THE LEGACY" :4: KRISHNA AND KRISHNA: SRI KRISHNA SINHA AND KRISHNA BALLABH SAHAY (31/01/2021)

SRI KRISHNA SINHA
(21.10. 1887-31.01.1961)

 

KRISHNA BALLABH SAHAY
(31.12.1898-03.06.1974)

60 years have passed since Sri Krishna Sinha, the first Chief Minister and the only Chief Minister of Bihar to die in office, left us on this day i.e. 31^st January. That was the year 1961. When we look back at his political career, especially in the post-independence era, his association with Krishna Ballabh Sahay stands out as a superb example of what two Krishnas were capable of doing together for the development of the State. There was a time not so long ago when the two Krishnas reigned supreme not only in Bihar but in India as well.

Both these stalwarts entered the freedom struggle during the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1919. Both were incarcerated, albeit in different jails. It was in jail that Sri Krishna Sinha got the news of the birth of his second son. When his jail inmates asked him about his son’s name he said nonchalantly ‘He is the son of a prisoner. He will be called ‘bandi’ (बंदी का बेटा है। नाम तो बंदी ही होगा।). Thus the second son of Sri Babu came to be known as Bandi Shankar Singh.

Both Sri Krishna Sinha and Krishna Ballabh Sahay were released from jail in 1922. In 1925 there was a meeting of the Congress at Shimla where these two luminaries met for the first time. However, this was just a formal meeting.

On 31^st December 1922 in the annual meeting of the Congress at Gaya Chittaranjan Das and Motilal Nehru advocated Council entry with an aim to subvert the smooth functioning of the government from inside. The Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms (Government of India Act, 1919) or more briefly known as the Mont-Ford Reforms were reforms introduced by the colonial government in British India to gradually introduce self-governing institutions in India. The top leadership of Congress including Mahatma Gandhi opposed the idea to subvert the government through Council entry. Hence the resolution was rejected by the Congress. But these two lawyers did not accept this setback and on that very day they arranged a meeting at the residence of their client the Tekari Maharaja of Gaya and announced the formation of the Congress Swaraj Party with the prime objective of subverting the British Government’s effort from inside through Council entry. Gandhiji acceded to their decision and allowed the Swaraj Party to function as a wing of the Congress. On 26^th February 1923 the Bihar Swaraj Party was formed with Sri Narayan Prasad as its President and Krishna Ballabh Sahay and Harnandan Sahay as the two Secretaries.  In another meeting held on 9^th May 1923, Sri Arunjay Sahay Verma was elected President and Krishna Ballabh Sahay and Abdul Bari were elected as the two Secretaries. The Bihar Swaraj Party won 6 seats in the Council in elections in 1923. Krishna Ballabh Sahay urged Sri Krishna Sinha to join the Swaraj Party and in the next election in 1926, Sri Krishna Sinha got elected as a Congress Swaraj Party candidate. Krishna Ballabh Sahay used to put across his views in a forceful manner during discussions in Council and this impressed Sri Krishna Sinha. He saw in K. B. Sahay the traits of an able administrator. Sri Babu began relying on K. B. Sahay on all administrative matters. 

During the period 1930-1934 Krishna Ballabh Sahay was jailed on four occasions for participation in the Civil Disobedience Movement. K. B. Sahay was incarcerated in the Hazaribagh Central Jail (Now Loknayak Jai Prakash Central Jail) and Sri Krishna Sinha joined him as a political prisoner on 9^th January 1932. They spent the next two years in jail together. This strengthened their bond of friendship.

In 1937 when elections were held under the Government of India Act, 1935, Congress emerged as the single largest party with 99 seats. However, the central leadership of the Congress was in two minds about joining the Government. Hence, the then Governor of Bihar James David Shifton invited Mohammad Yunus, the leader of the second-largest party, the Muslim Independent Party, which had won 20 seats to form government in Bihar. Thus Mohammad Yunus, known also as the founder of the popular newspaper ‘The Searchlight’, became the first Prime Minister (as the Head of a province was then called) of Bihar on 1^st April 1937, ahead of Sri Krishna Sinha.

However, Mohammad Yunus failed to prove his majority and therefore he had to resign. Sri Krishna Sinha and Sri Anugrah Narayan Sinha were both members of the Central Assembly (Council of States) and were not directly connected with State politics. Hence the then Congress President Maulana Abul Kalam Azad backed the candidature of Syed Mahmud for the Premier of Bihar. However, Dr Rajendra Prasad intervened in favour of Sri Krishna Sinha. Dr Prasad’s effort was actively supported by Sri Anugrah Narayan Sinha and Krishna Ballabh Sahay. Thus Sri Krishna Sinha took over as the Premier of Bihar. Maulana Azad was so miffed with the development that he also mentioned this incident in those sealed thirty pages of his autobiography ‘India Wins Freedom’ that was finally published thirty years after his death, as per his wishes.

