Jayaprakash Narayan (1902 – 8 October 1979), popularly referred to as JP or Lok Nayak (Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian independence activist, theorist, socialist and political leader.
He is remembered for leading the mid-1970s opposition against Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, for whose overthrow he had called for a Sampoorna Kranti or "total revolution".
After his initial education at Bihar Vidyapeeth, a college founded by Rajendra Prasad, Jayaprakash decided to continue his studies in the United States. To pay for his education, Jayaprakash did odd jobs which later gave him an insight into the difficulties of the working class.
After a semester studying chemistry at UC Berkeley, Jayaprakash was forced to transfer to The University of Iowa when fees at Berkeley were doubled. He was forced to transfer to many universities thereafter. He pursued his favourite subject, sociology, and received much help from Professor Edward Ross. He obtained M.A., Sociology from University of Wisconsin, and B. A., in Behavioral Science from Ohio State University.
News of the success of the Russian revolution of 1917 made Jayaprakash conclude that Marxism was the way to alleviate the suffering of the masses. Narayan returned from the US to India in late 1929 as a Marxist.
He joined the Indian National Congress on the invitation of Jawaharlal Nehru; Mahatma Gandhi became his mentor in the Congress. He participated in the Quit India Movement of 1942 and was jailed.
Between 1947 and 1953, Jayaprakash Narayan was President of All India Railwaymen's Federation, the largest labour union in the Indian Railways.
In 1974, he led the students' movement in Bihar which gradually developed into a popular people's movement known as the Bihar Movement. It was during this movement that JP gave a call for a peaceful Total Revolution.
Together with V. M. Tarkunde, he founded the Citizens for Democracy in 1974 and the People's Union for Civil Liberties in 1976, both NGOs, to uphold and defend civil liberties.
In 1999, he was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in recognition of his social service. Other awards include the Magsaysay award for Public Service in 1965.