Sahajanand Saraswati: Difference between revisions

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{{Use Indian English|date=December 2013}}
{{Short description|Peasant leader and Indian independence activist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
|image         =Sahajanand Saraswati 2000 stamp of India.jpg
| image             = Sahajanand Saraswati 2000 stamp of India.jpg
|name         = Sahajanand Saraswati
| name               = Sahajanand Saraswati
|birth_place = [[Ghazipur]], [[North-Western Provinces]], [[British India]]
| birth_place       = [[Deva Village|Deva]], [[North-Western Provinces]], [[British India]]
|birth_date   ={{birth date|df=yes|1889|2|22}}
| birth_date         = {{birth date|df=yes|1889|2|22}}
|death_date   ={{death date and age|df=yes|1950|6|26|1889|2|22}}
| birth_name        = Naurang Rai
|death_place =[[Patna]], [[Bihar]], [[India]]  
| death_date         = {{death date and age|df=yes|1950|6|26|1889|2|22}}
|occupation   =[[Social reformer]], historian, philosopher, writer, [[ascetic]], [[revolutionary]], Farmer rights activist, politician
| death_place       = [[Muzaffarpur]], [[Bihar]], [[India]]
| occupation         = [[Social reformer]], historian, philosopher, writer, [[ascetic]], [[revolutionary]], Farmer rights activist, politician
}}
}}


'''Sahajanand Saraswati( real name Navrang Rai )''' {{audio|Sahajananda saraswati.ogg|pronunciation}} (22 February 1889 – 26 June 1950) was an [[ascetic]], a nationalist and a peasant leader of India.
'''Sahajanand Saraswati''' ([[Hindi]]: सहजानन्द सरस्वती [[Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu|/sɛɦɛdʒa:nɐnd sɐrɐswɐti/]] {{audio|Sahajananda saraswati.ogg|pronunciation}}, 22 February 1889 – 26 June 1950) was an [[ascetic]], a nationalist and a peasant leader of India. Although born in [[United Provinces of Agra and Oudh|United Provinces]] (present-day [[Uttar Pradesh]]), his social and political activities focussed mostly on [[Bihar]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nadkarni |first1=MV |title=The Bhagavad-Gita for the Modern Reader: History, Interpretations and Philosophy |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781315438993 |page=111}}</ref> in the initial days, and gradually spread to the rest of India with the formation of the [[All India Kisan Sabha]]. He had set up an ashram at [[Bihta]], near Patna, Bihar carried out most of his work in the later part of his life from there. He was an intellectual, prolific writer, [[social reformer]] and revolutionary.
 
Although born in North-Western Provinces (present-day [[Uttar Pradesh]]), his social and political activities focussed mostly on [[Bihar]] in the initial days, and gradually spread to the rest of India with the formation of the [[All India Kisan Sabha]]. He had set up an ashram at [[Bihta]], near Bihar carried out most of his work in the later part of his life from there. He was an intellectual, prolific writer, [[social reformer]] and revolutionary.


==Biography==
==Biography==
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati was born in [[Deva Village]] near Dullahpur, Ghazipur district in eastern North-Western Provinces in 1889 to a family of [[Jujhautiya Brahmin]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Sharma |last=Raghav Sharan |title=Builders of Modern India: Swami Sahajanand Saraswati |publisher=Prakashan Vibhag, Suchna evam Prasaran Mantralaya, Bharat Sarkar |location=New Delhi |year=2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Peter |last=Robb |title=Peasants, Political Economy and Law (at p. 38, fn. 36) |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-19-568160-4}}</ref> He was the last of six sons and was then called Naurang Rai. His mother died when he was a child and he was raised by an aunt.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.virginia.edu/soasia/symsem/kisan/papers/swami.html|title=Swami And Friends – Arvind N. Das|work=virginia.edu}}</ref>
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati was born in [[Deva Village]] near Dullahpur, Ghazipur district in eastern Uttar Pradesh Provinces in 1889 to a [[Bhumihar]] family.<ref>{{cite book |first=Peter |last=Robb |title=Peasants, Political Economy and Law (at p. 38, fn. 36) |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-19-568160-4}}</ref> He was the last of six sons and was then called Naurang Rai. His mother died in his childhood, and he was raised by his aunt.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.virginia.edu/soasia/symsem/kisan/papers/swami.html|title=Swami And Friends – Arvind N. Das|work=virginia.edu}}</ref>


The Kisan Sabha movement started in Bihar under the leadership of Saraswati who had formed in 1929 the [[Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha]] (BPKS) in order to mobilise peasant grievances against the [[zamindari]] attacks on their occupancy rights, and thus sparking the farmers' movements in India.<ref>{{cite book |first=Śekhara |last=Bandyopādhyāya |title=From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India |publisher=[[Orient Longman]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-81-250-2596-2 |page=406}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Peasant Struggles in India |first=Akshayakumar Ramanlal |last=Desai |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1979 |page=349}}</ref>
The Kisan Sabha movement started in Bihar under the leadership of Saraswati, who formed the [[Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha]] (BPKS) in 1929, to mobilise peasant grievances against the [[zamindari]] attacks on their occupancy rights, and thus sparking the farmers' movements in India.<ref>{{cite book |first=Śekhara |last=Bandyopādhyāya |title=From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India |publisher=[[Orient Longman]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-81-250-2596-2 |page=406}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Peasant Struggles in India |first=Akshayakumar Ramanlal |last=Desai |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1979 |page=349}}</ref>


