Yogendra Shukla (; 1896 – 19 November 1960) was an Indian nationalist and freedom fighter, notable for his contributions in the state of

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 ...

. He was incarcerated in the Cellular Jail, also known as ''Kala Pani'', and was a founding member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). Shukla, in collaboration with Basawon Singh (Sinha), was also instrumental in establishing 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 ...

Background

Yogendra Shukla, along with his nephew Baikuntha Shukla (15 May 1907 – 14 May 1934), originated from Jalalpur village in the Muzaffarpur district of the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

(present-day Vaishali district in Bihar). He was born in a

Bhumihar Bhumihar, also locally called Bhuinhar and Babhan, a Hindu Indian caste system, caste mainly found in Bihar (including the Mithila (region), Mithila region), the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, the Bundelkhand region of Madhya ...

family. Between 1932 and 1937, Yogendra was incarcerated in the Cellular Jail, known as Kalapani, as a prominent leader of the revolutionary movement in Bihar and

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 ...

. He gained renown for his various exploits and was a close associate of revolutionaries Sardar Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt, even playing a role in their training. Over his lifetime, he was imprisoned for over sixteen and a half years due to his involvement in revolutionary activities. His health deteriorated significantly due to the harsh torture he suffered in various jails across India. At the time of his death, he was suffering from illness and had lost his sight.

Kala Pani

In October 1932, as per the instructions of the

Governor in Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it refers to the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of app ...

, the Judicial Secretary A.C. Davies requested the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CIG) to compile a list of revolutionary convicts. The list was to include details such as the offences for which they were convicted, the sentences imposed, and a brief overview of their involvement in the revolutionary movement, with the purpose of moving them to the Celullar Jail in the

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago, made up of 200 islands, in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a mari ...

. In response, the DIG (CID) suggested several individuals, including Yogendra Shukla, Basawon Singh (Sinha), Shyamdeo Narayan alias Ram Singh, Ishwar Dayal Singh, Kedar Mani Shukla, Mohit Chandra Adhikari and Ram Pratap Singh. Yogendra Shukla
Kedar Mani Shukla
and Shyamdeo Narayan were transferred to the Andaman Islands in December 1932. Yogendra Shukla’s relocation t
Hazaribagh Central Jail
was a direct consequence of his 46-days hunger strike. When Sri Krishna Sinha established the first Congress ministry in Bihar in 1937, he championed the cause of political prisoners. His ministry, standing firm on this issue, resigned on 15 February 1938. This act prompted the Viceroy to accede to their demands, leading to the release of Yogendra Shukla and other political prisoners in March 1938.

After release from Kala Pani

Yogendra Shukla joined 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 ...

after his release and was elected vice-chairman of the Muzaffarpur District Congress Committee. He was also elected a member 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 ...

in 1938 but later joined the

at the instance of

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 ...

. He was arrested in 1940, soon after he became a member of Central Committee of the All India Kisan Sabha in place of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati.

Quit India Movement

When

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

launched the Quit India Movement in August 1942, Yogendra Shukla scaled the wall of Hazaribagh Central Jail along with Jayaprakash Narayan, Suraj Narayan Singh, Gulab Chand Gupta, Ramnandan Mishra and Shaligram Singh intending to start the underground movement for freedom. As Jayaprakash Narayan was ill then, Shukla walked a distance to Gaya with Jayaprakash Narayan on his shoulders, a distance of about 124 kilometres.Distance between Hazaribagh Central Jail and Gaya
/ref> The

British Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

announced a reward of Rs. 5000 for the arrest of Shukla. He was arrested on 7 December 1942, at

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 ...

. The government believed that one day before his arrest Shukla had helped four prisoners escape from Muzaffarpur jail. They were Surajdeo Singh, Ram Babu Kalwar, Brahmanand Gupta and Ganesh Rai. Yogendra Shukla was lodged in

Buxar Buxar is a nagar parishad city in the state of Bihar, India, sharing border with Balia and Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. It is the headquarters of the eponymous Buxar district, as well as the headquarters of the community development ...

Jail and kept in bar fetters for three years. In March 1944, he launched hunger-strike in the

Jail.

During and after Independence

He was released in April 1946. In 1958, he was nominated a member of the Bihar Legislative Council on behalf of 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 ...

and continued there till 1960. In 1960, he was taken seriously ill as a result of long years of prison life. He died on 19 November 1960.

References

External links

Official biography given by the Government of India when a stamp was released on him.