Sri Krishna Sinha who was impressed with the administrative acumen of K. B. Sahay made him one of the Parliamentary Secretaries and posted him directly under himself for assisting him in all administrative matters. K. B. Sahay left his impression on every administrative decision of the time. This further sharpened his administrative skill. K. B. Sahay was very particular about the superiority of the elected government vis-à-vis the bureaucracy. The bureaucracy remained on tenterhooks under K. B. Sahay as he never tolerated any slackness. A. Munim of Dr S. Radhakrishnan Center of Social & Cultural Studies, Patna recounts an event in following words- ‘The third remarkable feature of K. B. Sahay’s multifaceted personality was, undoubtedly his brilliant administrative acumen. He was tireless in going through all the files minutely, critically and methodically. He had the proverbial patience to wade through the intricacies of papers and documents. He had an uncanny memory. He did not indulge in gossips while he interviewed a large number of people daily. His decisions on numerous administrative issues were quick, firm and decisive. He did not soft-paddle the problems. He did not know the art of putting off the matters of appeasing or accommodating unreasonable persons. In this context, the fate of the famous or infamous Brett Circular is a classic example. K. B. Sahay, in the first Congress ministry formed in 1937 and headed by Dr Sri Krishna Sinha, was only Parliamentary Secretary, attached with the Chief Minister. To put it very briefly, Mr W. B. Brett, I.C.S. as Chief Secretary to the then Bihar government, had issued a circular to all Commissioners of Divisions and Heads of Departments curtailing the powers of the ministers by quoting Rule 13 of the Rules of Executive Business. It was a rude challenge and an open affront to the elected Congress Government. K. B. Sahay took up the challenge on behalf of the Congress ministry in consultation with the Chief Minister Dr S. K. Sinha. The circular had to be withdrawn on the 24^th December 1937 signed by the same Chief Secretary Mr W. B. Brett. The British civilian had to eat humble pie. K. B. Sahay had cornered W. B. Brett’.

The duo of Sri Krishna Sinha and K. B. Sahay took a number of decisions that reversed the decision of an alien rule. Thus the rise in land revenue was withdrawn. Setting free all political prisoners was another such decision. The genesis of Zamindari abolition can be traced back to this period and their effort to bring about any change in the Zamindari System was effectively stonewalled by the ultimate authority i.e. the Governor.

The Congress Ministries resigned in 1939 after the outbreak of World War II. Krishna Ballabh Sahay was not satisfied with the achievement of the interim the government in matters of agrarian reforms due to the restricted powers the British had allowed being exercised by the elected representatives. He joined the peasant movement and arranged a number of meetings throughout Bihar to mobilize farmers against the existing land revenue system and sought their support. Soon his meetings became very popular and successful. K. B. Sahay arranged one such meeting at Shahabad in Kudra on 11^th May 1942 which was presided over by Dr Rajendra Prasad. Sri Krishna Sinha invited Krishna Ballabh Sahay to Monghyr where a meeting was organized to highlight the plight of farmers under the Banaili Raj. This meeting was also attended by J. B. Kriplani. In 1942, Mahatma Gandhi gave the clarion call of ‘Quit India Movement.’ At the dawn of 9^th August 1942, all top Congress leaders were arrested and sent to different jails. Krishna Ballabh Sahay and Sri Krishna Sinha was sent off to Hazaribagh Central Jail.

In 1946, after it became clear that the British had agreed to transfer power, interim governments were formed in all the provinces. In Bihar Sri Krishna Sinha headed the interim government. Krishna Ballabh Sahay was assigned the ministry of Revenue & Forest. Till now Krishna Ballabh Sahay had not shouldered the responsibility of a ministry independently and he was relatively young. To put him at ease with the bureaucratic paraphernalia, Sri Babu asked him which I.C.S. he would be comfortable to work with so that he may be posted to his ministry. Pat came the reply-‘Post any I.C.S. and I will grind him like anything’- such was K.B.’s confidence in administrative matters.