Gradually the peasant movement intensified and spread across the rest of India. All these radical developments on the peasant front culminated in the formation of the [[All India Kisan Sabha]] (AIKS) at the [[Lucknow]] session of the [[Indian National Congress]] in April 1936 with Saraswati elected as its first President<ref>{{cite book |first=Śekhara |last=Bandyopādhyāya |title=From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India |publisher=[[Orient Longman]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-81-250-2596-2 |page=407}}</ref> and it involved prominent leaders such as [[N. G. Ranga]] and [[E. M. S. Namboodiripad]]. The Kisan Manifesto, which was released in August 1936, demanded abolition of the zamindari system and cancellation of rural debts. In October 1937, the AIKS adopted the red flag as its banner.<ref>{{cite book |title=Mahatma Gandhi |first=Sankar |last=Ghose |publisher=Allied Publishers |year=1991 |isbn=81-7023-205-8 |page=262}}</ref> Soon, its leaders became increasingly distant with Congress, and repeatedly came in confrontation with Congress governments in Bihar and United Province.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}
Gradually the peasant movement intensified and spread across the rest of India. All these radical developments on the peasant front culminated in the formation of the [[All India Kisan Sabha]] (AIKS) at the [[Lucknow]] session of the [[Indian National Congress]] in April 1936 with Saraswati elected as its first President<ref>{{cite book |first=Śekhara |last=Bandyopādhyāya |title=From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India |publisher=[[Orient Longman]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-81-250-2596-2 |page=407}}</ref> and it involved prominent leaders such as [[N. G. Ranga]] and [[E. M. S. Namboodiripad]]. The Kisan Manifesto, which was released in August 1936, demanded abolition of the zamindari system and cancellation of rural debts. In October 1937, the AIKS adopted the red flag as its banner.<ref>{{cite book |title=Mahatma Gandhi |first=Sankar |last=Ghose |publisher=Allied Publishers |year=1991 |isbn=81-7023-205-8 |page=262}}</ref> Soon, its leaders became increasingly distant with Congress, and repeatedly came in confrontation with Congress governments in Bihar and United Province.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}


Saraswati organised the Bakasht Movement in Bihar in 1937–1938. "Bakasht" means self-cultivated. The movement was against the eviction of tenants from Bakasht lands by [[zamindar]]s and led to the passing of the Bihar Tenancy Act and the Bakasht Land Tax.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=23eYY4sR3KQC&pg=PA175|title=Rural Development And Social Change: Thoughts Of Swami Sahajanand|last=Kumar|first=Dalip|year=2007|publisher=Deep & Deep Publications|isbn=9788184500004}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GL_yRdwbQP8C&pg=PA79|title=Agrarian Movements in India: Studies on 20th Century Bihar|last=Das|first=Arvind N.|year=1982|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9780714632162}}</ref> He also led the successful struggle in the Dalmia Sugar Mill at [[Bihta]], where peasant-worker unity was the most important characteristic.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HvYpVtBXw5kC&pg=PA24|title=Insurrection to Agitation: The Naxalite Movement in Punjab|last=Judge|first=Paramjit S.|date=1992|publisher=Popular Prakashan|isbn=9788171545278}}</ref>
Saraswati organised the Bakasht Movement in Bihar in 1937–1938. "Bakasht" means self-cultivated. The movement was against the eviction of tenants from Bakasht lands by [[zamindar]]s and led to the passing of the Bihar Tenancy Act and the Bakasht Land Tax.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=23eYY4sR3KQC&pg=PA175|title=Rural Development And Social Change: Thoughts Of Swami Sahajanand|last=Kumar|first=Dalip|year=2007|publisher=Deep & Deep Publications|isbn=9788184500004}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GL_yRdwbQP8C&pg=PA79|title=Agrarian Movements in India: Studies on 20th Century Bihar|last=Das|first=Arvind N.|year=1982|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9780714632162}}</ref> He also led the successful struggle in the Dalmia Sugar Mill at [[Bihta]], where peasant-worker unity was the most important characteristic.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HvYpVtBXw5kC&pg=PA24|title=Insurrection to Agitation: The Naxalite Movement in Punjab|last=Judge|first=Paramjit S.|date=1992|publisher=Popular Prakashan|isbn=9788171545278}}</ref>
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On hearing of Saraswati's arrest during the [[Quit India Movement]], [[Subhash Chandra Bose]] and [[All India Forward Bloc]] decided to observe 28 April as [[All-India Swami Sahajanand Day]] in protest of his  incarceration by the [[British Raj]].<ref name="bose">{{cite book |first=S. K. |last=Bose |author-link=Subhash Chandra Bose |title=Subhas Chandra Bose: The Alternative Leadership&nbsp;– Speeches, Articles, Statements and Letters |publisher=[[Orient Longman]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-81-7824-104-3 |page=244}}</ref>
On hearing of Saraswati's arrest during the [[Quit India Movement]], [[Subhash Chandra Bose]] and [[All India Forward Bloc]] decided to observe 28 April as [[All-India Swami Sahajanand Day]] in protest of his  incarceration by the [[British Raj]].<ref name="bose">{{cite book |first=S. K. |last=Bose |author-link=Subhash Chandra Bose |title=Subhas Chandra Bose: The Alternative Leadership&nbsp;– Speeches, Articles, Statements and Letters |publisher=[[Orient Longman]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-81-7824-104-3 |page=244}}</ref>


