www.ijcrt.

org © 2015 IJCRT | Volume 3, Issue 2 April 2015 | ISSN: 2320-2882

Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia’s Life And His Ideology Of

Four-Pillar State An Observation

Dr. Surarapu Bixsham

Senior Lecturer in Political Science
New Science College, Ameerpet, Hyderabad
Abstract
Ram Manohar Lohia is great philosopher, prominent freedom fighter, one of the leader of the Indian National
Movement, for India’s independence from the Colonial Masters, he is the most original thinker of the Socialist
movement in India, Ram Manohar Lohia was one of the popular leaders of Modern India, he was a great pioneer
of Democratic ethos, highly read and intellectual imbued with Socialist-humanist and Gandhian ideas construed
of democracy as an antidote to Dictatorship. Over centralization at societal, politico- administrative and
economic pedestal mars democracy which was and is the only hope for the teeming of millions of Indians. An
attempt is made to comprehend Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia’s reservations regarding the functioning of Democracy
in independent India, his proposal for alternative model, he desires to create a society which would ensure
justice to the poor, backward communities and women, he believed in self-realization and complete
development of personality was possible only with the freedom. Liberty was necessary for self-realization,
further, the enjoyment of freedom was possible only with the availability of equality, so liberty was in-separable
from equality, liberty and equality were the two sides of the same coin, the fulfillment of equality was possible
only under the State.
Keywords; Ram Manohar Lohia, Philosopher, Prominent, Freedom, Leader, National, Independence, Colonial,
Thinker, Modern, Democratic, Socialist, Liberty, Equality, State.
Introduction.
Ram Manohar Lohia, is a great socialist leader of India, he is the most original thinker of socialist movement in
the Country, Lohia considered Democracy and Socialism as the two sides of the same coin as per his views no
Socialism without Democracy, Democracy means inevitable answerability of administration to elected to
Legislature. Within the galaxy of renowned Indian social scientist. Lohia may shine out as one the unusual,
unorthodox and probably ingenious doctrinaire given his learning towards’ New Socialism’ called a ‘ doctrinal
socialist . Essentially he was passionate enough to set free the postulate of socialism from restrain of the dogma
of European Marxism and International Communism. Accordingly, Lohia was interested in localizing Socialism by
adopting it to the ideal and pursuit of the newly emerged developing Countries like India, the importance of
Lohia’s Socialist thought lies in its emphasis on the needs of original socialist thinking in the context of agrarian,
caste bound underdeveloped economy and polity of India, the socialist thought in India highlighted the role of
peasants in the structural development of the economy. It was for the synthesis of political liberty and economic
reconstruction with the emphasis on the Gandhian principles of Non-Violence and Satyagraha.
Ram Manohar Lohia was born in 1910 at Faizabad, in Uttar Pradesh in merchant family, his fatherwas Heeralal,
Lohia’s mother died when he was two years old, Lohia’s grand-mother was brought him up, his father was a
devoted follower of Mahatma Gandhi, Lohia saw Gandhi for the first time when he was only nine years old. The
Indian National Congress held its plenary session in 1923 at Gaya in Bihar, little Lohia was a Congress volunteer
there, he also participated the 1926 Congress session at Gauhati, Lohia received his education in Bombay,
IJCRT1135275 International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT) www.ijcrt.org 826
www.ijcrt.org © 2015 IJCRT | Volume 3, Issue 2 April 2015 | ISSN: 2320-2882

Benaras and Culcutta, he passed the Metriculation Examination in the first class in 1925. After a two years course
at Benaras University , he joined the Vidyasagar college in Calcutta, in 1929 he passed the Honors Examination
in English Literature. Even in his student days he was attracted towards political agitations. He gone to Germany
for his higher studies. When Hitler was in Power at that time, Lohia submitted his Doctoral Thesis to the Berlin
University, his thesis on the title of ‘Salt Satyagraha in India’. He was awarded the Doctorate in both Economics
and Political Science, he return to India in 1932
Ram Manohar Lohia’s Valuable Writings.
[1] The Caste System. [2] Foreign Policy [3] Fragments of World Mind [4] Guilty Men of India’s Partition [5] India,
China, and Northern Frontiers. [6] Interval During Politics [7] Marx, Gandhi and Socialism
Contemporary Conditions and Influence on Lohia
Ram Manohar Lohia was one of the founders of the Congress Socialist Party and editor of its mouthpiece,
Congress Socialist. In 1936, he was selected by Jawaharlal Nehru as the secretary of the Foreign Department of
the All India Congress Committee, the highest body of the Congress Party. Lohia from 1938, he started to develop
his own political standpoint by critically examining positions held by the Gandhian leadership of the Congress
and the Communists who had joined the Congress Socialist Party.
Lohia was arrested and sentenced him to a jail term of two years in June 1940, for delivering Anti- War Speeches,
then he was released from jail by end of 1941, Ram Manohar Lohia became one of the leading figures of the
Central Directorate which clandestinely tried to organize the Quit India Movement or Revolt, sparked by Gandhi
in August 1942. Captured in May 1944, he was incarcerated and tortured in Lahore Fort. As one of the last high
security prisoners, Lohia , together with Jayaprakash Narayanan, was finally released on 11 th April, 1946.
Lohia, remained a member of the Congress Socialist Party when it fused in 1952 with the Kisan Majdoor Praja
Party to form the Praja Socialist Party, unhappy with the new party, Lohia led a split from it to reform the Socialist
Prty[Lohia] in 1956. He lost to Nehru in 1962 general election, in 1963 Lohia became a member of the Lok Sabha
after a by-election in Farrukhabad after the Socialist Party [Lohia] in to the ranks of the Samyukta Socialist Party,
two socialist factions merged. He won Lok Sabha general elections of 1967 from Kannauj, he strongly criticized
the policies of the Nehru Government. In his inimitable style he argued in favor of the stand and the policies of
the Socialist Party, he stole the hearts of the youth of the Nation at his times.
Ram Manohar Lohia’s ideology of Four-Pillar State.
Lohia said that Decentralization of Powers and active participation of people in administration could be a reality
only when some novelties were introduced, he found the solution for all the problems in changing the present
two- tier administration into Four-Pillar State. Therefore , he gave a new theory to the realm of administration,
he discussed his concept of the Four-Pillar State which comprised of the Village, the District, the Province and
the Union or the centre with Sovereign Powers and would be, according to him, created by the Constitution itself.
All these four limbs of the State would organically function independently, the Sovereign powers should not be
residual one in the Union and Federating units but also with Districts and Villages which were the Primary Political
Institutions, where a group men and women lived and worked for the interest of the total Community.
Lohia explained that the Four –Pillar State was obviously not a mere executive arrangement, but all the four limbs
of the State would have Sovereign Powers with their jurisdiction of Legislation and Execution, even the village
and the district would have power of making legislations, they would also execute the laws made by the province
and the Union. The present Local Self-Governments posses only executive and not legislative powers. As Lohia
opined ‘ the four-pillar state in both a legislative and an executive arrangement.

