Ram Manohar Lohia ( 23 March 1910 – 12 October 1967) was an Indian political activist of the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

and a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

politician. As a nationalist, he worked actively to protest against

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

, raising awareness of the same. He founded multiple socialist political parties and later won elections to 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 ...

Early life

Ram Manohar Lohia was born on 23 March 1910 in a

Marwari Marwari may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the Marwar region of Rajasthan, India, largely in the Thar Desert ** Marwari people, an Indian ethnic group originating in the Marwar region ** Marwari language, the language of the Marwari ...

Bania family at Akbarpur in modern-day

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

. In 1912, when he was only two years old, his mother died. He was then raised by his father, Hiralal, who never remarried. In 1918, he moved with his father to Bombay, and then completed his high school education there. After securing the first position in his school at the

matriculation examination A matriculation examination or matriculation exam is a university entrance examination, which is typically held towards the end of secondary school. After passing the examination, a student receives a School leaving qualification, school leaving ce ...

, he completed his intermediate studies from the

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU), formerly Benares Hindu University, is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. The university incorporated the Central Hindu College, ...

in 1927. In 1929, he completed his Bachelor of Arts from the

Vidyasagar College Vidyasagar College is a state government-aided public college, affiliated to the University of Calcutta, located in North Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The college offers both post-graduate and under-graduate courses in a number of subjects ...

, under the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

. In 1929, Lohia went to England for further studies. However, the political environment in London did not align with Lohia's nationalist feelings, leading him to leave the country. Lohia then decided to join the Frederick William University in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany. He then learnt

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and won a scholarship to pursue a doctorate in economics from 1929 to 1933. While studying here, Lohia wrote his Ph.D. thesis paper on the topic of ''Salt Taxation in India'', focusing on

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 ...

's socio-economic theory. However, he never completed the degree. Lohia was greatly influenced by the events that took place in Germany during his stay there, including the rise of Hitler and

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

. He also studied the works of

Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

and

Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''

Nationalist movement (1930–1947)

1930: League of Nations session

While studying economics at

Berlin University The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humboldt ...

, Lohia met

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

n political leader Julião Menezes, who was studying

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

. They soon became friends and were part of the Indian Students' Union in

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

. In 1930, during the session of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

, Lohia and Menezes, who were present on the occasion, threw bundles of leaflets from the visitors' gallery. These leaflets denounced Ganga Singh, the then

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the States and territories of India, state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. It is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Fo ...

(now

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

), and an Indian representative sent by the

British Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

to present to the League of Nations.

1934–1938: Congress Socialist Party

Lohia helped found the

Congress Socialist Party The Congress Socialist Party (CSP) was a socialist caucus within the Indian National Congress. It was founded in 1934 by Congress members who rejected what they saw as the anti-rational mysticism of Gandhi as well as the sectarian attitude of ...

in 1934. He was also the editor of its publication, the ''Congress Socialist''. In 1936,

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 ...

chose Lohia as the secretary of the Foreign Department of 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 ...

(AICC). In 1938, Lohia resigned as the secretary. It was at this time that Lohia began to develop his own political views. He critically examined the opinions of the Congress leadership, which was greatly influenced by

, and the Communists who had joined the CSP.

1940–1942: Anti-war efforts

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

intensified, Lohia began anti-war propaganda. He was critical of the Congress Party leadership's decision to support the British government in the war, stating that the British would not grant India freedom if the Congress cooperated with them. In June 1940, he was arrested and sentenced to a jail term of two years for delivering anti-war speeches. After the

Cripps Mission The Cripps Mission was a failed attempt in late March 1942 by the British government to secure full Indian cooperation and support for their efforts in World War II. The mission was headed by a senior minister Stafford Cripps. Cripps belonged to th ...

was sent to India, Gandhi and Lohia together opposed it. Lohia stated that Britain would not grant India freedom on its own. Nehru, however, desired independence but refused to take an anti-war stand. Subsequently, Lohia criticized Nehru at the May 1942 session of the AICC, held in

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

1942–1946: Quit India Movement

During the Quit India Movement, Lohia became an important leader after the arrest of both

and

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 prin ...