Saraswati died on 26 June 1950.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}
Saraswati died on 26 June 1950.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mahotsav |first=Amrit |title=Swami Sahajanand Saraswati |url=https://amritmahotsav.nic.in/unsung-heroes-detail.htm?22632 |access-date=5 December 2023 |website=Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Ministry of Culture, Government of India |language=English}}</ref>


Subhash Chandra Bose, leader of the Forward Bloc, said: {{quote|Swami Sahajanand Saraswati is, in the land of ours, a name to conjure with. The undisputed leader of the peasant movement in India, he is today the idol of the masses and the hero of millions. It was indeed a rare fortune to get him as the chairman of the Reception Committee of the All India Anti-Compromise Conference at Ramgarh. For the Forward Block it was a privilege and an honour to get him as one of the foremost leaders of the Left movement and as a friend, philosopher and guide of the Forward Block itself. Following Swamiji's lead, a large number of front-rank leaders of the peasant movement have been intimately associated with the Forward Block.<ref name="bose" />}}
Subhash Chandra Bose, leader of the Forward Bloc, said: {{blockquote|Swami Sahajanand Saraswati is, in the land of ours, a name to conjure with. The undisputed leader of the peasant movement in India, he is today the idol of the masses and the hero of millions. It was indeed a rare fortune to get him as the chairman of the Reception Committee of the All India Anti-Compromise Conference at Ramgarh. For the Forward Block it was a privilege and an honour to get him as one of the foremost leaders of the Left movement and as a friend, philosopher and guide of the Forward Block itself. Following Swamiji's lead, a large number of front-rank leaders of the peasant movement have been intimately associated with the Forward Block.<ref name="bose" />}}


==Publication==
Three reformist leaders, namely, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Swami Vivekananda, and Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, each in his own way, played a modernising role in our socio-cultural tradition.<ref name="Pradhan 2018">{{cite book| first = Ramchandra| last = Pradhan| author-link = Ramchandra Pradhan (trans. and ed.)| title = The Struggle of My Life: Autobiography of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]| location = New Delhi, India| year = 2018| isbn = 978-0-19-948036-4 | page = xiv (preface)}}</ref> Both [[Dayananda]] and [[Vivekananda]] established their own socio-religious sects.<ref name="Pradhan 2018" /> But they had shied away from direct involvement with the political processes of the country, though they had become a major source of inspiration for Indian nationalism.<ref name="Pradhan 2018" /> On the other hand, Sahajanand did not found any religious sect.<ref name="Pradhan 2018" /> He engaged in social work for a while.<ref name="Pradhan 2018" /> Soon, he got directly involved in the national movement and even spent a number of years behind bars.<ref name="Pradhan 2018" /> Besides, he was not only instrumental in founding the organised peasant movement in India but also later assumed the role of its putative progenitor.<ref name="Pradhan 2018" />


==Publications==
Saraswati's publications include:<ref name="Saraswati 2003 519 Volume 1">{{cite book |first=Sahajanand |last=Saraswati |title=Swami Sahajanand Saraswati Rachnawali in Six volumes |publisher=Prakashan Sansthan |location=Delhi |year=2003 |isbn=81-7714-097-3 }}</ref>
Saraswati's publications include:<ref name="Saraswati 2003 519 Volume 1">{{cite book |first=Sahajanand |last=Saraswati |title=Swami Sahajanand Saraswati Rachnawali in Six volumes |publisher=Prakashan Sansthan |location=Delhi |year=2003 |isbn=81-7714-097-3 }}</ref>


