Raj Narain
Raj Narain | |
---|---|
Health Minister of India | |
In office 24 March 1977 – 25 January 1979 | |
Prime Minister | Morarji Desai |
Preceded by | Karan Singh |
Succeeded by | Rabi Ray |
Personal details | |
Born | Raj Narain Singh 23 November 1917 Heart attack |
Relatives | Narayan dynasty |
Alma mater | Banaras Hindu University |
Raj Narain (23 November 1917 – 31 December 1986) was an Indian freedom fighter and politician. He won in a famous
Early life
Raj Narain was the son of Anant Prasad Singh and was born on 23 November 1917 in an affluent Bhumihar Brahmin family in the village Motikoat in Varanasi. He was related to the Narayan dynasty, who were the royal family of the Benares State. Narain was directly associated with the family of Maharaja Chet Singh and Maharaja Balwant Singh, who were the rulers of Benares State, over a century earlier. He was educated at Banaras Hindu University, and did M.A. and LL.B.
Activities during India's Freedom Movement
A Political and Social worker he organized a school for adults, a girls school, a study centre and a labour organization and became member of Congress Socialist Party, in 1934, and National Committee of Students Federation, 1939–44. He was President of the Banaras University Mandal Congress Committee and Member of District Congress Committee (D.C.C.).
He was president of Student Congress during the 1942
Career after Independence
He was imprisoned 58 times for a period totaling about 15 years in connection with students' and socialist movements. [citation needed]
When India became independent, Raj Narain joined
He was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 1952 and was Leader of Opposition in the Assembly until 1962. The parties he was affiliated with included CSP (1934–48), Socialist Party (1948–52), Praja Socialist Party (1952–1955), Socialist Party (1956–64), Samyukta Socialist Party (1964–72), Socialist Party (1971–72), Socialist Party (Lohia) (1972–74), Bhartiya Lok Dal, (1974–77), Janata Party (1977–79), Janata Party (Secular) (1979–80), Democratic Socialist Party (1981–83), Janata Party (1983–84), and Socialist Party from 1984 till his death, in 1986. Party positions he held included, Member National Executive, PSP, 1954–55, Chairman, Socialist Party, 1961–64. He was also a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1966–72 and 1974–77.
Raj Narain opposed policies and practices of Prime Minister
The
Known as biggest critique and adversary of
Mrs. Gandhi lifted the state of emergency in January 1977, dissolved
Narain reluctantly joined the Morarji Desai government and became Minister of Health and Family Welfare. Narain's stint as minister lasted just over a year when he and Charan Singh were asked to resign for criticizing the Janata government.
Later on, he demanded that
Raj Narain had earlier called himself
Electoral history
- Rae Bareli
- Rae Bareli
- 1980 : Lost to Kamlapati Tripathi from Varanasi seat
- 1984 : Lost to Charan Singh from Baghpat seat. Congress was second in this seat.
Political associations
- Congress Socialist Party (CSP), 1934–48.
Inspector of Congress Socialist Party, 1946. District Secretary, Congress Socialist Party (SP), 1946.
- Member Socialist Party (SP), 1948–52.
Secretary, Uttar Pradesh Socialist Party (SP), 1948–51. Convener, ‘Janvani Diwas’ of Socialist Party in Delhi, on 9 June 1951.
- Member Praja Socialist Party (PSP), 1952–1955.
Member National Executive, PSP, 1954–55.
- Member, Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and First Leader of Opposition, 1952–1962.
- Member Socialist Party, 1956–64. (From 1 January 1956 to 9 June 1964) Chairman, Socialist Party, 1961–64.
Joined Samyukta Socialist Party (SSP) after the merger of PSP and SP.
- Member Samyukta Socialist Party (SSP), 1964–72. (9 June 1964 to 12, April 1972)
General Secretary Samyukta Socialist Party (SSP), 1964–66.
