For My Mother!

For my mother- A tribute to Dr Sachidananda Sinha (1871-1950)

I was in school probably in class 7 when I was asked to read a paragraph from a chapter on Dr Rajendra Prasad, India's first president. While reading the lines out loud I suddenly paused as the name Dr Sachidananda Sinha’s came up in a conversation with Dr Prasad. I paused and the teacher look up at me in irritation as I had stopped reading. I looked at her and said, this was my Great Grandfather ..I cannot recall what happened afterwards but I am sure some of my classmates did not believe me ! Now almost twenty years later I have decided to get to know him a little better. My information about him came from my mother and grandmother. However recently to my delight I discovered a book on him . The book is called "Dr Sachidananda Sinha" A maker of Modern Bihar. I am really pleased with this discovery and it gives a good insight to the man himself.

Dr Sinha on returning from England as a barrister with a few others launched a campaign for a separate state of Bihar. He worked tirelessly to make this happen and in 1911 the independent states of Bihar and Orissa came into existence. He was later appointed the Interim President of the Indian Constituent Assembly in 1946.

Here's an interesting fact not known to many people. His last great act before passing away was signing the Indian Constitution on 14th February 1950. The constitution was sent to Patna by Dr Rajendra Prasad as he could not travel to Delhi due to his ill health. At a ceremony in his house attended by many dignitaries my Great Grandfather signed the Constitution of India.

I plan to make a trip to the National Archives in Delhi later this year to see his signature in the Constitution. All I can say is that it will be a special moment for me !