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===Autobiographical works===
===Autobiographical works===
#  ''Mera Jeewan Sangharsha'' (My LIfe Struggle), in Hindi.
#  ''Mera Jeewan Sangharsha'' (My Life Struggle), in Hindi.
#  ''Kisan Sabha ke Sansmaran'' (Recollections of the Kisan Sabha), in Hindi.
#  ''Kisan Sabha ke Sansmaran'' (Recollections of the Kisan Sabha), in Hindi.
#  ''Maharudra ka Mahatandav'', in Hindi.
#  ''Maharudra ka Mahatandav'', in Hindi.
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*''Sahajanand on Agricultural Labour and the Rural Poor'' translated and edited by [[Walter Hauser]] Manohar Publishers, paperback, 2005.
*''Sahajanand on Agricultural Labour and the Rural Poor'' translated and edited by [[Walter Hauser]] Manohar Publishers, paperback, 2005.
*''Religion, Politics, and the Peasants: A Memoir of India's Freedom Movement'' translated and edited by [[Walter Hauser]] Manohar Publishers, hardbound, 2003.
*''Religion, Politics, and the Peasants: A Memoir of India's Freedom Movement'' translated and edited by [[Walter Hauser]] Manohar Publishers, hardbound, 2003.
*Walter Hauser, along with K.C. Jha, (editor and translator of Swami Sahajanand’s autobiography ''Mera Jivan Sangharsh'' – My Life Struggle) Culture, Vernacular Politics and the Peasants: India, 1889-1950, Delhi, Manohar, 2015.
*Walter Hauser, along with K.C. Jha, (editor and translator of Swami Sahajanand's autobiography ''Mera Jivan Sangharsh'' – My Life Struggle) Culture, Vernacular Politics and the Peasants: India, 1889–1950, Delhi, Manohar, 2015.
*Ramchandra Pradhan (editor and translator), ''The Struggle of My Life: Autobiography of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati'', Delhi, [[Oxford University Press]], 2018.
* Ramchandra Pradhan (editor and translator), ''The Struggle of My Life: Autobiography of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati'', Delhi, [[Oxford University Press]], 2018.
* [[Pratyush Kumar]], Homo Connubialis Brahmanicus: Marriage Relations Among Brahmins, Baden-Baden: Nomos (Ergon), Germany, 2025, ISBN  978-3-98740-189-3 (Print).
* Ramchandra Pradhan (editor and translator), Reminiscences and Struggles of the Kisan Sabha (Selected Works of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati Vol. I), New Delhi: Primus Books, 2025.
* Ramchandra Pradhan (editor and translator), What Should Peasants Do? (Selected Works of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati Vol. II), New Delhi: Primus Books, 2025.
* Ramchandra Pradhan (editor and translator), Major Addresses of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati (Selected Works of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati Vol. III), New Delhi: Primus Books, 2025.
* Ramchandra Pradhan (editor and translator), Major Essays and Other Writings (Selected Works of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati Vol. IV), New Delhi: Primus Books, 2025.


==Biographies==
==Biographies==
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The [[Indian Council of Agricultural Research]] gives the [[Swamy Sahajanand Saraswati Extension Scientist/ Worker Award]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.icar.org.in/awards.htm |title=Indian Council of Agricultural Research Awards |publisher=[[Indian Council of Agricultural Research]] |date=3 September 2008 |access-date=3 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531202003/http://www.icar.org.in/awards.htm |archive-date=31 May 2008}}</ref>
The [[Indian Council of Agricultural Research]] gives the [[Swamy Sahajanand Saraswati Extension Scientist/ Worker Award]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.icar.org.in/awards.htm |title=Indian Council of Agricultural Research Awards |publisher=[[Indian Council of Agricultural Research]] |date=3 September 2008 |access-date=3 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531202003/http://www.icar.org.in/awards.htm |archive-date=31 May 2008}}</ref>


In 2001, a two-day Kisan Mahapanchayat was organised on the occasion of the 112th birth anniversary of Saraswati.<ref>{{cite news
In 2001, a two-day Kisan Mahapanchayat was organised on the occasion of the 112th birth anniversary of Saraswati.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/22346681.cms |title=Cong erred by joining RJD govt, says Rama Pilot |work=[[The Times of India]] |date=23 February 2001 |access-date=23 February 2009}}</ref>
|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/22346681.cms
|title=Cong erred by joining RJD govt, says Rama Pilot
|work=[[The Times of India]]
|date=23 February 2001
|access-date=23 February 2009
}}</ref>


Bihar Governor [[R. S. Gavai]] released a book on the life of Saraswati on his 57th death anniversary in Patna.<ref>{{cite news
Bihar Governor [[R. S. Gavai]] released a book on the life of Saraswati on his 57th death anniversary in Patna.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.patnadaily.com/news2007/june/062607/tribute_to_sahajanand.html |title= Governor Pays Rich Tribute to Swami Sahajanand |publisher = PatnaDaily.com |date = 26 June 2007|access-date = 19 August 2008
|url         = http://www.patnadaily.com/news2007/june/062607/tribute_to_sahajanand.html
|url-status    = dead |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20081001010517/http://www.patnadaily.com/news2007/june/062607/tribute_to_sahajanand.html |archive-date=1 October 2008}}</ref>
|title       = Governor Pays Rich Tribute to Swami Sahajanand
|publisher   = PatnaDaily.com
|date       = 26 June 2007
|access-date = 19 August 2008
|url-status    = dead
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20081001010517/http://www.patnadaily.com/news2007/june/062607/tribute_to_sahajanand.html
|archive-date = 1 October 2008
|df          = dmy-all
}}</ref>


Swami Sahajanand Postgraduate College is established in his home district Ghazipur (U.P.) in the pious memory of Swami Sahajanand.
Swami Sahajanand Postgraduate College is established in his home district Ghazipur (U.P.) in memory of Swami Sahajanand.


