Bihar State Archives will release five books next month on the 1974 students' movement headed by Jayaprakash Narayan.
The state archives has planned the book release on June 5 - Sampoorna Kranti Divas - the day JP announced his movement 42 years ago. The books - Janta Aati Hai, JP Aaya Hai, Yah Vyavastha Parivartan Ka Sangharsh Hai, Sanskritik Rupantaran and Singhasan Khali Karo, priced between Rs 400 and Rs 500, will be available on the premises of the state archives at a 30 per cent discount.
"The books not only contain rare pictures from the 1974 movement but also cuttings from newspapers ( Searchlight, Aryavart, Pradeep, Indian Nation) that covered the JP Movement," said state archives director Vijay Kumar.
"A pictorial book on the JP Movement by Satyanarayan Dusre had already been published earlier," said 75-year-old Mahendra Narayan Karn, who has edited the five books along with Bihar State Archives officials. "Many other books have come out but no one talks about the people who took part in the movement."
Dusre was part of the JP Movement. He said: "Today's generation does not know much about JP. Through the five-volume book, we have tried to cover all the aspects of the movement."
Among the pictures that have been included in the book is one that shows Searchlight's press which was allegedly set on fire by JP's followers on March 18, 1974. The caption says that the press employees kept calling police but no help turned up. By the time the fire brigade arrived, the whole place had been reduced to ashes.
The books will also try to highlight what inspired JP to begin the movement.
There will be pictures of Gujarat's Nav Nirman movement of 1973 that resulted in the resignation of then chief minister Chimanbhai Patel. JP had visited Gujarat to see the movement and was inspired by it.
"The books also describe the effects of the JP Movement across the state," said a Bihar State Archives official.
Dusre said he was planning to get three more volumes of the series published in the next six months.
"The next volumes will have details of JP followers who were detained," he said.# "We have sought details from various jails on this."
