The death anniversary of Babu Jagjivan Ram demands a deep dive into life and times of the ‘Messiah of Dalits’, who truly symbolizes the dawn of an era of assertion, equality, empowerment and positive changes for the poor and downtrodden section of the society. Popularly known as Babuji, he was a crusader of social justice, a champion of the core issues confronting the depressed classes, an outstanding parliamentarian and a true democrat, who fought for social justice all through his life without bombastically claiming for all this.
On the event of him leaving Congress in Feb 1977 because of his failure to pursue Prime Minister to remove Emergency Measures, Outlook India wrote, “This dramatic gesture demoralised Mrs. Gandhi and boosted Opposition leaders, still recovering from 19 months in prison. It electrified the country into ousting the Congress from the throne of New Delhi for the first time since Independence.”
Right from the onset of his political career in 1936, Jagjivan Babu’s unflinching commitment to the developments of the country endeared him to all, paving way for a very long parliamentary and ministerial inning in successive governments spanning over half a century. He contributed immensely to the nation building process holding different portfolios at the Centre.
As India’s first Labour Minister, he brought in landmark changes in the labour laws like the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the Indian Trade Union (Amendment) Act, 1960, the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948 and the Provident Fund Act, 1952.
As an agriculture minister he was one of the pioneers of the Green Revolution, which resulted in a great increase in production of food grains, taking the country on the path of self-sufficiency and tide over the serious food crisis prevailing during that period. He also organized the much talked about public distribution system (PDS) to ensure that the food is made available to the masses at a reasonable price.
Whereas it was under his bold and inspiring leadership as defence minister, that India trounced Pakistan in 1971 war, galvanizing the entire nation and the Armed Forces to deal with this mammoth crisis.
And as a Transport Minister, he nationalized the private airlines and laid down the foundation of civil aviation revolution in the country, which later resulted in the genesis of Air India and Indian Airlines.
Similarly, as a railway minister, he modernized the lifeline of the country and took innumerable welfare measures for its employees also.
When in communication ministry, he spread postal facilities to the remote villages of the country.
Jagjivan Ram was a towering political personality, a crusader of social justice, an exceptionally gifted orator and a true democrate, who holds a world record of being a parliamentarian uninterrupted for a record 50 years between 1936 and 1986, besides being a member of the Constituent Assembly, which framed the constitution.
Widely called as the ‘Messiah of Dalits’, Babu Jagjivan Ram was in fact a ‘Crusader of revolutionary changes’, who helped transform the country. He might have missed the race for the Prime Ministership on several occasions owing to several political and social reasons, however, with his vast understanding of Indian social and political dynamics and issues, he remained very relevant in Indian politics till his last. His social-political views still hold relevance, especially for the nagging issues which need to be addressed with utmost precision.
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