==See also==
==See also==
* [[Agrarian struggle in Bihar]]
* [[Mata Badal Koeri]]
* [[Debt bondage in India]]
* [[Debt bondage in India]]
* [[All India United Kisan Sabha]]
* [[All India United Kisan Sabha]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Reflist}}


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
{{Refbegin|2}}  
{{Refbegin|2}}  
* [[Pratyush Kumar]], Homo Connubialis Brahmanicus: Marriage Relations Among Brahmins, Baden-Baden: Nomos (Ergon), Germany, 2025, ISBN  978-3-98740-189-3 (Print).
*''Sahajanand on Agricultural Labour and the Rural Poor'', edited by [[Walter Hauser]], Manohar Publishers, paperback, 2005, {{ISBN|81-7304-600-X}}
*''Sahajanand on Agricultural Labour and the Rural Poor'', edited by [[Walter Hauser]], Manohar Publishers, paperback, 2005, {{ISBN|81-7304-600-X}}
*Swami And Friends: Sahajanand Saraswati And Those Who Refuse To Let The Past of Bihar's Peasant Movements Become History By [[Arvind Narayan Das]], Paper for the Peasant Symposium, May 1997 [[University of Virginia]], [[Charlottesville]], [[Virginia]]
*Swami And Friends: Sahajanand Saraswati And Those Who Refuse To Let The Past of Bihar's Peasant Movements Become History By [[Arvind Narayan Das]], Paper for the Peasant Symposium, May 1997 [[University of Virginia]], [[Charlottesville]], [[Virginia]]
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==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Sahajanand Saraswati}}
{{Commons category|Sahajanand Saraswati}}
* [http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/Misc/Sss/sahaj.html Swami Sahajanand Saraswati images]
* https://www.iaaw.hu-berlin.de/de/region/suedasien/publikationen/sachronik/11-focus-kumar-pratyush-a-kisan-at-the-crossroads-of-history-politics-and-law-political-thought-and-action-of-swami-sahajanand-saraswati.pdf
* [http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/Misc/Sss/sahaj.html Swami Sahajanand Saraswati images] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226222451/http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/Misc/Sss/sahaj.html |date=26 February 2009 }}
* http://www.bihartimes.in/articles/Manish_Thakur/swami_sahjanand.html
* http://www.bihartimes.in/articles/Manish_Thakur/swami_sahjanand.html
* https://prahri.com/culture/sahjanand-saraswati-a-nationalist-and-peasent-leader/7100/


{{Indian independence movement}}
{{Indian independence movement}}
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[[Category:20th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians]]
[[Category:20th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians]]
[[Category:Indian autobiographers]]
[[Category:Indian autobiographers]]
[[Category:Indian memoirists]]
[[Category:Historians of India]]
[[Category:Historians of India]]
[[Category:People from Ghazipur]]
[[Category:People from Ghazipur]]
[[Category:Writers from Patna]]
[[Category:Writers from Patna]]
[[Category:People of British India]]
[[Category:Indian political philosophers]]
[[Category:Political philosophers]]
[[Category:Hindi-language Indian writers]]
[[Category:Hindi-language writers]]
[[Category:Indian Marxists]]
[[Category:Indian Marxists]]
[[Category:Marxist humanists]]
[[Category:Marxist humanists]]
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[[Category:20th-century Indian historians]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian historians]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian biographers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian biographers]]
[[Category:Farmers' rights activists]]
[[Category:Indian farmers' rights activists]]
[[Category:20th-century memoirists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian memoirists]]

Latest revision as of 21:24, 1 January 2026


Sahajanand Saraswati
Born
Naurang Rai

(1889-02-22)22 February 1889
Deva, North-Western Provinces, British India
Died26 June 1950(1950-06-26) (aged 61)
Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India
OccupationSocial reformer, historian, philosopher, writer, ascetic, revolutionary, Farmer rights activist, politician

Sahajanand Saraswati (Hindi: सहजानन्द सरस्वती /sɛɦɛdʒa:nɐnd sɐrɐswɐti/ About this soundpronunciation (help·info), 22 February 1889 – 26 June 1950) was an ascetic, a nationalist and a peasant leader of India. Although born in United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh), his social and political activities focussed mostly on Bihar[1] in the initial days, and gradually spread to the rest of India with the formation of the All India Kisan Sabha. He had set up an ashram at Bihta, near Patna, Bihar carried out most of his work in the later part of his life from there. He was an intellectual, prolific writer, social reformer and revolutionary.

