Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani (11 November 1888 – 19 March 1982), popularly known as Acharya Kripalani, was an Indian politician, noted particularly for holding the presidency of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

during the transfer of power in 1947 and the husband of Sucheta Kripalani. Kripalani was an environmentalist, mystic and independence activist who was long a

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi,one of the prominent figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environ ...

socialist. He himself founded the

Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party The Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party (''Farmer Worker People's Party''), or Praja Party for short, was a political party of India. Established in 1951, it merged with the Socialist Party to form the Praja Socialist Party in the following year. The A ...

in 1951, that merged with the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

to form the

Praja Socialist Party The Praja Socialist Party, abbreviated as PSP, was an Indian political party. It was founded in 1952 when the Socialist Party, led by Jayaprakash Narayan, Rambriksh Benipuri, Acharya Narendra Deva and Basawon Singh (Sinha), merged with the ...

the following year. He joined the economically right wing

Swatantra Party The Swatantra Party was an Indian classical liberal political party that existed from 1959 to 1974. It was founded by C. Rajagopalachari in reaction to what he felt was the Jawaharlal Nehru-dominated Indian National Congress's increasingly so ...

later in life. He grew close to

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

and at one point, he was one of Gandhi's most ardent disciples. He had served as the General Secretary of the INC for almost a decade. He had experience working in the field of education and was made the president to rebuild the INC. Disputes between the party and the Government over procedural matters affected his relationship with the colleagues in the Government. Kripalani was a familiar figure to generations of dissenters, from the

Non-Cooperation Movement Non-cooperation movement may refer to: * Non-cooperation movement (1919–1922), during the Indian independence movement, led by Mahatma Gandhi against British rule * Non-cooperation movement (1971), a movement in East Pakistan * Non-cooperatio ...

s of the 1920s to the

Emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

of the 1970s. He was the first member to address the

Constituent Assembly of India Constituent Assembly of India was partly elected and partly nominated body to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the Provincial assemblies of British India following the Provincial Assembly elections held in 1946 and nominated ...

Early life

Jivatram (also spelled ''Jiwatram'') Bhagwandas Kripalani was born in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

in 1888. Following his education at Fergusson College in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, he worked as a school teacher before joining the freedom movement in the wake of

's return from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. From 1912 to 1917 Kripalani worked as a lecturer of English and history at L.S. College (then known as Grier BB College),

Muzaffarpur Muzaffarpur () is a city located in Muzaffarpur district on the banks of Burhi Gandak River, Burhi Gandak river in the Tirhut division of the Indian state of Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Tirhut division, the Muzaffarpur distri ...

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 ...

. Kripalani was involved in the

of the early 1920s. He worked in Gandhi's ashrams in

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

and

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

on tasks of social reform and education, and later left for

and the United Provinces in northern India to teach and organise new ashrams. He courted arrested on numerous occasions during the

Civil Disobedience Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizenship, citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be cal ...

movements and smaller occasions of organising protests and publishing seditious material against the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

Congress leader

Kripalani joined the

All India Congress Committee The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from States and union territories of India, state-level Pradesh Congress Commit ...

and became its general secretary in 1928–29. Kripalani was prominently involved over a decade in top Congress party affairs, and in the organisation of the

Salt Satyagraha The Salt march, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March, and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of non violent civil disobedience in colonial India, led by Mahatma Gandhi. The 24-day march lasted from 12 March 1930 to 6 April 1930 as a di ...

and the Quit India Movement. Kripalani served in the interim government of India (1946–1947) and the

. During this time he rejected the proposal of United Bengal from Abul Hashim and Sarat Bose and called for the division of

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

and the Punjab. He had served as the General Secretary of the INC for 12 years. He had experience working in the field of education and was made the president to rebuild the INC. Disputes between the party and the Government over procedural matters affected his relationship with the colleagues in the Government.

As Congress President and the election of 1950

In spite of being ideologically at odds with both

Vallabhbhai Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ''Vallabhbhāī Jhāverbhāī Paṭel''; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, was an Indian independence activist and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime ...

and

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

– he was elected

Congress President The national president of the Indian National Congress is the chief executive of the Indian National Congress (INC), one of the principal political parties in India. Constitutionally, the president is elected by an electoral college composed of ...

for the crucial years around Indian independence in 1947. After Gandhi's assassination in January 1948, Nehru rejected his demand that the party's views should be sought in all decisions. Nehru, with the support of Patel, told Kripalani that while the party was entitled to lay down the broad principles and guidelines, it could not be granted a say in the government's day-to-day affairs.

Later life

In 1972-'73, he agitated against the increasingly authoritarian rule of Nehru's daughter

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

, then

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

. Kripalani and

Jayaprakash Narayan Jayaprakash Narayan Srivastava (; 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), also known as JP and ''Lok Nayak'' (Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian politician, theorist and Indian independence activist, independence activist. He is mai ...

felt that Gandhi's rule had become dictatorial and anti-democratic. Her conviction on charges of using government machinery for her election campaign galvanised her political opposition and public disenchantment against her policies. Along with

, Kripalani toured the country urging non-violent protest and civil disobedience. When the

was declared as a result of the vocal dissent he helped stir up, the octogenarian Kripalani was among the first of the

Opposition leaders Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...

to be arrested on the night of 26 June 1975. He lived long enough to survive the Emergency and see the first non-Congress government since Independence following the

Janata Party The Janata Party (JP, ) is an unrecognised political party in India. Navneet Chaturvedi is the current president of the party since November 2021, replacing Jaiprakash Bandhu. The JP was established as an amalgam of Indian political partie ...

victory in the 1977 polls. He and Jayaprakash Narayan, two senior guiding lights, were requested to choose the parliamentary leader of the new party who would be the prime minister, and they choose

Morarji Desai Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995) was an Indian politician and Indian independence activist, independence activist who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India between 1977 and 1979 leading th ...

. Jayaprakash Narayan, in wheel-chair, administered a pledge at Raj Ghat to new members of parliament that they will honour the mandate and remain united. Acharya Kripalani died on 19 March 1982 at the Civil Hospital in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

, at the age of 93. A stamp was issued on 11 November 1989 by the

Indian Postal Department The Department of Posts, d/b/a India Post, is an Indian Public Sector Undertakings in India, public sector postal system statutory body headquartered in New Delhi, India. It is an organisation under the Ministry of Communications (India), Minist ...

to commemorate the 101st anniversary of his birth.

Family tree

Biography

* Ram Bahadur Rai, ''Shaswat Vidrohi Rajneta: Acharya J.B. Kripalani'', National Book Trust,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kripalani, Jivatram Indian independence activists from Sind Province Indian Sindhi people Presidents of the Indian National Congress Janata Party politicians 1888 births 1982 deaths Members of the Constituent Assembly of India Prisoners and detainees of British India India MPs 1952–1957 India MPs 1957–1962 India MPs 1962–1967 India MPs 1967–1970 Gandhians Praja Socialist Party politicians Lok Sabha members from Madhya Pradesh Indian people imprisoned during the Emergency (India) Swatantra Party politicians Sindhi Hindus Indian National Congress politicians from Madhya Pradesh