Pandit Yadunandan (Jadunandan) Sharma
Encyclopedia
Pandit Yadunandan Sharma (1896–1975) was an India
n peasant leader and national liberation
figure from the Indian state of Bihar
. He had started a movement for the rights of tillers against the zamindars and Britishers
at Reora celebrated as the Reora Satyagraha.
in 1896 in a very poor Bhumihar Brahmin
family. The village was part of the Tekari
zamindar
i. When Sharma was only three, his father died and, as the family was economically very bad off, Pandit Yadunandan had to start working, when very young, as a cowherd. Hence, he missed schooling in the early part of his life and it was only in 1914 that, impelled by the desire to become literate, he ran away to Benaras where he learnt the alphabet. He matriculated in 1919 from Tekari
high school and became a teacher for one year in a village school. He even worked as a manager in a zamindari getting a first hand knowledge of the system. Not happy with it, he again went off to Benaras and joined Benaras Hindu University and studied until 1929 when he graduated. After his B.A.
degree, he left education and joined Civil Disobedience
Movement. He was arrested and sentenced for 16 months in 1930. After being released from jail, he joined the Kisan movement in 1933 and started the famous Sandako and Reora Satyagraha in the 1930s. He became the undisputed leader of peasants in the Gaya district
and second in command to the legendary freedom fighter and peasant leader Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
. Most of his life was spent in the Neyamatpur
village in an ashram from where he kept revolting against the British Rule and Zamindari. Pandit Nehru paid a visit to the Ashram in 1936 on a chilling winter night in December to meet him and address a mass gathering of the local Bhumihars. He died in 1975.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n peasant leader and national liberation
National Liberation Movement
A national liberation movement is an organization engaged in a war of national liberation.National Liberation Movement may also refer to:* Movement of National Liberation, a leftist party founded by former Mexican President Lázaro Cárdenas...
figure from the Indian state of Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
. He had started a movement for the rights of tillers against the zamindars and Britishers
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
at Reora celebrated as the Reora Satyagraha.
Biography
Pandit Yadunandan Sharma was born in Majhiawa villaga in Gaya districtGaya District
Gaya is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India. The district is having a common boundary with the Jharkhand state in the south. Gaya city is its largest city and the district headquarters.-History:...
in 1896 in a very poor Bhumihar Brahmin
Bhumihar
Bhumihar or Babhan or Bhuin-har is a Brahmin Hindu community mainly found in the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh.- Varna status :...
family. The village was part of the Tekari
Tekari
Tekari is a city and a municipality in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar and was the centre of erstwhile Tekari Raj. Maharaja Gopalsaran, a Bhumihar Brahmin, was the king of this area in British times. The fort is still there...
zamindar
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
i. When Sharma was only three, his father died and, as the family was economically very bad off, Pandit Yadunandan had to start working, when very young, as a cowherd. Hence, he missed schooling in the early part of his life and it was only in 1914 that, impelled by the desire to become literate, he ran away to Benaras where he learnt the alphabet. He matriculated in 1919 from Tekari
Tekari
Tekari is a city and a municipality in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar and was the centre of erstwhile Tekari Raj. Maharaja Gopalsaran, a Bhumihar Brahmin, was the king of this area in British times. The fort is still there...
high school and became a teacher for one year in a village school. He even worked as a manager in a zamindari getting a first hand knowledge of the system. Not happy with it, he again went off to Benaras and joined Benaras Hindu University and studied until 1929 when he graduated. After his B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree, he left education and joined Civil Disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
Movement. He was arrested and sentenced for 16 months in 1930. After being released from jail, he joined the Kisan movement in 1933 and started the famous Sandako and Reora Satyagraha in the 1930s. He became the undisputed leader of peasants in the Gaya district
Gaya District
Gaya is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India. The district is having a common boundary with the Jharkhand state in the south. Gaya city is its largest city and the district headquarters.-History:...
and second in command to the legendary freedom fighter and peasant leader Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati , born in a Jijhoutia Brahminfamily of Ghazipur of Uttar Pradesh state of India, was an ascetic of Dashnami Order of Adi Shankara Sampradaya as well as a nationalist and peasant leader of India...
. Most of his life was spent in the Neyamatpur
Neyamatpur
Neyamatpur is an old predominantly Bhumihar Brahmin village in Gaya district of Bihar, India. The village has a proud history as it was the bastion of extremist group of the Indian National Congress and Kisan Andolan...
village in an ashram from where he kept revolting against the British Rule and Zamindari. Pandit Nehru paid a visit to the Ashram in 1936 on a chilling winter night in December to meet him and address a mass gathering of the local Bhumihars. He died in 1975.
Books authored
- Sharma, Yadunandan, 1947, Bakasht Mahamari Aur Uska Achook Ilaaz (Bakasht Epidemic and its Infalliable Remedy) in HindiHindiStandard 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...
, AllahabadAllahabadAllahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,...
.