Lohia: Socialism

Ram Manohar Lohia, (born March 23, 1910, Akbarpur, India—died October 12, 1967, New Delhi), Indian politician and activist who was a prominent figure in socialist politics and in the movement toward Indian independence. Much of his career was devoted to combating injustice through the development of a distinctly Indian version of socialism.

Lohia was born to a family of merchants. Following the death of his mother when he was two, he was raised primarily by his grandparents, although his father’s commitment to Indian nationalism influenced him during his childhood. Lohia attended Banaras Hindu University before earning a bachelor’s degree (1929) from the University of Calcutta and a doctorate (1932) from the University of Berlin, where he studied economics and politics.

In 1934 Lohia became actively involved in the Congress Socialist Party (CSP), founded that year as a left-wing group within the Indian National Congress; he served on the CSP executive committee and edited its weekly journal. A vehement opponent of Indian participation on the side of Great Britain in World War II, he was arrested for anti-British remarks in 1939 and again in 1940; the latter incident resulted in an 18-month imprisonment. With the emergence in 1942 of the Quit India movement—a campaign initiated by Mohandas K. Gandhi to urge the withdrawal of British authorities from India—Lohia and other CSP leaders (such as Jaya Prakash Narayan) mobilized support from the underground. For such resistance activities, he was jailed again in 1944–46.

During and after India’s transition to independence in 1947, Lohia continued to play an active role in its politics. At loggerheads with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on several issues, however, Lohia and other CSP members left the Congress in 1948. He became a member of the Praja Socialist Party upon its formation in 1952 and served as general secretary for a brief period, but internecine conflicts led to his resignation in 1955. Later that year Lohia established a new Socialist Party, for which he became chairman as well as the editor of its journal, Mankind. A spellbinding orator and a passionate and perceptive writer, he advocated for various sociopolitical reforms in his capacity as party leader, including the abolition of the caste system, the adoption of Hindi as India’s national language, and stronger protection of civil liberties. In 1963 Lohia was elected to the Lok Sabha (the lower house of parliament), where he was noted for his sharp criticism of government policies. Although his parliamentary influence was ultimately limited, his progressive views, which he expressed in numerous publications, proved inspirational to many Indians.