The next, eleven years (1946-1957) were the most tumultuous years in the life of K. B. Sahay. It was during this period K. B. Sahay piloted legislations to undo the Permanent Settlement Act, 1793 and introduce legislation for the welfare of the peasantry. The Zamindari Abolition Act or the Bihar Land Reforms Act, the Bakasht Dispute Settlement Act, the Bihar Tenancy (Amendment) Act, the Chhotanagpur Tenancy (Amendment) Act, the Santhal Parganas (Amendment) Act, the Bihar Fallow Land (Reclamation, Cultivation & Improvement) Act and a horde of other Acts were passed by K. B. Sahay as the Revenue Minister. This brought him in direct conflict with the zamindars who opposed him tooth and nail and even made an attempt on his life. But throughout this tumultuous period, Sri Babu stood firmly behind K.B. Sahay as a rock and extended him his full support in his endeavour to bring about the desired agrarian reforms including the abolition of zamindari. If K. B. Sahay piloted the land reforms in Bihar, it was Sri Krishna Sinha who ensured that it did happen the way K. B. Sahay wanted it to happen. Thus Bihar became the first state to abolish zamindari in independent India.

It was not only in administrative matters that Sri Babu depended upon the administrative skill of K. B. Sahay but he also made use of K. B. Sahay’s English to establish newspapers in Bihar to voice the Government’s point of view and to counter the newspapers of Darbhanga Raj. Thus while shouldering the responsibility of the Revenue Minister; K. B. Sahay also edited ‘Rashtra-vaani’ and ‘Nav-Shakti’.

K. B. Sahay paid a heavy price for championing the cause of the peasants. The zamindars assembled to oppose him and they got an opportunity when they defeated him in the 1957 general elections. However, after this defeat, while Sri Babu rehabilitated Mahesh Babu, who was also defeated in 1957, as the Chairman of the Khadi Board, he left K. B. Sahay to cool his heels in isolation. This infuriated Jai Prakash Narayan who brought this injustice to the notice of Dr Rajendra Prasad through a letter. K. B. Sahay requested Jai Prakash Narayan to refrain from further taking up his case as it had brought him in direct conflict with Sri Babu which he did not relish. Moreover, he had supported Anugrah Narayan Sinha for the leadership of Congress Legislative Party leadership that Anugrah Babu had lost. Anugrah Babu died soon thereafter. K. B. Sahay wrote an extensive article in ‘The Searchlight’ which cleared all the differences between him and Sri Babu and things did patch up before the demise of Sri Babu in 1961. With the demise of Sri Babu a chapter in the political history of Bihar came to a close.

In October 1963 Krishna Ballabh Sahay took over as the Chief Minister of Bihar after defeating Beer Chand Patel in the election for Bihar Congress Legislative leadership election which was held due to the removal of the incumbent CM Binodanand Jha under the ‘Kamraj Plan’. Krishna Ballabh Sahay remembered his friendship with Sri Babu and paid back by including his son Bandi Shankar Singh (who was now known as Swaraj Shankar Singh after independence) in his cabinet.

 

'THE LEGACY' : 3: MOHAN AND KRISHNA: MOHANDAS KARAMCHAND GANDHI AND KRISHNA BALLABH SAHAY (30/01/2021)

MOHANDAS KARAMCHAND GANDHI

KRISHNA BALLABH SAHAY

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES 6TH JANUARY 1946

LETTER K. B. SAHAY WROTE TO DR RAJENDRA PRASAD

LETTER K. B. SAHAY WROTE TO DR RAJENDRA PRASAD ABOUT HIS DISCUSSION WITH SARDAR VALLABH BHAI PATEL IN RIOT CONDITIONS IN BIHAR

By 1946 it had become clear that the British were interested in the transfer of power and leave India. In Bihar Sri Krishna Sinha formed the interim Government and took over as the Prime Minister. K. B. Sahay joined the cabinet as the Revenue Minister. The decision to divide the nation led to the outbreak of communal riots in several places, especially Punjab and Bengal- the States which were to be bifurcated. Sri Krishna Sinha took necessary law and order measures to control the situation in Bihar. However, despite all efforts to enforce law and order and maintain peace and harmony, communal riots broke out in Bihar due to the provocation both by the Hindu and Muslim organizations as news poured in from Bengal and other States about the riots in those States. A riot broke out on 24th October 1946 when several Muslim families were targeted by Hindu mobs in retaliation to the Great Calcutta Killings as well as Noakhali Riots. The riots were a spontaneous reaction. The Sri Krishna Sinha’s Government was all geared up to tackle such an eventuality. It came down swiftly on mischief-makers. In Chhotanagpur region K. B. Sahay was quick to control lawlessness. He presented a fine example of strict administrator as riots were contained in this region in a couple of days, though sporadic events continued till 11th November.  

