Pandit Yamuna Karjee

Pandit Yamuna Karjee (1898-1953)

Biography

Early life and education

Pandit Yamuna Karjee was born in a small village name Deopar near Pusa in Darbhanga District of Bihar in 1898 in a Bhumihar Brahmin family. His father Anu Karjee was a farmer who died when Yamuna Karjee was just 6 months old. From his school days itself, he was drawn towards India’s freedom struggle and the Kisan Movement and Peasant movement under Swami Sahajanand Saraswati’s leadership. In the peasant movement he became a close associate of other revolutionary peasant leaders like Pandit Karyanand Sharma, Pandit Yadunandan (Jadunandan) Sharma and Pandit Panchanan Sharma.

For higher studies he went to the Presidency College, Kolkata, and also obtained a degree in Law. In Calcutta he came in contact with several freedom fighters and Congress leaders like Dr. B.C. Roy, Dr. Sri Krishna Sinha, Rahul Sankrityayan etc.

Career

Spurning the offers of several government jobs, he became a Hindi journalist of repute. He joined the editorial wing of Hindi weekly "Bharat Mitra" published in Calcutta. He also took part in Gandhiji’s non cooperation movement from 1920-21 and was jailed in 1929-30 for taking part in civil disobedience movement and Namak Satyagrah.

He won the first election for Bihar and Orissa Assembly in 1937 as a Congress candidate. Later on he become disillusioned with Congress leadership and left Congress. He was one of the strongest pillars of the peasant movement in Bihar under the leadership of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati.

He along with Rahul Sankritayan and other Hindi literaries started publishing a Hindi weekly "Hunkar" from Bihar, in 1940." Hunkar" later became the mouthpiece of the peasant movement and the agrarian movement in Bihar. He was also the President of the Kisan Sabha for some time. Pandit Yamuna Karjee was elected to the post of President Bihar Journalist association in 1947-48.

Death and afterward

He died of cancer in October 1953 at an early age of 55. After his untimely demise the peasant movement lost momentum in Bihar and became rudderless.

His name also appears in Bipan Chandra's masterpiece India's Struggle for Independence

Also refer :people.indiatimes.com/articleshow/813210.cmsSwami and Friends- By Arvind N Das http://www.virginia.edu/soasia/symsem/kisan/papers/swami.html