Jayaprakash Narayan, Premchand remembered on death anniversary

Born in the poll-bound state of Bihar on 11 October 1902, the socialist leader known as JP led the movement against Emergency imposed by prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975-77.

In the general election that followed, the Congress party was ousted by the Janata Party.

JP is a key political reference point in the state of Bihar: most second-generation socialist leaders from the state, including chief minister Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad, are his followers. The central government has decided to build a memorial in his birthplace in Saran district.

Premchand is the author of famous novels Godan and Kafan. He died on 8 October 1936. He was famous for his Hindi and Urdu writings. Inspired by the non-cooperation movement during 1920s, he wrote on social issues including poverty, the zamindari system and its exploitation, dowry and political oppression. He wrote over 300 short stories.