Revolutionary activities in Bihar | BPSC Preparation: All subjects - BPSC (Bihar) PDF Download

Formation of Youth Organizations in Bihar

In response to the growing fervor for independence, several youth organizations were established in Bihar during the early 20th century. These organizations aimed to mobilize young people for revolutionary activities and promote nationalist ideas. Some of the prominent youth organizations formed during this period include:

• Anushilan Samiti: Founded by Sachindra Nath Sanyal in Patna in 1913, this organization aimed at promoting physical culture and preparing young people for revolutionary activities.
• Hindu Boys Association: Established by Bankim Chandra Mitra, this association focused on instilling nationalist sentiments among Hindu youth. Mitra was later arrested in connection with the Benaras Conspiracy Case.
• Patna Yuvak Sangha: Founded in 1927 by Manindra Narayan Roy, this organization aimed to inspire young people in Patna to engage in nationalist activities.
• Bihari Yuvak Sangha: Established in 1928 in Motihari, this organization sought to mobilize youth for the cause of independence.
• Patliputra Yuvak Sangha: Founded in 1929 by Rambriksha Benipuri and Ambika Kant Singh, this organization aimed to promote nationalist activities among the youth in Patliputra (modern-day Patna).
• Monthly Magazine 'Yuvak': Launched from Patna, this magazine aimed to disseminate nationalist ideas and promote youth involvement in the freedom struggle.

Women Freedom Fighters from Bihar

• Sarla Devi, Prabhavati Devi, Rajvanshi Devi, and Radhika Devi were among the women who took part in the freedom struggle from Bihar. They participated in a women’s movement organized by Kasturba Gandhi in 1919.
• CC Das and Urmila Das organized the Charakha Samiti in Patna to show their participation in the Non-Cooperation Movement. Sarla Devi encouraged school children to abolish English schools.
• Shailbala Roy motivated thousands of women in Bihar to prepare salt during the Civil Disobedience Movement. In Patna, women held mass funerals for foreign clothes.
• Ram Swarup Devi was jailed in 1931 in Bhagalpur Central Jail for her role in the Civil Disobedience Movement. Chandravati Devi protested against the Chowkidari tax.
• Kusum Kumari Devi organized people in Arrah to protest against the capital punishment of Bhagat Singh on March 23, 1931.
• Priyamvada Devi, Jagat Rani Devi, Janki Devi, and Mahadevi Kejriwal participated in the individual Satyagraha called by Mahatma Gandhi in 1940.
• Bhagwati Devi, sister of Dr. Rajendra Prasad, organized the Charkha Samiti in 1942 during the Quit India Movement.
• Radhika Devi and Sunita Devi in Vaishali disguised themselves as men to spread awareness in remote areas.
• During the Quit India Movement, many women from Bihar, including Sudha Sharma and Dhaturi Devi, were shot dead in Munger.
• Sharda Devi and Usha Rani Mukherjee were influential women in Bihar who served as role models for others.
• Saraswati Devi became the president of the Hazari Bagh District Congress Committee during the Civil Disobedience Movement and was arrested along with Sadhana Devi for their involvement.

Famous People from Modern History of Bihar

Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha

• Birth and Early Life: Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha was born on November 10, 1871, in Arrah, Bhojpur. He played a significant role in advocating for a separate province of Bihar.
• Political Involvement: He was actively involved in the Home Rule League Movement and served as a member of the Imperial Legislative Council from 1910 to 1920.
• Contributions: Dr. Sinha established the Sinha Library in 1924. He made history as the first Indian to become a member of the House of Lords and the Privy Council.
• Constitutional Assembly: On December 9, 1946, Dr. Sinha was appointed as the Interim President of the Constitutional Assembly of India.

Rajendra Prasad

• Early Life: Born on December 3, 1884, in Ziradei, Siwan district, Rajendra Prasad became a prominent leader in the Indian National Movement from Bihar.
• Support for Gandhi: A staunch supporter of Mahatma Gandhi, Prasad was imprisoned by British authorities during the Salt Satyagraha in 1930 and the Quit India Movement in 1942.
• Leadership Roles: He was elected President of the Indian National Congress in 1934 and later became President of the Constituent Assembly on December 11, 1946, which drafted the Constitution of India.
• Presidency: When India became a Republic in 1950, Prasad was elected its first President by the Constituent Assembly.
• Death: He passed away on February 28, 1963, in Patna.