While the Bihar Government was still tackling riots, continuous questioning by the Central leadership, especially by Mahatma Gandhi, kept the Bihar Government on tenterhooks, since statements made by them, fuelled the surcharged atmosphere. K. B. Sahay was perturbed at the manner the issue was handled by Mahatma Gandhi in Hindu dominated areas vis-à-vis the Muslim dominated areas. Mahatma Gandhi was concerned at the massacre of Muslims in Bihar and sought an explanation from the Provincial Government. Mahatma Gandhi proposed a Commission of Enquiry to be set-up to examine Hindu ‘atrocity’ in Bihar and also desired the enquiry should be carried out in open to instil faith in Muslims. K. B. Sahay was opposed to such a move and other such interventions by Mahatma Gandhi in controlling riots. He believed that it would affect the morale of the administration adversely. He considered such decisions weak, administratively that would only vitiate the atmosphere further. Dr Rajendra Prasad impressed upon Sri Krishna Sinha to apprise Mahatma Gandhi of the situation in Bihar but the Premier was hesitant to apprise Mahatma Gandhi in person. Hence the burden of detailing the efforts of the Bihar Government at controlling riots and the relief operations being carried out fell on the shoulders K.B. Sahay, who was deputed to meet Mahatma Gandhi. As usual Krishna Ballabh Sahay did not shirk from this responsibility and agreed to head a delegation that met Mahatma Gandhi to apprise him of the situation in Bihar and the efforts made by the provincial government in controlling the riots. 

The Bihar Delegation led by K. B. Sahay met Mahatma Gandhi at Chandipur on 5th January 1947. K. B. Sahay submitted a memorandum to Gandhiji containing the notes prepared by the Bihar Government as a reply to and refute certain charges said to have been levelled by the Bengal Premier R. S. Suhrawardy, in a letter dated 15th December 1946 addressed to Gandhiji, regarding the treatment of refugees in Bihar. K. B. Sahay placed all relevant papers before Gandhiji and explained to him the issues in detail. Regarding the Bengal Premier’s charge that Khwaja Nazimuddin and his party were not allowed to enter two refugee camps in Monghyr district on 12th December, K. B. Sahay informed that the party was stopped by a sentry as they had no official permit to enter the refugee camps. The District Magistrate of Monghyr, Khan Bahadur Omar at his discretion had passed orders refusing entry to anybody to assure the safety of the refugees. K. B. Sahay informed Gandhiji that before Khwaja Nizamuddin’s visit, Malik Firoz Khan Noon, who had obtained passes, was not stopped and had visited the camps. Thus no such restriction exists anywhere in the province. 

K. B. Sahay also informed Mahatma Gandhi that the management of nearly all Government camps had been in the hands of the Muslim League throughout the state whose volunteers kept a vigil on the safety of inmates of refugee camps. This apart, the armed guard had been provided in some camps to give the Muslims a sense of security and the movements of the refugees were free. As regards the arrest of alleged culprits, the delegation informed Gandhiji that the Patna district figure alone was about 1600 but the progress of work in this respect had been retarded by the absence of complaints and of witnesses who were reported to have left the province. 

Concerning the treatment of victims, K. B. Sahay informed Gandhiji that out of a total of 1550 persons admitted to hospital (650 being serious cases) only 30 deaths occurred and the percentage of successful treatment in the Patna General Hospital was 96%. Complaints regarding the quality of food were received only on three occasions and immediate steps were taken wherever possible. The meal fixed for refugee camps consists of rice, dal and one vegetable. In all the Government refugee camps salt, mustard oil, kerosene, fuel etc were provided by the Government- K. B. Sahay informed about the amenities in refugee camps. In affected villages, foodstuffs worth Rs. 44,000/- were supplied free. Multi-vitamin tablets numbering 60,000 and rations at the rate of two seers and ten chhattaks cereal plus pulse and vegetable per week were supplied free. Blankets numbering 60,000, dhotis and sarees numbering 18,902, kurta numbering 7,534, pyjamas numbering 20,000 were also supplied free in these villages. The assistance extended to inmates of refugee camps was explained by K. B. Sahay to Mahatma Gandhi in such detail to convince him of the commitment of an elected Government towards its citizens, irrespective of his caste, creed, gender or religion. 

Further, K. B. Sahay also apprised Mahatma Gandhi regarding the effort made by the Government in alleviating fear in the minds of the Muslims of a possible recurrence of such trouble because he felt it was a result of this fear that they became the victim of devious designs of the unscrupulous elements in society. K. B. Sahay assured Gandhiji that the exodus had slowed down over the days and some people had returned from Bengal. The Bihar Government had organized large scale propaganda against the idea of an exodus. Security measures for the protection of Muslims, such as the opening of new police stations and outposts and the establishment of a new sub-division at Hilsa in Patna district and development of road communication in the affected areas were some of the issues under the active consideration of the Government. 

