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Remembering the Bihar Vibhuti A. N. Sinha
By Ravi Shankar
June 18, 2008 |
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The great
W. Shakespeare has once famously said "There are
some people in society and nation whose life
becomes an integral part of the contemporary
history". Bihar has been the birth place of some
of the most legendary statesmen whose dauntless
determination and utmost integrity made them the
architects of modern India and Bihar
respectively. Among those eminent statesmen was
the first Finance Minister, Bihar Vibhuti Dr.
Anugrah Narayan Sinha, one of the makers of
modern Bihar.
The legendary son of the soil was born on 18th
June,1887 in the then Aurangabad subdivision of
Gaya to a family with a rich history of
patriotic spirit. The qualities that gave Dr.
Sinha a place among the personal forces of his
time were moral as well as intellectual. His
genuineness, intensity, abhorrence of sham
trickery and imposture and his dauntless
determination to arrive at facts had helped him
change the destiny of the state and nation. The
promise of a bright talent was revealed in his
extraordinary college career.
In fact "Coming events cast their shadows
before" is fully exemplified by the life of
Anugrah Babu. From early childhood, he had
harmonious blend of intelligence leadership.
After securing first class in middle school
examination, he got scholarship in the high
school for his excellent performance and was
admitted to Gaya Zila School. He was elected
student representative of Gaya District. He was
admitted to Patna College in 1908. He passed the
entrance examination in the first division and
graduated with honors in English. He was the
Secretary of the prestigious Chanakya Society of
the Patna College and Bihar Students Conference,
an organization founded by Rajendra Prasad and
he worked under his inspiring guidance. He
served as a volunteer in the Patna Congress and
his brilliant administrative skills and the
simplicity and integrity by which he was able to
connect and inspire the masses easily was
exemplary; on seeing his work; reverend leader
Sir Ganesh Dutt Singh; then the lone Indian
Minister in the Cabinet remarked "He is
exceptional by all values; if the history of
Modern Bihar will be written; one name that is
sure to be indispensable will be A N Sinha".
In 1915 he took M.A degree. Then he was
appointed Professor of History in the T.N.B.
College Bhagalpur. As a professor, he won high
esteem of the students. He organised relief work
when Bhagalpur was ravaged by flood.
In 1916 he joined the Patna Bar. When Gandhiji
embarked the Champaran Satyagraha Mr. Sinha
abandoned his practice and became a Satyagrahi
along with other prominent lawyers handpicked by
Gandhi. He became a very close associate of
Mahatma Gandhi during movement and worked with
Deshratna Dr. Rajendra Prasad to lead the
Gandhian movement in Bihar. In 1922 he
successfully organized the Gaya Congress. In the
following year he became one of the General
Secretaries of the A.I.C.C. Then he was elected
as the General Secretary of the Bihar Congress
Committee.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad founded the "Bihar
Vidyapeeth" for motivating young meritorious
youths and as a co-founder Anugrah Sinha gave
his services as a professor; among his first
students was young Jay Prakash Narayan. His old
friend Bihar Kesari Sri Krishna Singh (who later
became the chief minister of independent Bihar)
joined Rajendra Prasad and Anugrah Narayan Sinha
in the massive Civil Disobedience movement after
they resigned from the membership of the Council
of estates.
In 1933 he was sentenced to fifteen months
rigorous imprisonment for hoisting the national
flag.
He was chosen the general Secretary of the Bihar
Earthquake Relief Committee. When Pandit Jawahar
Lal Nehru came to visit the affected areas; he
was so impressed by Anugrah Babu's extraordinary
administrative skills that he remarked "I do not
have to think about Bihar since it is in the
most careful observation of none other than
Anugrah Babu on whom even Bapu (Mahatma Gandhi)
has expressed greatest of confidence". He played
pivotal role in organizing Congress “seva dal”.
He was elected to Bihar Legislative Assembly in
1936 and resigned from the "Council of estates"
(Rajya Sabha) to became the first Finance
Minister of Bihar, besides holding a range of
portfolios including Labour, Health, Local
Self-government and Agriculture. In fact, the
first Bihar Government both in 1936 and 1946 was
also characterised by the values of the Mahatma
and Rajendra Babu. Its two eminent leaders Sri
Babu and Anugrah Babu were men of unimpeachable
integrity and great public spirit. They ran an
exemplary government. An imperious Sri Babu and
an humble but very capable Anugrah Babu
complemented each other and made an excellent
pair of popular rulers, enriching Bihar with
wealth and wisdom. Bihar was recognized as the
best administered state during the first few
years since the Independence and also had the
distinction of securing the first position in
the achievement of the First Five Year plan
targets. Dr. Sinha’s role in all this was
simply exemplary.
He was also elected a Member of the Constituent
Assembly of India, which was elected to write
the Constitution of India and served as its
first Parliament as an independent nation. He
always encouraged and groomed the then young
generation of leadership that included likes of
Jay Prakash Narayan Jagjivan Ram, Bir Chand
Patel, K B Sahay and Pd. Binodanand Jha.
Interestingly Loknayak Jay Prakash Narayan was
associated with Anugrah Babu as a student at the
Bihar Vidyapeeth; although both had different
party lines, yet he maintained close relations
with him.
He was elected to Bihar Legislative Assembly in
1936 and resigned from the "Council of estates"
(Rajya Sabha) to became the first Finance
Minister of Bihar. He played pivotal role in
organizing Congress “seva dal”.In fact, the
first Bihar Government both in 1936 and 1946 was
also characterised by the values of the Mahatma
and Rajendra Babu. Its two eminent leaders Sri
Babu and Anugrah Babu were men of unimpeachable
integrity and great public spirit. They ran an
exemplary government. An imperious Sri Babu and
an humble but very capable Anugrah Babu
complemented each other and made an excellent
pair of popular rulers, enriching Bihar with
wealth and wisdom. Bihar was recognized as the
best administered state during the first few
years since the Independence and also had the
distinction of securing the first position in
the achievement of the First Five Year plan
targets. Dr. Sinha’s role in all this was
simply exemplary.
The legendary Bihar Vibhuti made his transition
on 5th July 1957.
Bihar continue to reap the fruits that are a
cumulative result of the vision and effort of
the great sagacious administrator who changed
the destiny of our nation and our state and
touched the lives of millions.
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Comments: |
Wait
and watch. If Nitish Kumar remains
there in Bihar for 10 years, he
would be another Bihar Vibhuti for
our children. - Anup Kumar,
Bangalore - June 20, 2008
Mr.
Nitish Kumar is indeed leading the
way but his comparison with a
legendary architect of modern Bihar
who assisted Mahatma Gandhi and
Rajendra Prasad looks unusual. Such
legends like Rajendra Babu, Sri
Babu, and Anugrah Babu are essential
parts of the state's glorious
history. They belong to all of us
and remain inspirations for coming
generations. In fact, Nitish Kumar's
father was himself a staunch
supporter of the late Bihar Vibhuti.
- Somesh Verma - June 23, 2008 |
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