Shri Krishna Singh

• Early Life: Born on October 21, 1887, in Nawada district, Shri Krishna Singh became the first Chief Minister of Bihar, serving from 1946 to 1961. He was also known as Shri Babu and Bihar Kesari.
• Contributions to Bihar: Along with Dr. Rajendra Prasad and Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha, he is considered one of the Architects of Modern Bihar. He was committed to the social upliftment and empowerment of Dalits, exemplified by his leadership in allowing Dalits entry into the Baidyanath Dham temple at Deoghar.
• Abolition of Zamindari: Shri Krishna Singh was the first Chief Minister in India to abolish the Zamindari system. He was also imprisoned by the British authorities for a total of about eight years during the freedom struggle.
• Death: He passed away on January 31, 1961.

Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha

• Early Life and Career: Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha was born on June 18, 1887. He became the first Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister of Bihar, serving from 1946 to 1957.
• Role in Constitution Assembly: Sinha was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India, responsible for drafting the Constitution. He later served in India’s first Parliament.
• Political Leadership: He was elected deputy leader of the Congress Party in the State Assembly and re-elected when the Congress won Bihar’s first general election in 1952.
• Death: Dr. Sinha passed away on July 5, 1957.

Swami Sahajanand Saraswati

• Early Life: Born on February 22, 1889, in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, Swami Sahajanand Saraswati was an ascetic, nationalist, and peasant leader.
• Contributions: He was an intellectual, prolific writer, social reformer, and revolutionary. He founded the All India Kisan Sabha, initially focusing on Bihar and later expanding across the country.
• Later Life: Swami Sahajanand established an Ashram at Bihta, near Patna, where he conducted much of his work in the later part of his life.

Yogendra Shukla

• Early Life: Born in 1896, Yogendra Shukla was an Indian nationalist and played a significant role in the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA).
• Political Involvement: He was a founding member of the Congress Socialist Party in Bihar, alongside Basawon Singh.
• Imprisonment: From 1932 to 1937, Shukla was imprisoned in Kalapani as a leader of the revolutionary movement in Bihar. He was a close associate of Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutta.
• Death: Yogendra Shukla passed away in 1966.

Yadunandan Sharma

• Born in 1896, Yadunandan Sharma was an Indian peasant leader and nationalist from Bihar. 
• He initiated the Reora Satyagraha, a movement advocating for the rights of tillers against the oppressive practices of Zamindars and the British. He passed away in 1975.

Krishna Ballabh Sahay

• Krishna Ballabh Sahay, born on December 31, 1898, in Patna, was an Indian freedom fighter. 
• He received the Gaits Gold Medal for his excellence in English and his works are preserved in the Bihar assembly. He died on June 3, 1974.

Rambriksh Benipuri

• Rambriksh Benipuri, born on December 23, 1899, in Benipur, Muzaffarpur, was a socialist leader, editor, and Hindi writer. He founded the Bihar Socialist Party in 1931 and the Congress Socialist Party in 1934.
• He also started the newspaper 'Yuvak' in Patna, which was the mouthpiece of the Patna Yuvak Sangh established in 1927.

Karyanand Sharma

• Karyanand Sharma, born in 1901 in Munger district, was a nationalist and peasant leader. He actively participated in the Non-cooperation Movement and the Kisan Movement. 
• Influenced by Marxist ideals, he later became a member of the Communist Party of India. He passed away in 1965.

Jayaprakash Narayan

• Jayaprakash Narayan, born on October 11, 1902, at Sitab Diyara in Saran, was a freedom fighter, social reformer, and political leader. He joined the Indian National Congress in 1929 and participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement. In 1952, he formed the Praja Socialist Party and joined Vinoba Bhave’s Bhoodan Movement. 
• He was affectionately known as JP or Lok Nayak. In 1999, he was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, and he received the Magsaysay Award for Public Service in 1965. The Patna airport is named in his honor, and recently, the Chhapra-Delhi-Chhapra Weekly Express was renamed as ‘Loknayak Express’ in his tribute. He passed away on October 8, 1979.

Sheel Bhadra Yajee

• Born in 1906, Sheel Bhadra Yajee was an activist and peasant leader from Bihar involved in the Indian Independence Movement. He joined the Congress Socialist Party and participated in the Kisan Movement. 
• Later, he collaborated with Subhash Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi. In 1939, he co-founded the All India Forward Bloc with Bose. Yajee was a strong advocate against caste prejudice and believed in the active participation of peasants, workers, and the middle class in societal transformation. 
• He authored several books, including "A Glimpse of the Indian Labour Movement" and "True Face of Monopolistic American Democracy." He passed away in 1996, and the Government of India issued a commemorative stamp in his honor on January 28, 2001.