. Lohia set up the clandestine radio stations called the Congress Radio in Calcutta and Bombay. In his words, he intended to "disseminate the much needed information to the masses to sustain a leaderless movement". He was then captured and imprisoned in

Lahore Fort The Lahore Fort (; ; ) is a citadel in the walled interior of Lahore in Punjab, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of the Walled City and spreads over an area greater than . It contains 21 notable monuments, some of which ...

in 1944. Lohia 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 ...

, who had assembled a guerilla force during the same movement, were then released on 11 April 1946.

1946: Goa Revolution Day

Following his release, Lohia met his friend Julião Menezes in Bombay for a medical consultation in April 1946. Menezes then invited Lohia to recuperate with him at his home in Goa. They reached Menezes' Goa home on 10 June 1946. After the news of Lohia's arrival spread, the general public and other local freedom fighters began visiting Lohia in large numbers. Menezes and Lohia then began planning a

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 ...

movement. Over the next few days, they addressed people around Goa, informing people that they would defy the ban on public meetings and address an audience of Goans on 18 June in the city of

Margao Margao (, ) is the commercial capital of the Indian state of Goa. It stands on the banks of the river Sal. It is the district headquarters of South Goa, and administrative headquarters of Salcete sub-district. It is Goa's second largest ci ...

. On 18 June 1946, Menezes and Lohia arrived at the designated maidan in Margao, evading and defying the Portuguese police. They were greeted by a large crowd that was chanting slogans. About 600–700 people gathered before the duo was physically escorted to the police station, just as Lohia had begun addressing the audience. The police resorted to a

baton charge A baton charge is a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people, usually used by police, paramilitary or military in response to public disorder. In the Indian subcontinent, a long bamboo stick, called a '' lathi'' in Bengali, Hindi, ...

to disperse the crowd. However, everyone regrouped at the police station and only left after Lohia addressed them briefly. The location of the gathering is today known as Lohia Maidan, and the date, 18 June, is celebrated as Goa Revolution Day. Over the next few months,

publicly supported Lohia in his efforts to free Goa. Lohia arrived back to Goa in September 1946 but was immediately arrested and jailed for 10 days at Aguada fort.

1947: Peace mission in Calcutta

On the eve of the India's Independence Day, 14 August 1947, Lohia and

together helped maintain the peace between Hindus and Muslims in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

. After riots on 31 August, Gandhi went on an indefinite fast. Lohia then took up a peace mission, working with rioters and gathering their weapons. His mission was successful in stopping the riots, following which Gandhi ended his fast.

Early political career (1948–1962)

1948–1950: Split from INC, Hind Kisan Panchayat, support for Nepali Congress

Following the assassination of Gandhi in 1948, the Socialists Party grew apart from 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 ...

(INC). At the INC session at

Nashik Nashik, formerly Nasik, is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra situated on the banks of the river Godavari, about northeast of the state capital Mumbai. Nashik is one of the Hindu pilgrimage sites of the Kumbh ...

in March 1948, the Socialists decided to leave the INC. Further, they resolved to protest for the immediate integration of the princely states into India. This protest led to Lohia's arrest in January 1950 at

Rewa, Madhya Pradesh Rewa is a city in the north-eastern part of Madhya Pradesh state in India. It is the administrative center of Rewa District and Rewa Division. The city lies about northeast of the state capital Bhopal and north of the city of Jabalpur. The ma ...

. In 1949, the Socialists had founded the Hind Kisan Panchayat, with Lohia as its first President. Also in 1949, Lohia encouraged the

Nepali Congress The Nepali Congress ( ; Abbreviation, abbr. NC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Nepal, political party in Nepal and the largest party in the country ...

leaders to protest for democracy in

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. He led a large protest to the Embassy of Nepal in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, which led to his arrest and imprisonment for two months.

