| Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha, (18th June 1887 - 05th July 1957), known as Bihar Vibhuti, was an Indian statesman and eminent freedom fighter. He became the first Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister of the Indian state of Bihar (1946 - 1957). He was one of the architects of modern Bihar. 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. He also held a range of portfolios including Labour, Local Self Government, Public Works, Supply & Price Control, Health and Agriculture. Dr. A.N. Sinha, affectionately called "Babu Saheb", was a very close associate of Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom struggle movement and worked with Dr. Rajendra Prasad to lead the Gandhian movement in Bihar. |
Early Life
The qualities that gave Dr Anugrah Narayan Sinha a place among the eminent nationalists 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 gave his action a ring of truth. He was born to Visveshwar Dayal Singh on 18th June 1887 in a family of Poiyavan village of the erstwhile Gaya district (today known as Aurangabad) of Bihar. As a lad his patriotic virtues were visible. A brilliant student from the beginning of his academic career, Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha obtained his initial education in the village school. From Junior school till graduation he topped the lists at every examination, obtaining an M.A. (History) in 1914 from the prestigious University of Calcutta. He became the Secretary of the Bihar Students Conference founded by Dr. Rajendra Prasad and the Chanakya Society of the Patna College. He served as a volunteer in the Patna Congress. In 1915, he was appointed a Professor of History at the T.N.B. college, Bhagalpur University, Bhagalpur where he remained, known as an ideal professor, until 1916. He organised relief work when Bhagalpur was raved by floods. He began successfully practising law at Patna High Court.
Freedom Movement
In 1917, heeding the call of Mahatma Gandhi to the nation, he left his flourishing law practice to join the Champaran Satyagraha movement. 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" founded by Dr.Rajendra Prasad for motivating young meritorious youths. Among his first students was young Jayprakash Narayan. In 1922, he successfully organized the Gaya Congress. In the following year, he became one of the General Secretaries of the All India Congress Committee (AICC). When Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected Chairman of Patna Municipality, Dr. Anugraha Narayan 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 1930 which is considered an important milestone in the history of Indian Nationalism. His patriotism earned him 15 months of rigorous imprisonment in 1933-34. When a massive earthquake affected Bihar on 15 January 1934, Bihar Central Relief Committee was set up on 17 January 1934, under the Presidentship of Dr.Rajendra Prasad and Dr. Anugraha Narayan Sinha became its Vice-President. He took the task of raising funds to help the people and the relief and rehabilitation work was organised in an elaborate and efficient manner. He was elected as a member of the Central Council in 1935 from Sahabad-cum-Patna Constituency with a massive margin. He became a member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1936. In the provincial autonomy granted by British, under the Government of India Act of 1935, the first Congress ministry was sworn in on 20 July 1937 and he became the Deputy Premier cum Finance Minister of Bihar province. |
|
NCC