Jagjivan Ram was one of the trusted leaders of the scheduled caster of the pre-independence era. He was born in Bihar on April 5, 1908 in a low caste poor family. He passed his matriculation examination with distinction. Then he took admission in the Banaras Hindu University where he was awarded the Birla scholarship. He received B.Sc. degree from Calcutta University in 1931.
In 1935, he was nominated in the Council of Bihar as representative of scheduled castes. But his nationalistic fervour prevailed upon him and he resigned from the membership of Bihar Council on the issue of irrigation. In 1937, he was elected to the Assembly. He actively participated in 1940 in the Satyagraha and the Quit India Movement.
He was inducted into the Interim Government at the Centre in 1946. In 1969, he was elected the President of the Congress Party. Jagjivan Ram was made the Defence Minister of India in 1970. In 1977, he joined hands with Janata Party and became Defence Minister. Later, he also founded his own party, the Congress (J). He died in 1986.