Ram Prasad was born on 1 August 1905 in the village Kanda, Bironkhal, under Pauri Garhwal district of Uttrakhand. He is best known for his leading role in the ‘Gujadu Revolution’, establishing ‘Sevadal’ training camps in Garhwal and Kumayun, boycotting British governor Malcolm Hailey, and leading an attempt to oust the British administration from Lansdowne, Garhwal. He also played an equally important role in connecting the Garhwal region with the rest of the country by road network and started financial inclusion of this mountainous terrain by opening several cooperative Bank branches and incorporating more than 50 cooperative societies. He was incarcerated 7 times by the British government and spent almost 10 years in different jails in the country right from Lahore, Kolkata to Bareilly, Moradabad, and Kotdwar Garhwal.
His first encounter with British police took place in the year 1920-21 when he was 15 years of age and was caught with many other school students chanting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’. Moreover, the school management rusticated him and he left for the city for Meerut. There he came in contact with Garhwali soldiers and later on joined them in the British Army. Consequent to his brave acts in saving his colonel twice, he became adjutant quartermaster in a short span of time and was transferred to Lahore.
In the year 1928, the death of Lala Lajpat Rai as a result of a lathi charge by police became the turning point in Ram Prasad’s life. He left his job and joined ‘Congress Sevadal’ and moved to Kolkata where he participated in the ‘Great Indian Peninsula Railway Strike’ and was got arrested along with Shripad Dange, Kedarnath Sehgal, M.R. Masani, Achyut Patvardhan, etc.
After receiving ‘Sevadal’ training he returned to Lahore to train the youngsters there. In the meantime, Bhagat Singh and his associates killed John Saunders and police started to arrest each and every active satyagrahi in Lahore. In order to escape the arrest Ram Prasad had to leave the city, however, he was caught in Shahpur (Himachal). Released on 21 December 1929, he immediately went to the bank of the Ravi river where the 44th annual session of the Indian National Congress was taking place. There he met dignitaries from Garhwaland and Kumayu like Hargovind Pant, Badridatt Pandey, Anusuiya Prasad Bahuguna, Victor Mohan Joshi, etc., who offered him to join them in Kumayun and Garhwal region and organize ‘Sevadal’ Training camps there.
In the year 1930, Ram Prasad returned to his homeland and established his first ‘Sevadal’ camp in Ranikhet. Post that he focused on Dugadda (दुगड्डा) and Gujadu (गुजड़ू), the entry points of the Garhwal zone located on two different corners.
With Prabhat Feri every morning Ram Prasad Nautiyal started to mobilize the common public against the British administration. In one such procession in the Choonadhaar area of Dugadda Garhwal, he grabbed ‘Colonel Ibbotson’ by his neck and threw him down the hill while the latter one tried to impede the procession by insulting a 9-year-old satyagrahi named Ganga Singh Tyagi.
Later on, Ram Prasad led several satyagrahis in Sendhikhal, Garhwal to throw the barbed fences into the Pilani river and thus compelled the local administration to give back the forest rights of the locals.
On the other side, in Gujadu Patti Ram Prasad Nautiyal played a pivotal role in building a vibrant peasant movement against the tax raised by the British establishment. As a result of the movement, tax collection became a nightmare for the local administration and they came up with ‘Punitive Tax’ and had to arrange a special police force to collect the same. Entire Gujadu, Khatli, Sabliand Bijalkot Patti along with most of the Thokdars and Malguzars (थोकदार और मालगुजार) turned up against the British. This revolution is well known as ‘Badoli of Garhwal’. This revolution earned him the title ‘Captain’ and he became popular as ‘Captain Ram Prasad Nautiyal’ amongst fellow revolutionaries like Devaki Nandan Dhyani, Chhawan Singh, Thaan Singh, Anusuiya Prasad Bahuguna, Jagmohan Singh Negi, etc.
In an important event in the year 1932, on 6th September Captain Nautiyal led a group of revolutionaries to Pauri district headquarters where the then British governor to United Province Sir Malcolm Hailey was supposed to participate in a meeting organized by “Aman Sabha”. Ram Prasad along with Jayanand Bharatiya’ and other companions unfurled Black flags in front of the governor with the cry of “Go back Governor! Go back!” While confronting Mr. Helley face to face Jayanad got arrested. In the meantime, Ram Prasad and another satyagrahi successfully escaped as per the plan. It was Mr. Anusuiya Prasad Bahuguna who clandestinely helped them to enter the meeting hall, where Mr. Bahuguna was an envitee in his capacity as the then president of the District Board.
Along with revolutionary activities Ram Prasad Nautiyal, along with Jayanand Bharatiya, Baldev Singh Arya, Anusuiya Prasad Bahuguna and Chhawan Singh, etc., led several social movements against prevailing evils like ‘DolaPalaki’, ‘Untouchability’, ‘Child marriage’ and ‘illegal liquor furnaces’. Picketing against ‘illegal liquor furnaces’ led him into several scuffles and confrontations at different levels.
In 1942, when the ‘Quit India Movement’ started, Captain Ram Prasad Nautiyal inspired by the likes of Master Suryasen in Chittagong; attempted a coup in Lansdowne. On 27th August the armed revolutionaries planned to highjack Lansdowne administration and hand over the same to the public. Unfortunately, the plan got leaked and the then D.C of police along with Captain Thomas turned all the routes leading to Lansdowne into police and Army cantonments. Unmoved by these developments, Ram Prasad Nautiyal led his team to Dhura Chungi to disconnect Lansdowne from the rest of the country by cutting telephone wires. Brave Kesar Singh lost his life due to electrocution while chopping off these wires. Revolutionaries failed, but they shook the foundation of the British establishment in the Garhwal region. Captain Ram Prasad got arrested and remained in jail till 14 July 1945.
Fed up with the frequent revolts in hilly areas British government in the year 1946 decided to teach a lesson to the public and they orchestrated a famine. Entire Garhwal plunged into the pit of hunger. Supplies to hills were cut off or diverted to specific places. Ram Prasad came forward with an idea to incorporate the kind of societies, that would create an entirely new supply chain; simultaneously they started penalizing the traders and transporters defaulting or obstructing the chain. With the help of gentleman SDM Dhyanpal Singh, 52 such societies were incorporated. Shares were distributed amongst the common public who came forward to lend their hand in this humungous task after rigorous campaigning by Ram Prasad.
Captain Nautiyal was mostly armed with his pistol and was familiar with warfare techniques which came in handy for him to lead or enable several successful expeditions in Garhwal (including Chamoli and Tihri) and Kumayun (special in the Salt area). Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant described Captain Ram Prasad as a man of such metal which can be molded into ‘grub ax’, ‘crowbar’ or ‘Pistol’ as per the need of the hour. His role in Gujadu Revolution and his many fearless deeds against the torturous British government established him as the ‘Iron man of Garhwal’.
Captain Nautiyal who lost his younger brother ‘Baliram Nautiyal’, and his eight-year-old son while taking on the British government, left us after a prolonged illness in the year 1980 in oblivion.