K. B. Sahay informed Mahatma Gandhi that military patrolling was carried out continuously and the armed escorts maintain complete harmony with relief workers. Transport and petrol were provided free to all relief organizations. The Muslim League alone was given 3,553 gallons of petrol, the highest gallonage granted to any organization. 

 Mahatma Gandhi did not appreciate the effort of the State Government and insisted on the institution of an enquiry committee for Bihar to go into the whole issue of riots. This insistence on the part of Mahatma Gandhi at a time when the relief and rehabilitation work launched by the provincial government was in full swing amounted to questioning the integrity of the Government because such a decision would have tarnished the credibility of an elected government terribly. In a letter to Sri Krishna Sinha dated 25th March 1947, Dr Rajendra Prasad suggested him not to shy away from Mahatma Gandhi but keep him informed of the situation in Bihar. However, K. B. Sahay was aware of the repercussions of such a decision which he expressed candidly in a letter to Dr Rajendra Prasad in which he referred to his discussion on the matter with Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel requesting him to talk to Mahatma Gandhi to re-think on his decision regarding the institution of the Enquiry Committee. Verbatim reproduction of this letter dated 1st April 1947 will help understand K. B. Sahay’s views on communal riots better:

‘I discussed the following points with Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel-

1)   The Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Commission of Enquiry: Bapu wants the enquiry should be open to the public. We think that if the enquiry is open it will add to communal bitterness. 

2)   Our present policy is that we give grants for rehabilitation and for re-building to Mussalmans who are few in any village leaving them free to build houses for themselves elsewhere. Bapu wants that it should be open to any Mussalmans to offer his house and his land to be acquired by the Government which would become State property and that he would get their price and be free to settle anywhere else he likes. Our difficulty in accepting this formula is that it will give the Mussalmans an the opportunity of expressing dissatisfaction with the amount that we give them and it will also ultimately lead to the establishment of pockets for which the Mussalmans have been agitating. Bapu is very insistent that we should accept this formula. 

3)   We want to deal sternly with the Police rebels and those political parties which we suspect foment the trouble. One of the political parties is the Socialist Party. This is inconsistent with Bapu’s advice that we cannot ignore the personality of Jai Prakash Narayan. We feel that if we are to negotiate with Mr Jai Prakash Narayan we cannot deal sternly with the Police or maintain discipline amongst them.

4)   Bapu mentioned Dr Syed Mahmud’s grievance that rehabilitation in Bihar was not entrusted to him. Our opinion is that if it is entrusted to him it will lead to undesirable results and that the work that he is in charge is sufficiently heavy. Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel said that Hon’ble Abdul Qayyum Ansari should be given rehabilitation. 

5)   I mentioned to Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel that Bapu’s receiving all sorts of complaints against Congressmen and the Ministry had weakened both. As an instance, I cited the case of Deputy Magistrate Patnaik, Secretary of Provincial Executive Service representing his grievance to Bapu. There are persistent rumours in the province that there will be a reshuffling of the Ministry and that Law & Order will be entrusted to Dr Syed Mahmud. Bapu told us that he made it plain to those who met him that it was not for him to make any change in the Ministry, but the fact that he hears complaints has its repercussions. 

The concluding statement that ‘the fact that he (Bapu) hears complaints has its repercussions’, sums up the state of affairs in those times when administrative decisions were getting influenced by heresy and Bapu’s interference in day to day administration had made controlling riots a tougher task. Such interference was disliked by Krishna Ballabh Sahay and he put across his point of view before Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel in no uncertain terms. This toughness became a characteristic trait of K. B. Sahay who dealt with administrative matters including controlling riots and keeping in check all mischievous elements in the society with an iron fist. Such toughness was essential to enable the law and order machinery function independently, impartially and transparently to maintain peace and harmony in society. K. B. Sahay was strictly against any form or type of appeasement that became a recurring feature of Congress government in the late Seventies. (Source: National Archives, New Delhi)