1951–1954: Asian Socialist Conference and farmers' protest

In 1951, Lohia attended the International Socialist Congress in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. Between 1952 and 1954, he attempted to unite Asian socialists under the banner of

Asian Socialist Conference The Asian Socialist Conference (ASC) was an organisation of socialist political parties in Asia that existed between 1953 and 1965. It was established in an effort to build a Pan-Asian multinational socialist organization, clearly independent f ...

. However, his success was limited due to differences between the Indians and other Asians. Lohia's motivation behind this was that organizations like the

Communist International The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internationa ...

(Comintern) and the

Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism, consisting mostly of Social democracy, social democratic political parties and Labour mov ...

were under the influence of

white people White is a Race (human categorization), racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry. It is also a Human skin color, skin color specifier, although the definition can var ...

. In 1954, he led a farmers' protest in Uttar Pradesh. This was to protest the high tax rates for water. As the protest intensified, Lohia was arrested under the Special Powers Act, 1932.

1952–1955: Praja Socialist Party and later split

In 1952, the Socialist Party joined the

Acharya Kripalani 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 during the transfer of power in ...

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 ...

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 ...

(PSP). Lohia was elected its president in 1953. In 1954, in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, the Congress-PSP coalition government fired at peaceful protesters. Lohia was upset about this and asked PSP's Pattom Thanu Pillai, the Chief Minister, to resign. When Pillai refused, Lohia himself resigned as president. In 1955, his relationship with the PSP was further strained after the PSP proposed to join the Congress government. Further, Lohia did not participate in talks with

and Nehru. He was also not happy about the PSP's policy to be the Opposition party to the ruling Congress party. This led to his removal from the PSP. Thus, in December 1955, Lohia founded 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 ...

at a meeting 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 ...

, in which he was elected president. He advocated a programme of "Power within seven years" at this meeting, referring to the proposed rise of socialism in the country.

1955–1957: Socialist Party

Some points that the new Socialist Party fought for were the abolishment of 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 ...

, equal opportunities for all, classless bogies in trains, moving away from the English language and opposition of the rich English medium schools. The Party initiated multiple protests across the country for the upliftment of farmers and the landless. In 1957 and 1962, it launched nation-wide ''

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 ...

s'' on these issues. Lohia even went to jail in 1957. He, along with other party members, contested elections in 1957. While Lohia lost the Lok Sabha elections, the Party won seats in Legislative assemblies in multiple states across the country.

1960–1962: NEFA, Tamil Nadu protest and election loss

In 1960, Lohia led a ''satyagraha'' to enter into the

North-East Frontier Agency The North–East Frontier Agency (NEFA), originally known as the North-East Frontier Tracts (NEFT), was one of the political divisions in British India, and later the Republic of India until 20 January 1972, when it became the Union territory, U ...

(NEFA) and was arrested. In 1961, he was attacked with stones at an anti-English language meeting in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. In 1962, he fought the Lok Sabha elections in

Phulpur Lok Sabha constituency Phulpur Lok Sabha seat, also spelled 'Phoolpur', is one of the 80 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. It lies in Prayagraj district. Phulpur is a historic constituency and two Indian Prime Minis ...

against Nehru but was defeated. However, he had won more votes than Nehru in 150 polling centres.

Later political career (1963–1967)

1963–1965: First election win and US ''satyagraha''

In 1963, Lohia won the by-election in Farrukhabad Lok Sabha constituency. '' The Statesman'' sarcastically described his entry into the Lok Sabha as that of "a bull in a China shop". During his term, he raised several issues in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. The most significant of these was his 1963 speech in the Parliament, in which he exposed the fact that 2.7

crore Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...

