Jagjivan Ram

Who was Jagjivan Ram?

Jagjivan Ram, known popularly as Babuji, was an Indian independence activist and politician from Bihar. He belonged to the Dusadh caste and was a leader of the Dalit community. He was instrumental in foundation of the All-India Depressed Classes League, an organisation dedicated to attaining equality for untouchables, in 1935 and was elected to Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1937, that is when he organised, rural labour movement.

In 1946, he became the youngest minister in Jawaharlal Nehru's interim government, the first cabinet of India as a Labour Minister and also a member of Constituent Assembly of India, where he ensured that social justice was enshrined in the Constitution. He went on serve as a minister with various portfolios for more than forty years as a member of Indian National Congress. Most importantly he was the Defence Minister of India during the Indo-Pak war of 1971, which resulted in formation of Bangladesh.