IJCRT1135275 International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT) www.ijcrt.org 827

www.ijcrt.org © 2015 IJCRT | Volume 3, Issue 2 April 2015 | ISSN: 2320-2882

Lohia’s four-pillars state provided a structure and a way, this state was a way of life and to all spheres of human
activity, for example, production, planning, education, ownership, administration and the like, it would work on
the principle of community life. All its limbs would choose their own way of life, the commonality of the state
was to be organized and Sovereign Power so diffused that each little community in it lived the way of life it chose.
But different ways of community life would not have a completely separate existence; rather they joined one
another with a sacred thread of common bond.
As Lohia observed ‘ through these various ways of life must indeed run acommon bond strong enough to hand
the numerous communities in to State’. Thus, according to Lohia , villages and districts would have a close
relationship with one another, they would inter dependent and have numerous bonds, economic as well as
cultural, and all of them would constitute a single Nation, whose territorial integrity, unity and peace were to be
maintained perfectly.
The four-pillar state would be based on the principle of division of powers, the village, the district, the province
and the centre would all derive their powers and functions from the Constitution of the land, Lohia enumerated
certain functions of the four-pillar state. He himself admitted that these functions may not take practical shape,
but they were adequate pointers of direction and policy, he observed that he did not present a comprehensive
list of functions of the four-pillar State but indicated certain functions which should be performed by the
different limbs of the state.
Acco,rding to Lohia, the armed forces of the state may be controlled by the Union, the armed police by the
province but all other police may be brought under district and village control, while industries like the Railway
or Iron and Steel may be control by the Union, the small unit textile industry of the future may be left to district
and village ownership and management. While price fixing may be a Union subject, the structure of agriculture
and the ratio of Capital and Labour in it may be left to the choice to the district and the village.
Several departments through their servants, for example choose for cooperation societies, rural and agricultural
development, a substantial part of irrigation, seeds, revenue collecting and the like may be transferred to the
village and the district. Need not add that a substantial part of state revenues should be stay with the Village and
District.
Conclusion
Ram Manohar Lohia’s contributions to the development of socialist thought in India is very significant and
unique, his socialist ideas like four pillar state and seven revolutions, he was also an advocate of small unit
technology and critic of modern civilization. Contemporary India society experiencing different socio- political
problems and Lohia’s socialist can be a tool to solve the different problems and issues of the present. Although
Lohia is not physically with us. But still his ideas are influencing many activists across India and World. For the
creation of an egalitarian society, different Governments and the Nations are implementing different welfare
policies and programmees for the eradication poverty and economic inequalities as a Welfare States.

IJCRT1135275 International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT) www.ijcrt.org 828

www.ijcrt.org © 2015 IJCRT | Volume 3, Issue 2 April 2015 | ISSN: 2320-2882

References.

1. Arumugam, M[1978] Socialist Thought in India;the contributions of Ram Manohar Lohia[New Delhi;
Sterling]
2. Collected works of Dr. Lohia A nine volume set edited by veteran Socialist writer Dr. Mastram Kapoor in
English, and Published by Anamika Publications New Delhi [2011].
3. Girardin., B., Ethics in Politics, Globethics , Net, 2012
4. Sing., L.M., Political Morality and Ethics in Indian Politics. The Indian Journal of Political Science ,
Vol.ixix,No. 2, April---- June-, 2008
5. Lohia., R.M. Collected works of RamManohar Lohia. Vol.6 [2011]
6. Sing Usha., Economic Thought of Indian Socialists, Deepa and Deepa Publishers, 1985

IJCRT1135275 International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT) www.ijcrt.org 829