Indians lived on 3

annas Annas (also Ananus or Ananias;Goodman, Martin, "Rome & Jerusalem", Penguin Books, p.12 (2007) , ; , ; 23/22 BC – death date unknown, probably around AD 40) was appointed by the Roman legate Quirinius as the first High Priest of the newly form ...

(barely 20

paisa Paisa (also transliterated as ''pice'', ''pesa'', ''poysha'', ''poisha'' and ''baisa'') is a monetary unit in several countries. The word is also a generalised idiom for money and wealth. In India, Nepal, and Pakistan, the ''paisa'' currently equa ...

) a day. He also criticized the government's Five Year Plan, calling its expenditure of 10,000 crores as wasteful, stating that it was only in an attempt to imitate the European ways of living. In 1964, he toured the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, launching a ''satyagraha'' against racism there. After he entered a hotel which had denied entry to the Blacks, he was briefly arrested. The US Administration later apologized for this.

1965–1967: Samyukta Socialist Party and Samyukta Vidhayak Dal

By 1965, the Socialists across the country decided to merge, so as to defeat the ruling Congress Party. The

then merged with the

to form the

Samyukta Socialist Party Samyukta Socialist Party (; SSP), was a political party in India from 1964 to 1974. SSP was formed through a split in the Praja Socialist Party (PSP) in 1964. In 1965, Ram Manohar Lohia merged his Socialist Party (Lohia) with SSP and conteste ...

. In 1967, under Lohia's leadership, the Samyukta Socialist Party defeated the Congress in seven states (including Uttar Pradesh), forming the government there. This was part of an alliance that was formed by Lohia and

Bharatiya Jana Sangh The Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh ( BJS or JS, short name: Jan Sangh) was a Hindutva political party active in India. It was established on 21 October 1951 in Delhi by three founding members: Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Balraj Madhok and Deendayal ...

leader Nanaji Deshmukh. This coalition was referred to as the Samyukta Vidhayak Dal. However, soon after, Lohia realised that the newly elected ministers from his Party were seeking power instead of implementing socialist principles. While this affected him, he continued to guide them. In 1967, Lohia won the elections from the newly created Kannauj Lok Sabha constituency, which was split from the Farrukhabad Lok Sabha constituency. Due to strong opposition from the Congress, he won with a majority of only 472 votes.

Death

In 1978, former Union Health Minister

Raj Narain Raj Narain (23 November 1917 – 31 December 1986) was an Indian freedom fighter and politician. He won in a famous electoral malpractice case against the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, which led to her disqualification and, eventually, im ...

reported that Lohia may have died due to medical negligence. Lohia was a diabetic and a hypertensive patient. A commission appointed by the Union government to inquire into the cause of his death found that he had undergone an operation, during which one of the stitches was not properly done. This led to excessive bleeding, leading to his death at the age of 57 on 12 October 1967. Lohia was a bachelor when he died and had no personal wealth. He also had no house. At his funeral,

stated that "Dr Lohia was the messiah of the poor in India".

Political and social views

Lohia repeatedly criticized

's work. He also advocated against the extensive use of

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

, leading an extensive campaign for the same. Lohia also publicly questioned the dominance of Upper Castes and advocated for affirmative action that was caste-based. In 1963, Lohia proposed the idea of '' Saptakranti'' (). He stated that mankind is revolting for: * Equality between man and woman; * The abolition of inequalities based on colour; * Elimination of inequalities of birth and caste; * National freedom or ending of foreign influence; * Economic equality through increase in production; * Protecting the privacy of individual life from all collective encroachments; and * Limitations on armaments Also in 1963, he spoke about the unity of Hindus and Muslims, requesting them to rethink the last 800 years of India's history. Lohia believed that for the country to progress, caste inequality must be abolished. To implement this, he proposed the idea of "''roti'' and ''beti''", stating that people must first be willing to break caste barriers and eat the same ''

roti Roti is a round flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly consumed in many South Asian, Southeast Asian, Caribbean, East African, and Southeast African countries. It is made from stoneground whole-wheat flour, kno ...

