Lala Jagat Narain
Encyclopedia
Lala Jagat Narain was the founder of the Hind Samachar group.
Lala Jagat Narain, a Chopra Khatri
and Congress Party leader, was born at Wazirabad
, Gujranwala District
(now in Pakistan
) in 1889. He graduated from D.A.V. College, Lahore in 1919, and joined the Law College, Lahore. He left his studies in 1920 at the call of Mahatma Gandhi
to join the non-cooperation movement. He was sentenced in two and a half years imprisonment, in jail he acted as Lala Lajpat Rai
's Personal Secretary. In 1924 he became the editor of Bhai Parmanand
's Weekly Hindi Paper Akashvani. He participated in all the Satyagraha
movement and was in jail for about nine years on different occasions. His wife was in jail for six months. His eldest son, Ramesh Chandra, was arrested during the Quit India movement
.
Narain was President of the Lahore
City Congress Committee for seven years, leader of the Congress Party in the Lahore Corporation, a member of the Punjab Provincial Congress Committee for more than thirty years and member of the All-India Congress Committee for about 30 years.
as a refugee from Lahore and started an Urdu
daily, Hind Samachar in 1948. Urdu then was the language of the salaried urban men of Punjab
, the people who could afford the time and money for a newspaper. But Urdu in independent India lacked government support. In the schools of Punjab, Punjabi
and Hindi
became the languages and Gurmukhi and Devanagari
the scripts of instruction. In 1965, Jagat Narain founded Punjab Kesari
, a Hindi daily.
i, was a prominent critic of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
and Congress Party leader.
Dilbir Singh,Public Relations Advisor at Guru Nanak Dev University for seven years, has stated
H.K. Dua, a former Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune and a close associate of Indian National Congress (I) said in a tribute to Jagat Narain:
“The question before us today is that are we ready to accept the rule of gun?”
“We should be thankful to the Hind Samachar Group of Newspapers for two reasons. Firstly, it has initiated a fund for helping victims of terrorists and that of natural calamities and , secondly, for standing up against terrorism at a time when no other paper dared to do so.newspaper showed what a partial newspaper can do to the society/ The family had not only lost two of its partial press members—Lala Jagat Narain and Ramesh Chander—but 62 of his staff were gunned down. It is a remarkable contribution toward the country and in the interest of freedom of expression,” :
Thirteen Sikhs and two Nirankaris were killed in the clash. The Nirankaris fired from their guns on the unarmed and peaceful Akhand Kirtni Jatha Members but were acquitted by court on grounds of self defence.
He was shot dead on September 9, 1981, near Amaltas Motel on the national highway while returning to Jalandhar from Patiala. Both the Government and Surjeet Jalandhari, project the murder as the murder of a person deeply involved in investigating criminal cases in Punjab.
In 1981, Bhindranwale barricaded himself inside the fortified Gurudwara Gurdarshan Parkash at Mehta Chowk, but was persuaded to surrender on September 20, 1981. For 25 days, violence exploded all over Punjab
, while Bhindranwale was jailed in Circuit House. India’s then Home Minister, Giani Zail Singh, announced to Parliament that there was no evidence that Bhindranwale was involved in Lala Jagat Narain’s assassination, and was released in Oct. 15, 1981.
A chair in the name of Narain was established at Kurukshetra University
in 1998
Lala Jagat Narain, a Chopra Khatri
Khatri
Khatri is a caste from the northern Indian subcontinent. Khatris in India are mostly from Punjab, region but later they migrated to regions like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu, Uttarkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Balochistan, Sindh and Khyber...
and Congress Party leader, was born at Wazirabad
Wazirabad
AYAZ KHANWazirabad is an industrial city located in Gujranwala District, Punjab, Pakistan. Wazirabad is situated on the banks of the Chenab River nearly 100 kilometres north of Lahore on the Grand Trunk Road. It is 45 kilometres from Sialkot, 30 kilometres from the district capital - Gujranwala...
, Gujranwala District
Gujranwala District
Gujranwala District is a district in Punjab, Pakistan.- History :The village of Asarur which has been identified as the location of Taki, an ancient town, visited by the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsiang contains immense ruins of Buddhist origin...
(now in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
) in 1889. He graduated from D.A.V. College, Lahore in 1919, and joined the Law College, Lahore. He left his studies in 1920 at the call of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
to join the non-cooperation movement. He was sentenced in two and a half years imprisonment, in jail he acted as Lala Lajpat Rai
Lala Lajpat Rai
Lala Lajpat Rai was an Indian author, freedom fighter and politician who is chiefly remembered as a leader in the Indian fight for freedom from the British Raj. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari or Sher-e-Punjab meaning the samem and was part of the Lal Bal Pal trio...
's Personal Secretary. In 1924 he became the editor of Bhai Parmanand
Bhai Parmanand
Bhai Parmanand was an Indian nationalist.-Biography:Parmanand was born into a prominent family of the Punjab, descended from the family of the famous Sikh martyr, Bhai Mati Das...
