Ram Bahadur Rai | |
|---|---|
 Ram Bahadur Rai in his office | |
| Born | (1946-07-01)1 July 1946 (age 79) Sonari,Ghazipur,Uttar Pradesh |
| Alma mater | Banaras Hindu University |
| Occupations | Journalist,editor |
| Years active | 1971-present |
Ram Bahadur Rai is an Indian journalist and the former news editor of Hindi dailyJansatta. He has published and authored and edited several of books. He is known for some impressive biographies, written in Hindi, namelyShashwat Vidrohi Rajneta based on life and acts of Gandhian socialist AcharyaJ. B. Kripalani,Rahvari ke Sawal onChandrashekhar andManjil se Jyada Safar[1] onV P Singh. He was a close associate of theIndian freedom fighter and political leaderJayaprakash Narayan and was also part of a Steering Committee ofJP Movement.[2]
In January 2025, Shri Ram Bahadur Rai was conferred with India's third-highest civilian award, thePadma Bhushan.[3][4]
He was born on 1 July 1946 in Sofonari .[5][6] He got his early education at his native place and nearbyMachhti Inter College. For higher education he moved toVaranasi and completed his graduation fromBanaras Hindu University. He got his postgraduate degree in economics from BHU.[7] He obtained PG diploma in mass communication from Rajasthan University.
In the year 1965 on the behest of central government academic council of BHU proposed to drop 'Hindu' word from the name of the university. Ram Bahadur Rai led a student movement to oppose this move which was shelved after rising protest. However Ram Bahadur Rai was expelled from the university for leading the protest. To continue as a regular student an apology was asked by the university administration but Rai refused. As a result, he couldn't complete his Ph.D. in economics.[5]
Being the organising secretary ofAkhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad Ram Bahadur Rai led the student movement during JP movement.
Ram Bahadur Rai started his career as journalist withHindustan Samachar. He wrote eyewitness account ofBangladesh Liberation War for Hindi DailyAaj, published fromVaranasi.[8] Later on he moved to Delhi and started working journalist with Hindi dailyJansatta.[9] At Jansatta he worked as Bureau Chief and News Editor. For a short span of time he worked as special correspondent forNavbharat Times also. At present he is working as group editor of Hindusthan Samachar.
In the year 2015 Government of India appointed Ram Bahadur Rai as the president ofIndira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) executive committee.[10]
Rai was the first person to be jailed, in 1974, under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act,(MISA). This act was passed by the Indira Gandhi government in 1973, giving dictatorial powers to law enforcement agencies, and repealed by the subsequent Janata Party Government in 1977. He was again jailed for eighteen months.
Ram Bahadur Rai served as one of the key member of the steering committee of JP movement. Rai played an important role during student movement of 1974. It was Ram Bahadur Rai under whose leadership students' leaders of many organisations met JP and requested him to lead the movement.[11]