Biography[edit | edit source]

Swami Sahajanand Saraswati was born in Deva Village near Dullahpur, Ghazipur district in eastern Uttar Pradesh Provinces in 1889 to a Bhumihar family.[2] He was the last of six sons and was then called Naurang Rai. His mother died in his childhood, and he was raised by his aunt.[3]

The Kisan Sabha movement started in Bihar under the leadership of Saraswati, who formed the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (BPKS) in 1929, to mobilise peasant grievances against the zamindari attacks on their occupancy rights, and thus sparking the farmers' movements in India.[4][5]

Gradually the peasant movement intensified and spread across the rest of India. All these radical developments on the peasant front culminated in the formation of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) at the Lucknow session of the Indian National Congress in April 1936 with Saraswati elected as its first President[6] and it involved prominent leaders such as N. G. Ranga and E. M. S. Namboodiripad. The Kisan Manifesto, which was released in August 1936, demanded abolition of the zamindari system and cancellation of rural debts. In October 1937, the AIKS adopted the red flag as its banner.[7] Soon, its leaders became increasingly distant with Congress, and repeatedly came in confrontation with Congress governments in Bihar and United Province.[citation needed]

Saraswati organised the Bakasht Movement in Bihar in 1937–1938. "Bakasht" means self-cultivated. The movement was against the eviction of tenants from Bakasht lands by zamindars and led to the passing of the Bihar Tenancy Act and the Bakasht Land Tax.[8][9] He also led the successful struggle in the Dalmia Sugar Mill at Bihta, where peasant-worker unity was the most important characteristic.[10]

On hearing of Saraswati's arrest during the Quit India Movement, Subhash Chandra Bose and All India Forward Bloc decided to observe 28 April as All-India Swami Sahajanand Day in protest of his incarceration by the British Raj.[11]

Saraswati died on 26 June 1950.[12]

Subhash Chandra Bose, leader of the Forward Bloc, said:

Swami Sahajanand Saraswati is, in the land of ours, a name to conjure with. The undisputed leader of the peasant movement in India, he is today the idol of the masses and the hero of millions. It was indeed a rare fortune to get him as the chairman of the Reception Committee of the All India Anti-Compromise Conference at Ramgarh. For the Forward Block it was a privilege and an honour to get him as one of the foremost leaders of the Left movement and as a friend, philosopher and guide of the Forward Block itself. Following Swamiji's lead, a large number of front-rank leaders of the peasant movement have been intimately associated with the Forward Block.[11]

Three reformist leaders, namely, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Swami Vivekananda, and Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, each in his own way, played a modernising role in our socio-cultural tradition.[13] Both Dayananda and Vivekananda established their own socio-religious sects.[13] But they had shied away from direct involvement with the political processes of the country, though they had become a major source of inspiration for Indian nationalism.[13] On the other hand, Sahajanand did not found any religious sect.[13] He engaged in social work for a while.[13] Soon, he got directly involved in the national movement and even spent a number of years behind bars.[13] Besides, he was not only instrumental in founding the organised peasant movement in India but also later assumed the role of its putative progenitor.[13]

Publications[edit | edit source]

Saraswati's publications include:[14]

Books[edit | edit source]

  1. Bhumihar Brahmin Parichay (Introduction to Bhumihar Brahmins), in Hindi.
  2. Jhootha Bhay Mithya Abhiman (False Fear False Pride), in Hindi.
  3. Brahman Kaun?
  4. Brahman Samaj ki Sthiti (Situation of the Brahmin Society) in Hindi.
  5. Brahmarshi Vansha Vistar in Sanskrit, Hindi and English.
  6. Karmakalap, in Sanskrit and Hindi.

Autobiographical works[edit | edit source]

  1. Mera Jeewan Sangharsha (My Life Struggle), in Hindi.
  2. Kisan Sabha ke Sansmaran (Recollections of the Kisan Sabha), in Hindi.
  3. Maharudra ka Mahatandav, in Hindi.
  4. Jang aur Rashtriya Azadi
  5. Ab Kya ho?
  6. Gaya jile mein sava maas
  7. Samyukta Kisan Sabha, Samyukta Samajvadi Sabha ke Dastavez.
  8. Kisanon ke Dave
  9. Dhakaich ka bhashan

Ideological works[edit | edit source]

  1. Kranti aur Samyukta Morcha
  2. Gita Hridaya (Heart of the Gita)
  3. Kisanon ke Dave
  4. Maharudra ka Mahatandav
  5. Kalyan mein chapein lekh

Works related to peasantry and Zamindars[edit | edit source]

  1. Kisan kaise ladten hain?
  2. Kisan kya karen?
  3. Zamindaron ka khatma kaise ho?
  4. Kisan ke dost aur dushman
  5. Bihar prantiya kisansabha ka ghoshna patra
  6. Kisanon ki phasane ki taiyariyan
  7. On the other side
  8. Rent reduction in Bihar, How it Works?
  9. Zamindari kyon utha di jaye?
  10. Khet Mazdoor (Agricultural Labourer), in Hindi, written in Hazaribagh Central Jail.
  11. Jharkhand ke kisan
  12. Bhumi vyavastha kaisi ho?
  13. Kisan andolan kyun aur kya?
  14. Gaya ke Kisanon ki Karun Kahani
  15. Ab kya ho?
  16. Congress tab aur ab
  17. Congress ne kisanon ke liye kya kiya?
  18. Maharudra ka Mahatandav
  19. Swamiji ki Diary
  20. Kisan sabha ke dastavez
  21. Swamiji ke patrachar
  22. Lok sangraha mein chapen lekh
  23. Hunkar mein chapein lekh
  24. Vishal Bharat mein chapein lekh
  25. Bagi mein chapein lekh
  26. Bhumihar Brahmin mein chapein lekh
  27. Swamiji ki Bhashan Mala
  28. Krishak mein chapein lekh
  29. Yogi mein chapein lekh
  30. Kisan sevak
  31. Anya lekh
  32. Address of the chairman, Reception Committee, The All India Anti-Compromise Conference, First Session, Kisan Nagar, Ramgarh, Hazaribagh, 19 & 20 March 1940, Ramgarh, 1940.
  33. Presidential Address, 8th Annual Session of the Kisan Sabha, Bezwada, 1944.