's Weekly Hindi Paper Akashvani. He participated in all the Satyagraha
Satyagraha
Satyagraha , loosely translated as "insistence on truth satya agraha soul force" or "truth force" is a particular philosophy and practice within the broader overall category generally known as nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. The term "satyagraha" was conceived and developed by Mahatma...
movement and was in jail for about nine years on different occasions. His wife was in jail for six months. His eldest son, Ramesh Chandra, was arrested during the Quit India movement
Quit India Movement
The Quit India Movement , or the August Movement was a civil disobedience movement launched in India in August 1942 in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for immediate independence. Gandhi hoped to bring the British government to the negotiating table...
.
Narain was President of the Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
City Congress Committee for seven years, leader of the Congress Party in the Lahore Corporation, a member of the Punjab Provincial Congress Committee for more than thirty years and member of the All-India Congress Committee for about 30 years.
Launch of Punjab Kesari
Narain had come to JalandharJalandhar
Jalandhar is a city in Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India. It is located 144 km northwest of the state capital, Chandigarh...
as a refugee from Lahore and started an Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
daily, Hind Samachar in 1948. Urdu then was the language of the salaried urban men of Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
, the people who could afford the time and money for a newspaper. But Urdu in independent India lacked government support. In the schools of Punjab, Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
and Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
became the languages and Gurmukhi and Devanagari
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
the scripts of instruction. In 1965, Jagat Narain founded Punjab Kesari
Punjab Kesari
Punjab Kesari is a Hindi-language newspaper published from many centres in Punjab and Haryana in India....
, a Hindi daily.
Confrontation with Bhindranwale
Narain, an Arya SamajArya Samaj
Arya Samaj is a Hindu reform movement founded by Swami Dayananda on 10 April 1875. He was a sannyasi who believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas. Dayananda emphasized the ideals of brahmacharya...
i, was a prominent critic of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was the leader of the Damdami Taksal, a Sikh religious group based in India, who supported implementation of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution. In 1981, Bhindranwale was arrested for his suspected involvement in the murder of Jagat Narain, the proprietor of the Hind...
and Congress Party leader.
Dilbir Singh,Public Relations Advisor at Guru Nanak Dev University for seven years, has stated
- "On that day in a great fury he [Bhindranwale] called upon someone to read aloud what Narain had said. There was quiet. 'Our turban has been torn from our heads,' he proclaimed. Then one of his followers asked, 'What are your orders?' Again in anger, he said 'Orders, you need orders! What orders? Are you blind?' Now you see he did not say anything. And they said it. 'O.K.' meaning thereby, we'll finish this man. So, then, 3-4 days later, Narain was coming from Ludhiana and they fired upon him."
- "Some son of his mother could stand it no longer and put him (the Lala) on the train (killed him). After he was put on the train on the 9th (September 1981), on the 12th warrants for my arrest were issued."
H.K. Dua, a former Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune and a close associate of Indian National Congress (I) said in a tribute to Jagat Narain:
“The question before us today is that are we ready to accept the rule of gun?”
“We should be thankful to the Hind Samachar Group of Newspapers for two reasons. Firstly, it has initiated a fund for helping victims of terrorists and that of natural calamities and , secondly, for standing up against terrorism at a time when no other paper dared to do so.newspaper showed what a partial newspaper can do to the society/ The family had not only lost two of its partial press members—Lala Jagat Narain and Ramesh Chander—but 62 of his staff were gunned down. It is a remarkable contribution toward the country and in the interest of freedom of expression,” :
Assassination and aftermath
The White Paper issued by the government of India, mentioned that Narain was assassinated because of his criticism of Bhindrawale. He was present during the clash that occurred between Nirankaris and Akhand Kirtni Jatha Members, and stood witness at the Karnal Trial against Bhindrawale.Thirteen Sikhs and two Nirankaris were killed in the clash. The Nirankaris fired from their guns on the unarmed and peaceful Akhand Kirtni Jatha Members but were acquitted by court on grounds of self defence.
He was shot dead on September 9, 1981, near Amaltas Motel on the national highway while returning to Jalandhar from Patiala. Both the Government and Surjeet Jalandhari, project the murder as the murder of a person deeply involved in investigating criminal cases in Punjab.
In 1981, Bhindranwale barricaded himself inside the fortified Gurudwara Gurdarshan Parkash at Mehta Chowk, but was persuaded to surrender on September 20, 1981. For 25 days, violence exploded all over Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
, while Bhindranwale was jailed in Circuit House. India’s then Home Minister, Giani Zail Singh, announced to Parliament that there was no evidence that Bhindranwale was involved in Lala Jagat Narain’s assassination, and was released in Oct. 15, 1981.
A chair in the name of Narain was established at Kurukshetra University
Kurukshetra University
Kurukshetra University was established in 1956 in Kurukshetra in Haryana, India, situated 160 km from Delhi, and member of Association of Commonwealth Universities The Kurukshetra University was the dream of the then Punjab Governor, Sir Chandeshwar Prasad Narayan Singh, a great Sanskrit...
in 1998
Further reading
- juergensmeyer.com From Bhindranwale to Bin Laden: A search for understanding religious violence by Professor Mark Jurgensmeyer, California University