Jayaprakash Narayan (1902-1979), Indian nationalist and social reform leader, was India's leading indigenous critic after Mohandas Gandhi.

A disciple of Mohandas Gandhi and leader of India's independence movement, Jayaprakash Narayan remained a rebel in his native land until the end of his life. Born of middle-caste Hindu parents in a small village in Bihar on Oct. 11, 1902, he became politically active in high school. Just before his graduation, he followed the call of Indian nationalists to quit British-assisted institutions. In 1922, he went to the United States, where he studied political science and economics at the universities of California, Iowa, Wisconsin and Ohio State.

Socialist and Resistance Leader

During his seven years in the United States, Narayan paid his tuition by working as a fruit picker, jam packer, waiter, mechanic and salesman. His nationalist and anti-imperialist convictions developed into Marxist beliefs and participation in Communist activities. But Narayan was opposed...