Translations into English[edit | edit source]

  • Swami Sahajanand and the Peasants of Jharkhand: A View from 1941 translated and edited by Walter Hauser along with the unedited Hindi original (Manohar Publishers, paperback, 2005).
  • Sahajanand on Agricultural Labour and the Rural Poor translated and edited by Walter Hauser Manohar Publishers, paperback, 2005.
  • Religion, Politics, and the Peasants: A Memoir of India's Freedom Movement translated and edited by Walter Hauser Manohar Publishers, hardbound, 2003.
  • Walter Hauser, along with K.C. Jha, (editor and translator of Swami Sahajanand's autobiography Mera Jivan Sangharsh – My Life Struggle) Culture, Vernacular Politics and the Peasants: India, 1889–1950, Delhi, Manohar, 2015.
  • Ramchandra Pradhan (editor and translator), The Struggle of My Life: Autobiography of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2018.
  • Pratyush Kumar, Homo Connubialis Brahmanicus: Marriage Relations Among Brahmins, Baden-Baden: Nomos (Ergon), Germany, 2025, ISBN 978-3-98740-189-3 (Print).
  • Ramchandra Pradhan (editor and translator), Reminiscences and Struggles of the Kisan Sabha (Selected Works of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati Vol. I), New Delhi: Primus Books, 2025.
  • Ramchandra Pradhan (editor and translator), What Should Peasants Do? (Selected Works of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati Vol. II), New Delhi: Primus Books, 2025.
  • Ramchandra Pradhan (editor and translator), Major Addresses of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati (Selected Works of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati Vol. III), New Delhi: Primus Books, 2025.
  • Ramchandra Pradhan (editor and translator), Major Essays and Other Writings (Selected Works of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati Vol. IV), New Delhi: Primus Books, 2025.

Biographies[edit | edit source]

  • Nilanshu Ranjan, Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, National Book Trust, New Delhi, ISBN 978-81-237-6486-3.
  • Raghav Sharan Sharma, Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, Publications Division, Government of India, 2008.

Official recognition[edit | edit source]

The Government of India issued a commemorative stamp in commemoration of Saraswati on 26 June 2000 by Ram Vilas Paswan, the then Minister of Communications.[15][16]

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research gives the Swamy Sahajanand Saraswati Extension Scientist/ Worker Award.[17]

In 2001, a two-day Kisan Mahapanchayat was organised on the occasion of the 112th birth anniversary of Saraswati.[18]

Bihar Governor R. S. Gavai released a book on the life of Saraswati on his 57th death anniversary in Patna.[19]

Swami Sahajanand Postgraduate College is established in his home district Ghazipur (U.P.) in memory of Swami Sahajanand.

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Nadkarni, MV (2016). The Bhagavad-Gita for the Modern Reader: History, Interpretations and Philosophy. Routledge. p. 111. ISBN 9781315438993.
  2. ↑ Robb, Peter (2007). Peasants, Political Economy and Law (at p. 38, fn. 36). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-568160-4.
  3. ↑ "Swami And Friends – Arvind N. Das". virginia.edu.
  4. ↑ Bandyopādhyāya, Śekhara (2004). From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India. Orient Longman. p. 406. ISBN 978-81-250-2596-2.
  5. ↑ Desai, Akshayakumar Ramanlal (1979). Peasant Struggles in India. Oxford University Press. p. 349.
  6. ↑ Bandyopādhyāya, Śekhara (2004). From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India. Orient Longman. p. 407. ISBN 978-81-250-2596-2.
  7. ↑ Ghose, Sankar (1991). Mahatma Gandhi. Allied Publishers. p. 262. ISBN 81-7023-205-8.
  8. ↑ Kumar, Dalip (2007). Rural Development And Social Change: Thoughts Of Swami Sahajanand. Deep & Deep Publications. ISBN 9788184500004.
  9. ↑ Das, Arvind N. (1982). Agrarian Movements in India: Studies on 20th Century Bihar. Psychology Press. ISBN 9780714632162.
  10. ↑ Judge, Paramjit S. (1992). Insurrection to Agitation: The Naxalite Movement in Punjab. Popular Prakashan. ISBN 9788171545278.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Bose, S. K. (2004). Subhas Chandra Bose: The Alternative Leadership – Speeches, Articles, Statements and Letters. Orient Longman. p. 244. ISBN 978-81-7824-104-3.
  12. ↑ Mahotsav, Amrit. "Swami Sahajanand Saraswati". Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 Pradhan, Ramchandra (2018). The Struggle of My Life: Autobiography of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati. New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press. p. xiv (preface). ISBN 978-0-19-948036-4.
  14. ↑ Saraswati, Sahajanand (2003). Swami Sahajanand Saraswati Rachnawali in Six volumes. Delhi: Prakashan Sansthan. ISBN 81-7714-097-3.
  15. ↑ "Photo". pib.nic.in.
  16. ↑ Chadha, Sushma (10 July 2000). "A dull June for philatelists". Financial Express. Archived from the original on 26 February 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  17. ↑ "Indian Council of Agricultural Research Awards". Indian Council of Agricultural Research. 3 September 2008. Archived from the original on 31 May 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2008.
  18. ↑ "Cong erred by joining RJD govt, says Rama Pilot". The Times of India. 23 February 2001. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  19. ↑ "Governor Pays Rich Tribute to Swami Sahajanand". PatnaDaily.com. 26 June 2007. Archived from the original on 1 October 2008. Retrieved 19 August 2008.

