Shri Krishna Singh (politician)

Shri Krishna Sinha (21 October 1887 – 31 January 1961), also known as Shri Babu, was the first chief minister of the Indian state of Bihar (1946–61). Except for the period of World War II, Sinha was the chief minister of Bihar from the time of the first Congress Ministry in 1937 until his death in 1961. Along with the '' Desh Ratna'' Rajendra Prasad and ''Bihar Vibhuti'' Anugrah Narayan Sinha (A.N. Sinha), Sinha is regarded among the 'Architects of Modern Bihar'. He also led the Dalit entry into the Baidyanath Dham temple ( Vaidyanath Temple, Deoghar), which reflected his commitment towards the upliftment and social empowerment of the Dalits. He was the first chief minister in the country to abolish the zamindari system. He underwent different terms of imprisonment for a total of about eight years in British India. Sinha's mass meetings brought hordes of people to hear him. He was known as ''Bihar Kesari'' for his lionlike roars when he rose to address the masses. His close friend and eminent Gandhian ''Bihar Vibhuti'' A.N. Sinha in his essay ''Mere Shri Babu'' wrote that, ''"Since 1921, the History of Bihar has been the history of the life of Shri Babu"''.

The former President of India, Pratibha Patil, released a book on the letters of exchange between Sinha and prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru titled ''Freedom and Beyond''. The correspondence between Nehru and Sinha touches on subjects such as Indian democracy in the making in early years of Independence, Centre-State relations, role of governor, turbulence in Nepal, zamindari abolition and education scenario. Sinha was known for his scholarship and polymathy and he had given his personal collection of 17,000 books to the public library in Munger in 1959 which is now named after him as ''Sri Krishna Seva Sadan''.

Early life and family

Shri Krishna Sinha was born in a Bhumihar Brahman family on 21 October 1887 in the village of Maur, Barbigha in the Munger district of Bengal Presidency (now part of Sheikhpura district). His mother, who was also an unassuming and religious-minded person, died of plague when he was five years old. He was educated in the village school and at Zila School in Munger. In 1906 he joined Patna College, which was then an affiliate of the University of Calcutta. He obtained a master's degree from the University of Calcutta and then doctorate of law from Patna University and started practicing in Munger from 1915. In the meantime, he married and had two sons, Shivshankar and Bandishankar (more commonly known as Swaraj Babu) who later held various posts in the state government.
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Independence movement

Shri Krishna Sinha first met Mahatma Gandhi in 1916 at Central Hindu College, Benares and later at Shah Muhammad Jubair's house in December 1920. At Munger, he vowed to work relentlessly to free India from the British rule. He gave up practising law in 1921 to take part in Gandhi's non-cooperation movement.

He was arrested for the first time in 1922 at Jubair's house and Congress Seva Dal was declared illegal. For this he was known as ''Bihar Kesari'' by the people. He was released from jail in 1923 and on the day of Tulsi Jayanti performed in the play ''Bharat Darshan'' at Central School, Kharagpur. In the same year he became member of the All India Congress Committee.

In 1927, Sinha became member of the Legislative Council and in 1929 became General Secretary of the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC). In 1930, he played an important role in the Namak Satyagrah at Garhpura. He suffered severe scalding injuries to his hands and chest while being arrested, was imprisoned for six months and then was again arrested and imprisoned for two years during the civil disobedience movement. He was released after the Gandhi–Irwin Pact and again started with his nationalist work and work with the Kisan Sabha. On 9 January 1932 he was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 1,000. He was released from Hazaribagh Jail in October 1933. He was involved in relief and rehabilitation after the 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake. He was the President of Munger Zila Parishad from 1934 to 1937. In 1935, he became member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly.

Sinha was also the President of the BPCC in 1936 with A.N. Sinha as his deputy, a member of its working committee and in fact, Sinha and A.N. Sinha were the life and soul of the Provincial Working Committee and of the Congress organisation in the state for over thirty years. This long period of service at the help of the state is a proof not only of the great popularity and confidence which he enjoyed in the party but it symbolises also his great qualities as a co-ordinator between party and government.

On 20 July 1937, he became the Premier of Bihar province when Congress came to power. Under the Government of India Act of 1935, Sinha formed his Cabinet at Patna on 20 July 1937. He and his colleague A.N. Sinha disagreed with the governor on the issue of the release of political prisoners and resigned. The then-governor had to accede to the demands for release of prisoners from Cellular Jail (Kalapani) and Bihar Tenancy Act was reformed in favour of peasants. They then resumed office. But they again resigned in 1939, as did all Congress chief ministers, over the question of involving India in the Second World War without the consent of the Indian people. Along with A.N. Sinha,the first deputy chief minister cum finance minister of Bihar, he is considered one of the makers of modern Bihar.

Sinha was always interested in self-study and his ideas and speeches were noted for their wisdom. He was a staunch opponent of castes and defended the oppressed. Impressed by his courage, in 1940 Gandhi described him as "the first Satyagrahi" of Bihar while A.N. Sinha was the second. He was jailed for nine months (22 November 1940 – 26 August 1941). When the Quit India movement started in 1942, he was arrested on 10 August. He was released in 1944 from Hazaribagh jail after he became seriously ill. In the same year his wife died at Prince of Wales Medical College.

As the former chief minister of Bihar he attended the Simla Conference and also became the member of Constituent Assembly of India which framed the Constitution of India.

Sinha served Bihar continuously from 1946 until his death on 31 January 1961 at the age of 73. In 1978, the Ministry of Culture established a science museum called Srikrishna Science Centre. The biggest conference hall in Patna, Shri Krishna Memorial Hall is also named after him.

Political Legacy

Almost all the development projects in Bihar during this period involved the leadership pair of Sinha and A.N. Sinha. It includes 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. Bihar became the top state in the country's first five-year plan. From the second five-year plan period, Sinha brought several heavy industries like Barauni Refinery, Heavy Engineering Corporation

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