After independence, K. B. Sahay as the Revenue Minister in Government of Bihar introduced the Zamindari Abolition Bill in the Bihar Legislative Assembly. This was vehemently opposed by the zamindars. They resorted to various measures to forestall the passage of the Zamindari Abolition Bill. They even sought the support of Congress leaders and were jubilant when their effort met a supporting voice from none other than Mahatma Gandhi who, in a prayer meeting at Patna, ‘complained of growing lawlessness among peasantry and labour. Such lawlessness was criminal and bound to involve the very peasantry and labour in ruin!’ (The Searchlight, 19.04.1947) Ramnandan Mishra, a staunch leader of Kisan Sabha, was quick to retort- ‘The report of your speech published in today's ‘The Indian Nation’ is unjust and unfair….. there is a great danger of your speech being used by pro-landlord officers in crushing the peaceful and yet powerful movement of the kisans…… As regards violence being resorted to by landlords apart from forced dispossessions, I am attaching a list of murders, brutal assassinations and incendiaries carried out by zamindars. The list is not exhaustive but just illustrative. …. I am giving below a few lines from a magisterial report- ‘the first party are reported to be turbulent people and number 1 (Babu Baij Nath Singh of Barahiya) is better known as Hitler. Preparations are afoot on a Hitler style to crush us. If we go down, nothing can save the Congress and those who profess in your creed…’ (Sahajanand Papers, NMML, New Delhi) 

Gandhi, who had made ambiguity a fine art, was also quick to tread back and in his post prayer meeting, spoke, for the first time, unreservedly against the zamindari system and said that ‘this the system was bound to go’. (The Searchlight) Gandhiji did not live long to see the ultimate passage of the Zamindari Abolition Bill in 1950. The Act closed a chapter in the Indian History which had a legacy of more than a hundred and fifty years in the form of the Permanent Settlement Act, 1793 introduced by Lord Cornwallis. (Agrarian Reforms from Above and Below: Bihar 1947-1978 by Arvind N Das) 

However, these pull and push apart, it mustn’t be construed that there were any basic differences whatsoever in the outlook of Krishna Ballabh Sahay and his mentor Mahatma Gandhi. There are numerous instances as recorded in the Bihar Legislative Assembly debates when K. B. Sahay, as the Chief Minister of the State, referred to Bapu, who he regarded the beacon and the guiding force behind a welfare state.    

‘THE LEGACY’ -2: KAAMA AND KRISHNA: KAAMTA PRASAD SINGH ‘KAAM’ AND KRISHNA BALLABH SAHAY (25/01/2021)

 

कृष्ण बल्लभ सहाय 

Sahne ki bhi seema hoti hai bolo kitna aur sahe hum?

Khud se kama-kama kar bolo kisko-kisko diya kare haum?

Kaheen jagat mein kya aisa bhi nyaay dekhane mein aaya ?

Lutein pountein koote humko tab bhi unko kuch na kahe hum

Bahut hua hum moun rahe par moun nahin ab rahnewala

Sambhalein we meri kamaayi ko ab tak jo the khaanewaale

Gaya zamaana jab khilwad hua karta tha hum logon se

Jag gaye ab jeeva aaya aur nahin hum sahnewaale!

(From the poetry ‘Kisaan Ka Kathan’ by Kamata Prasad Singh ‘Kaam’)

 

सहने की भी सीमा होती है बोलो कितना और सहे हम?

खुद से कमा-कमा कर बोलो किसको-किसको दिया करें हम?

कहीं जगत में क्या ऐसा भी न्याय देखने में आया?

लूटें पौटें कूटे हमको तब भी उनको कुछ न कहें हम?

बहुत हुआ हम मौन रहे पर मौन नहीं अब रहनेवाले।

संभलें वे मेरी कमाई को अब तक जो थे खानेवाले।

गया ज़माना जब खिलवाड़ हुआ करता था हम लोगों से।

जाग गए अब जीवन आया और नहीं हम सहनेवाले

-कामता प्रसाद सिंह ‘काम’ की कविता ‘किसान का कथन’ से साभार

58 years back on this day (25^th January) Bihar lost one of its illustrious sons at a tender age of 46 years. Kaamta Prasad Singh ‘Kaam’ was not only a gifted writer and poet but a fierce freedom fighter, a seasoned politician and above all a noble soul. His poetry portrayed the agonies of millions of farmers on the one hand and the helplessness of a nation fighting for its freedom on the other. Probably it was this pathos in his poetry, which described the plight of farmers in a very emotional manner that brought him close to K.B. Sahay who was equally concerned with the welfare of farmers even during the freedom struggle. This closeness brought two families close to each other and this friendship percolated to next generation as I vividly remember the frequent visits of Dr. Shankar Dayal Singh, former Member of the Parliament, to our place in Jhumri- Telaiya on his way to Ranchi from Patna or during his return journey. Dr Shankar Dayal Singh was an orator par excellence and an accomplished writer in his own right.  