'', and then let their daughters (''beti'') marry people from other castes.

Works

Major writings in English

* ''The Caste System'': Hyderabad, Navahind 964147 p. * ''Foreign Policy'': Aligarh, P.C. Dwadash Shreni, 963?381 p. * ''Fragments of World Mind'': Maitrayani Publishers & Booksellers; Allahabad 949262 p. * ''Fundamentals of a World Mind'': ed. by K.S. Karanth. Bombay, Sindhu Publications, 987130 p. * ''Guilty Men of India’s Partition'': Lohia Samata Vidyalaya Nyas, Publication Dept.,

970 Year 970 ( CMLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar, the 970th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' designations, the 970th year of the 1st millennium, the 70th year of the 10th century, and the 1st year ...

103 p. * ''India, China, and Northern Frontiers'': Hyderabad, Navahind

963 Year 963 (Roman numerals, CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 39, probably of poison administered by his wife, Emp ...

272 p. * ''Interval During Politics'': Hyderabad, Navahind

965 Year 965 ( CMLXV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Nikephoros II conquers the fortress cities of Tarsus and Mopsuestia. The Muslim resid ...

197 p. * ''Marx, Gandhi and Socialism'': Hyderabad, Navahind

550 p. * ''Collected Works of Dr Lohia'' A nine volume set edited by veteran Socialist writer Dr Mastram Kapoor in English and published by Anamika Publications, New Delhi. * ''Bandh Samrat - Tales of Eternal Rebel George Fernandes'': Chris Emmanuel Dsouza, Bangalore, Cleverfox Publications 02227 p.

Writings in Kannada Translation

* The complete works of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia were translated and published in six volumes by the Government of Karnataka at the subsidized price. * There were lot of books available in Kannada about Lohia and also many private publications published the works of Lohia.

Legacy

Memorials

* Avadh University in

Faizabad Faizabad (Hindustani pronunciation: ɛːzaːbaːd is a city located in Ayodhya district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated on the southern bank of the River Saryu about 6.5 km from Ayodhya City, the district headquarter, ...

was renamed as " Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University". * The Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University in

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

, one of India's top National law schools, is named after him. * 18th June Road, in

Panjim Panaji (; , , )also known as Panjim, is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river est ...

, Goa, is named after him. It was that date in 1946 where he launched an agitation against colonial rule. * The Willingdon Hospital of

was renamed Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in the 1970s. Ram Manohar Lohia died in this hospital due to health complications following a surgery. *

Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences The Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences (Dr. RMLIMS), is a medical institute with State university (India), state university status located in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. The institute offers MBBS, Bachelor of Science in Nursi ...

is a medical institute for undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Lucknow. *Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya Bhawan is a community hall in his hometown of Akbarpur, Ambedkar Nagar and is the only memorial in his name. *Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya Bhawan is an academic block of commerce department in Maharaja Ganga Singh University Bikaner.

In popular culture

Emraan Hashmi Syed Emraan Anwar Hashmi (; born 24 March 1979) is an Indian film actor, who appears in Hindi films. Initially known for performing bold scenes, Hashmi has since portrayed strong roles in films. One of the most unconventional actors of India, H ...

portrayed Lohia in the 2024 film, '' Ae Watan Mere Watan''.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lohia, Ram Manohar 1910 births 1967 deaths Banaras Hindu University alumni Vidyasagar College alumni University of Calcutta alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Goa liberation activists Indian socialists Praja Socialist Party politicians Socialist Party of India (1955) politicians Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh People from Ambedkar Nagar district Prisoners and detainees of British India Indian independence activists from Uttar Pradesh Indian National Congress politicians from Uttar Pradesh India MPs 1967–1970 India MPs 1962–1967 People from Farrukhabad People from Kannauj district Samyukta Socialist Party politicians Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party politicians Marwari people