Jaglal Choudhary (5 February 1895 – 1975) was an

Indian independence activist The Indian independence movement consisted of efforts by individuals and organizations from a wide spectrum of society to obtain political independence from the British, French and Portuguese rule through the use of many methods. This is a li ...

dalit Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...

leader and politician from

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 ...

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 ...

. He was also a reformer who championed the causes of

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

, emancipation of dalits, education and land reforms in Bihar.

Freedom fighter

Choudhary discontinued his medical education and joined 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 ...

in 1921 heeding Gandhi's call. He became a member of the District Congress Committee and was arrested for his participation in 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 ...

. In 1941 he was arrested and jailed for taking part in the Individual Satyagraha and in 1942 at the height of the Quit India Movement he led a

satyagraha Satyāgraha (from ; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone who practises satyagraha is ...

and captured the

police station A police station is a facility operated by police or a similar law enforcement agency that serves to accommodate police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The role served by a police station varies by agency, type, and jurisdiction, ...

and

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

at Garkha. For this he was arrested and sentenced to five years imprisonment. One of Choudhary's sons was shot dead by the police during the movement. From 23 August 1942 until his release on 30 March 1946 Choudhary remained in prison.

Reformer

Choudhary was an advocate of social reform in Bihar. During his term as excise minister, he introduced prohibition in Bihar. He was opposed to the

caste system A caste is a fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (endogamy), foll ...

and advocated

land reforms Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...

in Bihar calling for a land ceiling of three acres per family. In 1953 he wrote ''A Plan to Reconstruct Bharat''.

Death and commemoration

Jaglal Choudhary died in 1975. The Jaglal Choudhary College in Chapra is named after him. A

commemorative postage stamp A commemorative is an object made to memorialize something. Commemorative may refer to: * Commemorative coin, coins that issued to commemorate something * Commemorative medal, a medal to commemorate something * Commemorative plaque, a plate typic ...

on Jaglal Choudhary was released the

Department of Posts The Department of Posts, d/b/a India Post, is an Indian public sector postal system statutory body headquartered in New Delhi, India. It is an organisation under the Ministry of Communications. It is the most widely distributed postal system in ...

in 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choudhary, Jaglal People from Saran district Bihar MLAs 1952–1957 1895 births 1975 deaths Patna University alumni Indian independence activists from Bihar Indian National Congress politicians from Bihar State cabinet ministers of Bihar Bihar MLAs 1957–1962 Bihar MLAs 1962–1967 Bihar MLAs 1969–1972