Anugrah narayan sinha wiki
Anugrah Narayan Sinha
Indian politician (–)
"Anugrah Narayan Singh" redirects here. For the Uttar Pradesh politician, see Anugrah Narayan Singh (Uttar Pradesh politician).
Anugrah Narayan Sinha (18 June – 5 July ), known as Bihar Vibhuti, was an Indian nationalist politician, participant in Champaran Satyagraha, Gandhian & one[1] of the architects of modern Bihar, who was the first Deputy Chief Minister[2] and the Finance Minister of the Indian state of Bihar (–).[3] He was also a Member of the Constituent Assembly of India, which was elected to write the Constitution of India and served in its first Parliament as an independent nation.[4] He also held a range of portfolios including Labour, Local Self Government, Public Works, Supply & Price Control, Health and Agriculture.[5] A.N. Sinha, affectionately called Anugrah Babu, was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi[6] during the freedom movement and worked with Bihar KesariSri Krishna Sinha to lead the Gandhian movement in Bihar.[7] One of the leading nationalists in the Indian independence movement from Bihar after Dr Rajendra Prasad, he was elected as the Congress Party[8] deputy leader in the state assembly to assume office as the first Deputy Chief Minister cum Finance Minister of independent Bihar, and re-elected when the Congress Party won Bihar's first[9] general election with a massive mandate in
Early life
He was born to Visveshwar Dayal Singh on 18 June in a family of Poiwan village of the former Gaya district (later Aurangabad) in Bihar in the Rajput caste.[10][11][12] His younger son Satyendra Narayan Sinha became chief minister of Bihar.
He became the Secretary[5] of the Bihar Students Conference founded by Rajendra Prasad and the Chanakya Society of the Patna College. In he was appointed Professor of History at the T.N.B. college in Bhagalpur where he remained until [13]
Freedom movement
In , heeding the call of Mahatma Gandhi to the nation, he left his flourishing law practice to join the Champaran Satyagraha movement.[6][4] The Champaran experiment formed a vital chapter in the development of the Gandhian method in India and he was catapulted to the national stage. He served as a teacher in Bihar Vidyapeeth[4] founded by Rajendra Prasad for motivating young meritorious youths. Among[5] his first students was young Jayprakash Narayan. In he organized the Gaya Congress. In the following year he became one of the General Secretaries of the All India Congress Committee (AICC). When Rajendra Prasad was elected Chairman of Patna Municipality, Sinha was elected Vice-Chairman. As he was soon elected Chairman of the Gaya District Board, he resigned. He was the pivotal force behind the Civil Disobedience Movement led by M K Gandhi, in the year which is considered an important milestone in the history of Indian Nationalism.[13]
His patriotism earned him 15 months of rigorous imprisonment in – When the M8 Nepal–Bihar earthquake occurred on 15 January , Bihar Central Relief Committee was set up on 17 January , under the Presidency of Rajendra Prasad and Sinha became its Vice-President. He took the task of raising funds to help the people and the relief and rehabilitation work was organized in an elaborate and efficient manner. He was elected as a member of the Central Council in from Sahabad-cum-Patna Constituency with a massive margin. He became a member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly in In the provincial autonomy granted by British, under the Government of India Act of , the first Congress ministry was sworn in on 20 July and he became the Deputy Premier cum Finance Minister of Bihar province. He and Premier Sri Krishna Sinha disagreed with the then Governor Maurice Garnier Hallett on the issue of the release of political prisoners and both resigned. The Governor had to give in and they again resumed their offices. But they again resigned in , as did all Congress governments in the country, over the question of involving India in the Second World War without the consent of the Indian people.[4][5]
He was among the first[13] freedom fighters to respond to Gandhiji's call for Satyagraha in – He was arrested[4] by the British authorities and imprisoned in the Hazaribagh Central Jail in In he was released and devoted himself to serving the epidemic-ridden people.
After independence he dedicated himself to the all round development of Bihar as Finance Minister and as the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar.[13]
Exemplary government
The first Bihar Government, both in and , was characterized by the values of the Mahatma Gandhi. Its two eminent leaders Shri Krishna Sinha and Anugrah Babu were nationalists of unimpeachable integrity and great public spirit. They ran an exemplary government in Bihar.[14] Almost all the development projects needed for the state of Bihar were done by the leadership pair of Shri Krishna Sinha and Anugrah Narayan Sinha. It included several river valley projects right from Koshi, Aghaur and Sakri to other such river projects. The first five-year plan period was given to the development in rural development works mainly in the agricultural sector. In fact, Bihar became the top state in the country's first five-year plan and it was announced by Sinha in the assembly. The then Prime Minister of IndiaJawaharlal Nehru sent Paul H. Appleby to assess the administration in states and in his famous report, he described Bihar as the best governed state in India mostly due to the excellent leadership of Shri Krishna Sinha and Anugrah Narayan Sinha.[15]
Since the second five-year plan period, Sinha spearheaded the process of rapid industrialization of Bihar and bought several industries for the all round development of the state. He served India's international interests. He successfully led the Indian Food and Agriculture delegation to Nepal and also the Indian delegation to the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Canada and Switzerland. He also actively led a number of Government and voluntary organizations in India and abroad.[13]
Political legacy
Along with nationalist Rajendra Prasad and his close colleague in the Indian independence movement Shri Krishna Sinha, the first Chief Minister of Bihar, Anugrah Narayan Sinha is considered one of the architects of modern Bihar.[16][17] His younger sonSatyendra Narayan Singh (who was affectionately called "Chhote Saheb") also became a prominent freedom fighter[19] and later became[20]Chief Minister of Bihar.[16] His grandson Nikhil Kumar, a former IPS, has served as the Governor of Kerala.[21] Sinha served the state continuously, barring war years (Second World War –), as the Deputy Chief Minister cum Finance Minister from the time of the first[13] Congress Ministry in till his death on 5 July [22]Lok NayakJayaprakash Narayan[15] served as the Chairman of Anugraha Smarak Nidhi (Anugrah Memorial Fund). The Department of Posts released a commemorative stamp in his memory. The th birth anniversary[23] of Anugrah Babu was also celebrated by a state level committee headed by Bihar Chief MinisterNitish Kumar. In , various programmes were organized throughout the year in Bihar and biographies of Shri babu and Anugrah Babu were included in the school syllabus.
See also
References
Resources
- Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Meray Sansmaran, an autobiography
- Anugrah Abhinandan Granth samiti. Anugrah Abhinandan Granth.Bihar.
- Anugrah Narayan Centenary Year Celebration Committee. Bihar Bibhuti&#;: Vayakti Aur Kriti, Bihar.
- A.J. Philip, A gentleman among politicians
- Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Correspondence and Select Documents
- R. R. Diwakar, Bihar Through The Ages
- Bihar State Archives, Documentaries and Articles on Dr. A N Sinha
- Bameshwar Singh, Congress ministries under the High Command shadow,
- Bimal Prasad (editor). A Revolutionary's Quest: Selected Writings of Jayaprakash Narayan. Oxford University Press, Delhi.
- P. S. Appu, The All India Services: Decline, Debasement and Destruction