Baikuntha Shukla

• Born in 1907, Baikuntha Shukla was associated with revolutionary organizations like the Hindustan Seva Dal and Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). 
• He was an Indian nationalist and revolutionary who was hanged for the murder of Phanindra Nath Ghosh, a government approver whose testimony led to the hanging of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru. 
• Shukla participated in the Salt Satyagraha of 1930 at a young age and was arrested and tried for killing Phanindra Ghosh. He was convicted and hanged in Gaya Central Jail on May 14, 1934.

Jagjivan Ram

• Born on April 5, 1908, in Chandwa near Arrah in Bhojpur, Jagjivan Ram was an Indian independence activist and politician from Bihar. He was a prominent leader of the Dalit community and played a crucial role in founding the All-India Depressed Classes League, an organization advocating for equality for untouchables. 
• Ram served as the Defence Minister during the Indo-Pak war of 1971 and is remembered for his significant contributions to the Green Revolution in India and modernizing Indian agriculture during his tenures as Union Agriculture Minister.
• In 1977, he departed from Congress and became part of the Janata Party coalition. He subsequently held the position of Deputy Prime Minister of India from 1977 to 1979 and established Congress (J) in 1981. He was commonly referred to as Babuji and passed away on July 6, 1986.

Basawon Singh

• Born in 1909, Basawon Singh was a founding member of the Congress Socialist Party in Bihar, alongside Yogendra Shukla. He was actively involved in the India Independence Movement and advocated for the rights of the underprivileged, industrial laborers, and agricultural workers. 
• His commitment to independence led to him spending over 15 years in British Indian prisons. He was dedicated to the principles of Democratic Socialism. Basawon Singh passed away on April 7, 1989. In his honor, the Government of India issued a commemorative stamp on March 23, 2000, and an indoor stadium in Hazipur bears his name.

Ram Narayan Sharma

• Born on August 31, 1915, Ram Narayan Sharma was a freedom fighter, trade union leader, and political figure from Dhanbad. He was imprisoned by the British for three and a half years during the Satyagraha and Mass Movement from 1941 to 1945. 
• An activist of the Indian National Congress, he served as a member of the 5th Lok Sabha representing Bihar. Ram Narayan Sharma passed away on April 11, 1985.

Satyendra Narayan Sinha

• Satyendra Narayan Sinha was born on July 12, 1917, in Poiwan, Aurangabad district. He served as the Chief Minister of Bihar and was an Indian statesman involved in the India Independence Movement. During the Emergency period, he played a significant role in JP's 'complete revolution' movement. 
• He is credited with establishing the Indira Gandhi Planetarium in Patna and authored an autobiography titled 'Meri Yaadein, Meri Bhoolein.' Sinha was elected to the Parliament seven times from the Aurangabad constituency, served three terms in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, and was a member of the Bihar Legislative Council once.

Kailashpati Mishra

• Born on October 5, 1923, in Buxar, Bihar, Kailashpati Mishra was affectionately known as the 'Bhishma Pitamah' of the Bihar BJP. He participated in the Quit India Movement in 1942 and later engaged in post-independence general elections, serving as the Finance Minister of Bihar from 1977 to 1978. 
• Mishra was also recognized for his motivational poetry and passed away on November 3, 2012.

Devipad Choudhary

• Devipad Choudhary was born on August 16, 1928, in Jamalpur village, Silhut (now in Bangladesh). He inspired Indians to join the freedom movement and became a martyr on August 11, 1942, for his active support in the Patna Secretariate incident. 
• To honor his sacrifice, Miller High School was renamed Devipad Choudhary High School.

Vilayat Ali

• Vilayat Ali was a prominent leader of the Wahabi Movement in Bihar, which he organized in 1826. He criticized religious corruptions and advocated for a return to the simplicity of faith and society. 
• Vilayat Ali played a pivotal role in uniting Muslims against British rule and actively fought alongside his followers against the British. He passed away in 1852.

George Fernandes

• George Fernandes was born on June 3, 1930, in Mangalore, Karnataka, but spent most of his life in Bihar. He was a distinguished parliamentarian and social activist, holding various ministerial positions, including railways and defence. 
• Notably, he served as the Defence Minister during the Kargil War in 1999. Fernandes passed away on January 29, 2019, at the age of 88, in New Delhi.

Timeline of Key Events in Bihar