- Member Rajya Sabha, 1966–72. (For SSP)
- Member Socialist Party, 1971–72. (After the merger of PSP & SSP)
Revived Socialist Party (Lohia), in 1972 and was its Member, 1972–74. Merged SSP (Lohia) into BKD in 1974 and formed Bhartiya Lok Dal
- Member Bhartiya Lok Dal (BLD), 1974–77
- Member Rajya Sabha, 1974–77 (As BLD Candidate)
Formed Janata Party in 1977 after the merger of BLD, Bhartiya Jana sangh, Congress (O), Socialist Party and Congress for Democracy (CFD)
- Member Janata Party, 1977–79,
- Member 6th Lok Sabha, 1977–79. (Defeated Indira Gandhi in 1977)
- Member Union Cabinet as Health & Family Welfare Minister. (1977–78), removed from Union Cabinet in January 1979 and later on resigned from Janata Party in 1979. *Formed Janata Party (S) as its President and later as Chairman
- Joined Democratic Socialist Party, 1981–83 (With H. N. Bahuguna).
- Joined Janata Party, 1983–84. With Chandra Shekhar.
Contested against former Prime Minister Charan Singh, in 1984 Lok Sabha elections from Baghpat (U.P.) Formed Socialist Party in 1985, and was associated with this party till his death in 1986.
Personal life
Raj Narain was married and had three sons and one daughter. Raj Narain published ‘Janmukh’-a weekly from Varanasi and has been on the editorial board of ‘Jan’ a monthly established by Dr Rammanohar Lohia.
Legacy
- A commemorative stamp was released on him by the former Vice President of India, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on 23 March 2007.
- In 2012, the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav unveiled a statue in his memory at Chandrabhanu Gupta Agriculture college which is close to the state capital Lucknow.[8][9]
Books
- Towards a new health policy, by Raj Narain. 1977-8 pages. POPLINE Document Number: 783545. Author: NARAIN R. Source citation: New Delhi, India, Department of Family Welfare, www.popline.org/ docs/ 0299/ 783545.html.
- Raj Narain's Heath policy mentioned in Practicing health for all, by David Morley, Jon E. Rohde, Glen Williams. Oxford University Press, 1983 – Medical – 333 pages.
- Raj Narain's Heath policy mentioned in India: health care patterns and planning, by Rais Akhtar. 2004-343 pages. On page no.45 Raj Narain, were ideologically inclined towards de-professionalization, decentralization, and indigenous systems of medicine. The Janata party manifesto mentioned community health workers, and Raj Narain adopted it as a personal commitment (Leslie, 1985).
See also
Further reading
- Apaat Kaal Ka Dhoomketu:Raj Narain. Author: Dr.Yugeshwar.
- The New Yorker: Volume 56, Issues 1–8, 1980. Although Raj Narain is married and has four children, he long ago abandoned his family for celibacy and a ... No one is ever sure whether Raj Narain is expressing a genuine belief or saying something merely to attract attention.
- A family affair: India under three prime ministers.Ved Mehta – 1982 – 166 pages. The main project that Raj Narain had put forward as Janata Health Minister was a scheme to have each village select a ... Raj Narain's critics contended that his scheme would not only misappropriate meagre resources but also debase.
- राज नारायण -यादों के झरोखो से -कृष्ण प्रकाश शर्मा (In Hindi)
- लोकबंधु-सूर्यभान (In Hindi)
- राज नारायण का समाजवादी ब्यक्तित्व-सुप्रिया राय (In Hindi)
Footnotes
- ^ Indira was convicted of using the services of Yashpal Kapoor for election purposes while his resignation as a government servant was not yet accepted by the president.
References
- ^ a b Raj Narain. 6th Lok Sabha Members Bioprofile
- ^ a b Raj Narain; the Only Politician to Defeat India's Indira Gandhi. LA Times. 2 January 1987
- ^ 1975: Region Of Terror – Cover Story News. Indiatoday.intoday.in (2 July 2007). Retrieved on 2018-11-13.
- ISBN 978-0143029670.
- ISBN 978-0226731391.
- ISBN 978-0226731391.
- ISBN 9788121208048.
- ^ Swati Mathur (5 August 2012). "Akhilesh scales rooftop to address masses; proves he is not called young and dynamic without reason". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- ^ TNN (6 August 2012). "Akhilesh Yadav promises development for Bakshi ka Talaab, announces bonanza". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2012.