As Revenue Minister in the Government of Bihar K. B. Sahay had in 1947 introduced the Bakasht Dispute Settlement Act. Bakasht was such lands which were taken over by local zamindars due to the failure of the raiyats to clear land revenue dues. Zamindars made use of such Bakasht land by deploying their farm labour or at times by allowing the same raiyat to continue, albeit as a landless peasant. The Act provided for an out of court settlement of such disputed land through a government-approved constituted committee in each district which was entrusted with the responsibility to review all such Bakasht lands and settle the dispute. In case the Committee held the occupation of land by zamindars illegal, it restored the Bakasht land to the peasant to whom it originally belonged. In such cases, it was open for the Zamindars to approach Court for the redress of their grievance. However, in Court, the case was contested by the Government and not the poor peasant. This effectively shielded the poor peasants from the wrath of zamindars. Even though Zamindars belonged to the forward caste, K. B. Sahay chose Kaamta Prasad Singh as Chairman of the Bakasht Committee of Monghyr district. K. B. Sahay had full faith in his poet friend who was a farmer at heart- ‘Kaandhe par hal aur juath hai, aage hai bailon ka joda, haathon mein hai chhota paina, aur bagal mein hai sattu thoda’ (‘कांधे पर हल और जुआठ है, आगे है बैलों का जोड़ा। हाथों में छोटा पैना है, और बगल में है सत्तू थोड़ा’)  

There are many instances when Krishna Ballabh Babu and Kaamta Prasad Singh ‘Kaam’ worked together in political as well as official matters. Often K. B. Sahay was dependent upon Kaam who he considered his most trusted friend.

In 1942 when K. B. Sahay was released from jail, Kaamta Prasad Singh organized a cultural function in which he and his poet friends recited patriotic songs to strengthen their resolve to fight an alien rule. Every year Kaamta Prasad Singh ‘Kaam’ used to organize a ‘Kavi-Sammelan’ on 31^st December to celebrate his friend’s birthday. In a letter dated 8^th December 1955, addressed to his son Shankar Dayal Singh, who was then studying at the Benaras Hindu University, ‘Kaam’ asked him to invite a couple of poets for the ‘Kavi-Sammelan’ to be held on 31^st December. He wrote ‘A cultural function is being organized at a place called Giridih in Hazaribag district on 31^st December. I have been entrusted with the responsibility of organizing this function. I want you to rope in some poets from Benaras. You may look for young poets in the case established poets not available at such short notice. I assure you that I will take their complete care and also bear all expenses including their to and fro journey expenses. Write back as early as possible.’

Kaamta Prasad Singh ‘Kaam’ was elected member of the Bihar Legislative Council in 1952- a post he held till his death. He shifted to Patna in 11-M.L.A. Flats and stayed in this flat till his death in January 1963. Binodanand Jha was the Chief Minister of Bihar. In January 1963, Kaamta Prasad Singh Kaam’s health deteriorated. On 23^rd January Dr. Shankar Dayal Singh, who was at his bedside throughout this period, wrote ‘Babuji had a premonition of his death as he often spoke in English so that Dadi and Ma may not comprehend what he spoke about. He often called for two persons who were close to him- Krishna Ballabh Sahay and my father-in-law Dr K. M. Singh’. Krishna Ballabh Sahay frequently visited him during this period and they spent hours together. Such was their bond of friendship.

Kaamta Prasad Singh ‘Kaam’ was also quite close to his younger brother Lalskhman Prasad Singh which reminds one of the closeness between Krishna Ballabh Babu and his younger brother Dr. Damodar Prasad. On 25^th January, hours before his death, ‘Kaam’ had confided before Lakshman Prasad Singh ‘that when he hears their mother wailing, I find myself failing in my duty as a son to complete the last rites of my mother on the banks of river Ganges. Unfortunately, I now find myself in a state that I may precede her to the River Ganges. I want you as my younger brother to complete my resolve when the time comes’. Lakshman Prasad Singh further writes that ‘Bhaiya lamented that he could not live to see Krishna Ballabh Sahay become Chief Minister of Bihar.’

Kaamta Prasad Singh ‘Kaam’ passed away in the early hours of 25^th January 1963. Krishna Ballabh Babu was simply inconsolable at his friend’s death, and this was one of the few occasions when people saw tears rolling out uncontrollably from the eyes of this ‘Iron Man of Bihar’.

Ten months later Krishna Ballabh Sahay did fulfil the last wishes of his friend when he took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar on 2^nd October 1963. The curtain was thus drawn on the saga of a long-cherished and selfless friendship. Krishna Ballabh Babu treated Dr Shankar Dayal Singh as his son and extended him the same love and affection due to a son. 

