Yogendra Shukla

2021-10-14T08:23:38Z

2405:204:8401:FB0C:70E7:F1C3:E35F:8D61: /* Kalapani */

{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
'''Yogendra Shukla''' (1896 – 19 November 1960) was an [[India]]n nationalist, freedom fighter from [[Bihar]]. He served in the [[Cellular Jail]] (''Kalapani''), and he was among the founders of [[Hindustan Socialist Republican Association]] (HSRA). Along with [[Basawon Singh (Sinha)]] he was among the founder members of [[Congress Socialist Party]] from [[Bihar]].<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article1243.html
| title = Dr Lohia's Life and Thought: Some Notes
| author = Surendra Mohan
| publisher = Mainstream
| volume = XLVII | issue = 14 | date = 21 March 2009
| access-date = 2009-03-23
}}</ref>

== Background ==
Yogendra Shukla and his nephew [[Baikuntha Shukla]] (15 May 1907 – 14 May 1934) hailed from [[List of villages in Lalganj block|Jalalpur village]] in [[Muzaffarpur district]] of [[Bengal Presidency]] (now [[Vaishali district]]) of [[Bihar]]. From 1932 to 1937, Yogendra served a prison sentence in Kalapani, as one of the leaders of the revolutionary movement in Bihar and [[Uttar Pradesh]]. He became famous for his many exploits. He was a senior associate of [[Bhagat Singh]] and [[Batukeshwar Datta]] and had even trained them. He had to serve prison terms for a total of more than sixteen and a half years for his revolutionary activities. During imprisonment in different jails of India, he was subjected to extreme torture, which corroded his iron constitution. He died in a sick condition and he had also become blind.

== Kalapani ==
In October 1932, the Judicial Secretary, A.C.Davies, as directed by the [[Governor in Council]] asked the DIG (CID) to suggest the names of the revolutionary convicts with a statement showing the offences for which they had been convicted, the sentence awarded and a brief note showing their connection with the revolutionary movement with a view to transferring them to the [[Cellular Jail|Andamans]].<ref name="Srivastava 1988">{{cite book
| first = N.M.P.
| last = Srivastava
| title = Struggle for Freedom: Some Great Indian Revolutionaries
| publisher = K.P.Jayaswal Research Institute, [[Government of Bihar]], [[Patna]]
| year = 1988
}}</ref> The DIG (CID) suggested the names of Yogendra Shukla, [[Basawon Singh (Sinha)]], Shyamdeo Narayan alias Ram Singh, Ishwar Dayal Singh, Kedar Mani Shukla, Mohit Chandra Adhikari and Ram Pratap Singh.<ref name="Srivastava 1988" />

Yogendra Shukla, [[Kedar Mani Shukla]] and [[Shyamdeo Narayan]] were transferred to the Andamans in December 1932.<ref name="Srivastava 1988" /> In 1937, Yogendra Shukla was transferred to Hazaribagh Central Jail as a result of his 46 days of hunger strike.<ref name="Srivastava 1988" /> When [[Sri Krishna Sinha]] formed the first Congress ministry in 1937, he took up the cause of political prisoners and his ministry resigned on the issue on 15 February 1938.<ref name="Srivastava 1988" /> As a result, the Viceroy conceded the demands and Yogendra Shukla along with other political prisoners was released in March 1938.<ref name="Srivastava 1988" />

== After release from Kalapani ==
Yogendra Shukla joined the [[Indian National Congress]] after his release and was elected vice-chairman of the Muzaffarpur District Congress Committee.<ref name="Srivastava 1988" /> He was also elected a member of the [[All India Congress Committee]] in 1938 but later joined the [[Congress Socialist Party]] at the instance of [[Jayaprakash Narayan]].<ref name="Srivastava 1988" /> 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]].<ref name="Srivastava 1988" />

== Quit India Movement ==
When [[Mahatma Gandhi]] 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 with a view to starting underground movement for freedom.<ref name="Srivastava 1988" /> As Jayaprakash Narayan was ill then, Shukla walked a distance to [[Gaya, India|Gaya]] with Jayaprakash Narayan on his shoulders, a distance of about 124 kilometres.<ref name="Srivastava 1988" /><ref>[https://maps.google.co.in/maps?saddr=Hazaribagh+Central+Jail,+Hazaribagh,+Jharkhand&daddr=Gaya,+Bihar&hl=en&sll=24.400154,85.161956&sspn=1.358153,2.705383&geocode=FbyIbgEdiIAWBSE11t7IkSieBylpMaxAKZz0OTE11t7IkSieBw%3BFescegEdP7gQBSkfPBsKRCrzOTGmNL-9I7L2zg&oq=gaya&t=h&dirflg=w&mra=ltm&z=9 Distance between Hazaribagh Central Jail and Gaya]</ref>

The [[British Government]] announced a reward of Rs. 5000 for the arrest of Shukla. He was arrested on 7 December 1942, at [[Muzaffarpur]].<ref name="Srivastava 1988" /> The government believed that one day before his arrest Shukla had helped four prisoners escape from Muzaffarpur jail.<ref name="Srivastava 1988" /> They were Surajdeo Singh, Ram Babu Kalwar, Brahmanand Gupta and Ganesh Rai.<ref name="Srivastava 1988" />

Yogendra Shukla was lodged in Buxar Jail and kept in bar fetters for three years.<ref name="Srivastava 1988" /> In March 1944, he launched hunger-strike in the Buxar Jail.<ref name="Srivastava 1988" />

== 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]] and continued there till 1960.<ref name="Srivastava 1988" /> In 1960, he was taken seriously ill as a result of long years of prison life. He died on 19 November 1960.<ref name="Srivastava 1988" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://pib.nic.in/archieve/lreleng/lyr2001/rjan2001/r29012001.html] Official biography given by the Government of India when a stamp was released on him.

== Further reading ==
* [[Manmath Nath Gupta]], ''History of the Indian Revolutionary Movement'', (first published in 1939), Somaiya Publications, 1972.
* Naina Singh Dhoot, Surinder Singh, ''The Political Memoirs of an Indian Revolutionary'', Manohar Publishers, New Delhi, 2005, {{ISBN|978-8173046339}}.
* ''[[Jayaprakash Narayan]]: Selected Works'', Jayaprakash Narayan, ed. by Bimal Prasad, Manohar, 2000, {{ISBN|978-8173043871}}.
* P. N. Ojha, ''History of the Indian National Congress in Bihar, 1885-1985'', [[K.P. Jayaswal Research Institute]], 1985.
* Onkar Sharad, ''J P: Jayaprakash Narayan: Biography, Thoughts, Letters, Documents'', Sahitya Bhawan, 2nd edn, 1977.
* N.M.P.Srivastava, ''Colonial Bihar, Independence, and Thereafter: A History of the Searchlight'', [[K.P. Jayaswal Research Institute]], Patna, India, 1998.

{{Indian Independence Movement}}
{{Indian Revolutionary Movement}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shukla, Yogendra}}
[[Category:1896 births]]
[[Category:1960 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian politicians]]
[[Category:Hindustan Socialist Republican Association]]
[[Category:Indian anarchists]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Bihar]]
[[Category:Indian prisoners and detainees]]
[[Category:Indian revolutionaries]]
[[Category:Indian socialists]]
[[Category:People from Muzaffarpur district]]
[[Category:Politicians from Patna]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of British India]]
[[Category:Revolutionary movement for Indian independence]]

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Yogendra Shukla