha. He served as a Union minister of state from 1967 to 1983 in the ministries of agriculture, education, labour and employment, supply and rehabilitation, civil aviation and food and civil supplies. He was a veteran Congressman, and

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

of Bihar between 14 February 1988 and 10 March 1989. Well known cricketer Kirti Azad and ex IPS officer Yashovardhan Azad are his sons. Bhagwat Jha Azad died in 2011 aged 89. He had been ailing for several years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azad, Bhagwat Jha 1922 births 2011 deaths Chief ministers of Bihar Indian independence activists from Bihar India MPs 1962–1967 India MPs 1967–1970 India MPs 1971–1977 India MPs 1980–1984 India MPs 1984–1989 Patna University alumni People from Bhagalpur Lok Sabha members from Bihar Indian National Congress politicians from Bihar Chief ministers from Indian National Congress Prisoners and detainees of British India Members of the Bihar Legislative Council