Further reading[edit | edit source]

  • Pratyush Kumar, Homo Connubialis Brahmanicus: Marriage Relations Among Brahmins, Baden-Baden: Nomos (Ergon), Germany, 2025, ISBN 978-3-98740-189-3 (Print).
  • Sahajanand on Agricultural Labour and the Rural Poor, edited by Walter Hauser, Manohar Publishers, paperback, 2005, ISBN 81-7304-600-X
  • Swami And Friends: Sahajanand Saraswati And Those Who Refuse To Let The Past of Bihar's Peasant Movements Become History By Arvind Narayan Das, Paper for the Peasant Symposium, May 1997 University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
  • Bagchi, A.K., 1976, 'Deindustrialisation in Gangetic Bihar, 1809– 1901' in Essays in Honour of Prof. S.C. Sarkar, New Delhi.
  • Banaji, Jairus, 1976, "The Peasantry in the Feudal MOde of Production: Towards an Economic Model", Journal of Peasant Studies, April.
  • Bandopadhyay, D., 1973, `Agrarian Relations in Two Bihar Districts', Mainstream, 2 June, New Delhi.
  • Banerjee, N., 1978, `All the Backwards', Sunday, 9 April, Calcutta. Bihar, 1938, Board of Revenue, Average Prices of Staple Food Crops from 1888, Patna.
  • Judith M. Brown, 1972, Gandhi's Rise to Power: Indian Politics, 1915–1922, London.
  • Datta, K.K., 1957, History of the Freedom Movement in Bihar, Patna.
  • Devanand, Swami, 1958, Virat Kisan Samaroh (Massive Peasant Convention), in Hindi, Bihar Kisan Sangh, Bihta.
  • R, R.Diwakar, ed., 1957, Bihar Through the Ages, Patna.
  • Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, 1921, 'The Zamindar and the Ryots', Young India, Vol. III (New Series) No. 153, 18 May.
  • Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, 1940, An Autobiography or The Story of My experiments in Truth, Ahmedabad.
  • Maharaj, R.N., 1976, 'Freed Bonded Labour Camp at Palamau', National Labour Institute Bulletin, October, New Delhi.
  • Mishra, G., 1968. 'The Socio-economic Background of Gandhi's Champaran Movement', Indian Economic and Social History Review, 5(3), New Delhi.
  • Mishra, G., 1978, Agrarian Problems of Permanent Settlement: A Case Study of Champaran, New Delhi.
  • Mitra, Manoshi, 1983, Agrarian Social Structure in Bihar: Continuity and Change, 1786–1820, Delhi : Manohar.
  • Mitra, N., ed, 1938, Indian Annual Register, July–December 1937, Vol. II, Calcutta.
  • Jawaharlal Nehru, 1936, An Autobiography, London.
  • Pouchepadass, J., 1974, 'Local Leaders and the Intelligentsia in the Champaran Satyagraha', Contributions to Indian Sociology, New Series, No.8, November, New Delhi.
  • Prasad, P.H., 1979, 'Semi-Feudalism: Basic Constraint in Indian Agriculture' in Arvind N. Das & V. Nilakant, eds., Agrarian Relations in India, New Delhi.
  • Rajendra Prasad, 1949, Satyagraha in Champaran, Ahmedabad.
  • Rajendra Prasad, 1957, Autobiography, Bombay.
  • N. G. Ranga, 1949, Revolutionary Peasants, New Delhi.
  • N. G. Ranga, 1968, Fight For Freedom, New Delhi.
  • Shanin, Teodor, 1978, "Defining Peasants: Conceptualisations and Deconceptualisations: Old and New in a Marxist Debate", Manchester University.
  • Anugrah Narayan Sinha, 1961, Mere Sansmaran (My Recollections), in Hindi Patna.
  • Indradeep Sinha, 1969, Sathi ke Kisanon ka Aitihasic Sangharsha (Historic Struggle of Sathi Peasants), in Hindi, Patna.

External links[edit | edit source]

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