 (Source: Kaamta Prasad Singh ‘Kaam’ by Dr. Rashmi Singh and Dr Vyas Mani Tripathi)

 

THE LEGACY: 1: LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI AND KRISHNA BALLABH SAHAY (11/01/2021)

 

11^th January-55 years back on this day India lost its most beloved Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in the cold climes of an alien land faraway in Tashkent. Shastri was Prime Minister of India for just 17 odd months but this diminutive figure made this short tenure one of the most eventful years of a fledgeling democracy which regained its lost pride when it emerged victorious in the 1965 war with Pakistan. After Nehru’s exit, India was at crossroads, when Lal Bahadur Shastri took over as the Prime Minister of India on 9^th June 1964 at this crucial juncture. It goes to the credit of Shastri’s leadership that India moved ahead with confidence and vigour. His slogan ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisaan’, brought Shastri closer to Krishna Ballabh Sahay-the architect of land reforms in independent India, a leader looked upon as their hope by the cultivating class. Just a year back i.e. in 1963 the National Development Council (NDC) in its meeting of the Mid-Term Appraisal of the Third Five Year Plan had reviewed the progress made in the implementation of land reforms where it was emphasized that speedy execution of the programme of land reforms was vital for increasing agricultural production and strengthening the rural economy. On the recommendations of the National Development Council, the Land Reforms Implementation Committee (LRIC) was constituted. This was chaired by the Home Minister Gulzari Lal Nanda. K. B. Sahay was one of the five-member Chief Ministers in this Committee.

The recommendations of the LRIC, which is available on the internet, were mostly made up of remarks and observations made by K.B. Sahay during the meetings. This was K.B. Sahay’s second innings at ushering in land reforms. He took up the assignment in right earnest and moved ahead swiftly to bring about the changes that had remained incomplete due to his defeat in 1957 Assembly elections. Though K. B. Sahay did win the 1962 Assembly elections, Binodanand Jha did not assign him the Department of Revenue, deliberately. K.B. Sahay was bent upon completing the unfinished task of land reforms which included the implementation of land ceiling legislation in letter and spirit and updating the land records by entering the rights of the under-raiyats in the land revenue records. These radical recommendations alerted K.B. Sahay’s adversaries who united under the leadership of Binodanand Jha. They made all efforts to denigrate K. B. Sahay and demanded an enquiry against him on charges of alleged omission and commission.

The Express-News Service reported on December 3, 1964, that a careful examination of allegations against the Chief Ministers of Mysore and Bihar showed that they were devoid of substance. Though a preliminary review of the charges against K. B. Sahay did not lead to a prima facie case, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and the Home Minister Gulzari Lal Nanda decided to entrust the investigation of allegations against them to the same Special Cabinet Committee originally set-up to investigate into Orissa affair. The decision was taken to avoid any impression of discrimination against Biju Patnaik and Biren Mitra on the one hand and S. Nijalingappa and K. B. Sahay, Chief Ministers of Mysore and Bihar respectively, on the other.

The Cabinet Sub-Committee gave a clean chit to K. B. Sahay and his cabinet colleagues. In its report, the Committee held that the charges had been based more on procedural lapses rather than on any serious departure from high standards of conduct. No concrete instance of corruption could be found by the Committee. In a Press conference on January 20, 1965, the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri informed that the Government had received the Report and he would announce it ‘perhaps soon’.

However, the opposition did not rest at that. Their leader Bhola Paswan Singh went ahead and submitted a memorandum to the then, President Dr S. Radhakrishnan questioning even the integrity of Lal Bahadur Shastri. The memorandum read ‘The reported findings of the Union Cabinet Sub-Committee that no prima-facie case existed against K. B. Sahay have aroused suspicion in the public mind. The Prime Minister is so tied up with the Bihar Chief Minister that any good conduct certificate to K. B. Sahay on the political level has no meaning’. The delegation of opposition leaders demanded a judicial enquiry.

A judicial enquiry was indeed constituted against K. B. Sahay by his political opponents after Sahay had vacated the seat of Chief Minister in March 1967. K. B. Sahay stood on the weakest ground at that stage. The Commission of Enquiry was constituted with the mischievous motive of writing off his political obituary. The findings of the Commission were announced in 1971. These weren’t much different than those already pointed out by the Cabinet Sub-Committee. But such allegations and subsequent enquiry caused immense damage to K.B. Sahay’s image of a clean politician. As regards Lal Bahadur Shastri, he did not live to see his integrity being restored in the face of wild allegations by an irresponsible opposition. ‘Character assassination’ of a popular national figure, after all, had become the favourite pastime of political creed in those days. Unfortunately, we are witness to this cult of dwarfism even in the present times.