Shri Krishna Singh (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.[1] He led the Dalit entry into the Vaidyanath Temple, Deoghar.[2] He was the first chief minister in the country to abolish the zamindari system.[3] He was imprisoned for a total of about eight years in British India. He held mass meetings at which he spoke.[4] He was known as Bihar Kesari for his "lionlike roars" in public speaking.[4]
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.[5][6] The correspondence between Nehru and Sinha touches on subjects such as Indian democracy in the making in the early years of Independence, Centre-State relations, role of governor, turbulence in Nepal, zamindari abolition, and education.[5][6] Sinha gave his personal collection of 17,000 books to the public library in Munger in 1959 which is now named Sri Krishna Seva Shadan after him[7] which in 2016 was reportedly in poor condition due to lack of funding.[8]
Early life and family
Shri Krishna Sinha was born in a Bhumihar family on 21 October 1887 in the village of Maur, Barbigha in the Munger district of Bengal Presidency (now part of Sheikhpura district).[9] His mother 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.[10][citation needed]
He was arrested for the first time in 1922 and Congress Seva Dal was declared illegal. For this he was known as Bihar Kesari[further explanation needed]. 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.[10]
In 1927 Sinha became a member of the Legislative Council and in 1929 became General Secretary of the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC). In 1930, he participated 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 was elected President of the Bihar Provincial Congress Committee in 1935 and 1953. He was elected to the Central Legislature in 1935–36. Shri Sinha was elected to the Bihar Legislature Assembly in 1935,[11] 1946, 1952 and 1957 and re-elected leader of the Congress Legislature Party in all the three successive terms.[12][additional citation(s) needed]
Sinha was also the President of the BPCC in 1936 with A.N. Sinha as his deputy,[13] a member of its working committee and the two held the positions for over thirty years.[14]
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 the 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,[15][additional citation(s) needed] he is considered by some to be one of the makers of modern Bihar.[10]
Sinha opposed the caste system in India. In 1940 Gandhi described him as "the first Satyagrahi" of Bihar while A.N. Sinha was the second.[16] He was jailed for nine months (22 November 1940 – 26 August 1941). During the Quit India movement, which 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.[10]
