Pandit Karyanand Sharma was a prominent Indian freedom fighter and a revolutionary peasant leader who conducted several movements against zamindars and the British Government of India and fought for the rights of the peasants. Pandit Karyanand Sharma was born in the year 1901 in the village of Sahoor, district of Monghyr (now Munger), Bihar state. He belonged to a poor tenant Bhumihar Brahmin family. After he began his studies at an early age, Sharma had to leave school in order to support his family in farming and cultivation. Later he continued his education from the year 1914 and successfully passed his matriculation examination in the year 1920.
Revolutionary Activities of Karyanand Sharma
After the completion his studies, Pandit Karyanand Sharma actively participated in the Non Cooperation Movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress Party. As a result of his participation, Sharma was detained by the British Indian Police and was sentenced to a rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year. After he was released from jail, Karyanand Sharma became more involved in the various issues of the peasant. In the year 1927, he conducted a resistance of the tenants against arbitrary extortions by the zamindars at Chanan.
This was struggle was particularly aimed against the Giddhaur Raj and Kaira estate. The zamindars of these states and their subordinates were predominantly oppressive. The leaders of the regional Indian National Congress party supported Pandit Karyanand Sharma, although the Party leaders did not provide much direct help. But due to the unity amongst the tenants, the zamindars had to surrender to the demands of the peaseants. This triumph became a great motivational factor for the peasants in Monghyr (Munger).
After the popular Barahiya Bakasht Andolan in 1937- 1939, strictures were passed against Pandit Karyanand Sharma. In the year 1938, Sharma was arrested by the then government of India. After he was released from imprisonment, he participated in the Kisan Movement he was sentenced to imprisonment over and over again. Sharma eventually became a follower of the Marxist ideologies and became a member of the Communist Party of India. Moreover he also remained as a member of the All India Congress Committee until the year 1943.
After the nation achieved independence from the rule of the British Empire in India, Pandit Karyanand Sharma became one of the foremost leaders of the Communist Party of India. He was also a leader of its legislature party until his death. The Communist Party of India was able to wage many significant agrarian struggles during the 1950s, under the leadership of Karyanand Sharma. He also led the Sathi farm struggles in Champaran.
