RAS question
Jayaprakash Narayan's dramatic escape from Hazaribagh jail during the Quit India Movement was significant because:
Correct answer: (C) He organized underground resistance networks across India after escaping.
Jayaprakash Narayan's Hazaribagh jail escape during the Quit India Movement mattered because he went underground afterwards and organised resistance against British rule.
Explanation
Jayaprakash Narayan escaped from Hazaribagh Central Jail on Diwali in November 1942, after senior leaders had been arrested and the Quit India Movement needed underground leadership. The PIB account describes the escape as daring and says it made JP a folk hero. The significance was not merely the act of escaping custody: after it, he actively worked underground for the freedom movement and organised an Azaad Dasta, or freedom brigade, in Nepal to fight British rule. He also coordinated sabotage and communication among scattered resistance groups. He was arrested months later in Punjab in September 1943 and tortured for information about the movement.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) JP did not become the Viceroy's adviser; his underground work and the PIB account place him in active opposition to British rule after the escape.
- (B) He did not surrender the next day, because he remained underground for months before being arrested in Punjab in September 1943.
- (D) He did not immediately go to Japan to join the INA; he remained within the underground freedom movement, including organising Azaad Dasta in Nepal.
Concept
This tests the underground phase of the Quit India Movement, where leadership, communication and sabotage continued after mass arrests. RAS often returns to such episodes because they connect named freedom fighters with concrete movement strategies, not just dates.