People and Personalities of Gaya District

The big stories often make the headlines of our historical narratives, but history is not only about the landmark events - it finds shape and character in the myriad events that led up to a flashpoint of change. An attempt to discover and document stories of people, events, and places linked to the freedom struggle of India at the micro level of the district has led to the creation of a Digital District Repository. Stories in this section can be broadly classified under - People & Personalities.

Jadunandan Sharma

Jadunandan Sharma was one of the well-known peasant leaders from the Gaya district of Bihar. He led the Bakasht agitation against the expulsion of tenant farmers and conversion of their lands into Zirat or the personal lands of the Zamindar

Jadunandan, hailed from a peasant family. In the 1930s, he gave up his education and joined the Civil Disobedience movement, during which he suffered imprisonment. Later he joined the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha founded by Swami Sahajanada and devoted his life to the peasant movements. He took charge of the struggle in Deora against the Bakasht issue in 1937. The main target of the conflict was the dictatorial Zamindar who also served as chairman of the Gaya District Board, who had the support of the British Collector and Police. Numerous peasants flocked to Deora and extended their support by donating food and money. Jadunandan and 34 other peasant leaders were detained and given prison sentences during the implementation of martial law in the region by the colonial police. However, the British Collector of the district was eventually compelled to grant four-fifths of the contested land to the tenants.

Jadunandan Sharma made great contributions to promoting political awakening among the impoverished peasants of Bihar, and by fighting against the feudal forces he also shook the foundations of British rule in the region.

Bishnu Dev

Mr. Bishnu Dev Narayan Singh,97 years old (born 16th Jan 1925), resident of Chitaukhar, Tekari block, Gaya ( Bihar) was a freedom fighter who recalls his story bemused on the slaps given to him by his father(Mr. Surjavan Narayan Singh), who was an Honorary Magistrate in Collectorate of Gaya. It was difficult for him to fight the British government in which his father was an employee. His father used to scold and beat him for that but his mother supported his son’s cause of the struggle. At the age of 14, he left his home and first burnt the British flag. He burnt two police stations (Tekari and Biharsharif).  He was caught and put in different jails for 3 years.

As a child and a youth, he used to campaign with his friends for a boycott of foreign goods and embrace Swadeshi goods. In 1939, he was put in jail (in Phulwari Sharif camp jail) for 39 days on the charges of derailment by removing the fishplates from the railway track in Biharsharif. He and his friends were caught by the police, imprisoned, and tortured by them. He has marks on his hands made by pressing nails by the Indian Imperial Police. He was tied with metallic chains and his fingers were broken.

He said he was inspired by Lokmanya Tilak and later by Gandhi Ji. He met Gandhi Ji in Jehanabad district Dak bungalow (now called Gandhi maidan). He was inspired by the call of Gandhiji to dedicate himself wholeheartedly to the Independence Movement. In 1942, Mahatma Gandhi gave a call of ‘do or die’ to the people of India. The British reacted by arresting Mahatma and other people. Across India, this sparked a widespread mass movement against the British. He was arrested and put in Hazaribagh jail. He along with other inmates aided Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) to escape from the Hazaribagh Central jail in 1942. “It was such a well-planned escape that the authorities came to know about it only nine hours after the escape. From Gaya, JP planned to go to Benaras .Because of his role in the escape he was transferred to Naini Jail, Allahabad where he was accompanied by Jawaharlal Nehru. In 1943, lathi was blown on his left eye and he lost his vision.

Bishnu Dev was the person who along with 6 people went to bring the ashes of Gandhiji to Gaya on 7 Feb 1948.The first Collector of Gaya (Mr. J.C. Mathur) sent them for that purpose. Gandhi Ji's ashes are kept at three places. One in Rajghat, second in Porbandar, and third in Gaya.

Anugrah Narayan Sinha

Popularly known as ‘Bihar Vibhuti’, Anugrah Narayan Sinha was born on 18 June 1887 in Gaya, Bihar. His political journey is considered to have shaped Bihar’s political history.

Sinha completed his schooling in his hometown and went on to graduate with an M.A. in history from the University of Calcutta in 1914. After his M.A., Sinha was appointed as a history professor in T.N J College, Bhagalpur. During his tenure, he organized flood relief work in Bhagalpur. In 1916 he enrolled with the Patna Bar. 

Role in India’s Independence Movement :

Sinha was an ardent follower of Gandhi who inspired him to join the Indian independence movement. He led satyagraha movements in Bihar. 

He was an active member of the Congress Party. In 1922 he helped organize the Gaya Congress. A year later, he became one of the General Secretaries of the All India Congress Committee. Soon after, he was elected as the General Secretary of the Bihar Congress Committee.

Apart from his administrative roles with the Congress party, Sinha also played an important political role - he was elected as a member of the Central Council in 1935 from Sahabad-cum-Patna constituency. A year later he became a member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly and was appointed as the Deputy Premier and Finance Minister of Bihar province. After his resignation from the Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1939 protesting India’s involvement in the Second World War, he worked on earthquake relief programs in Bihar. 

Sinha was involved in many political movements such as the civil disobedience movement in 1930 and Satyagraha (1940–41) which got him arrested.  

Contribution to Constitution-making :

Sinha was elected to the Constituent Assembly in 1946 from Bihar on a Congress party ticket. He did not actively engage in the Assembly debates and discussions.  

Later Contributions :

A political stalwart in Bihar, Sinha was elected to the first Bihar Legislative Assembly post-independence in 1952. 

He led many development projects in Bihar along with the then Chief Minister  Krishna Sinha including several river valley projects. During the first five-year plan period his development activities were focused on the agricultural sector and he was praised by the Union government for his leadership. 

Sinha’s work extended to India’s international affairs - he led the Indian Food and Agriculture delegation to Nepal and the Indian delegation to the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Canada and Switzerland. 

Sinha passed away on 5 July 1957. He is still fondly remembered as one of the most important political leaders in Bihar. Jayaprakash Narayan who served as the Chairman of Anugraha Smarak Nidhi (Anugrah Memorial Fund) stated that Sinha was a rare soul whose contributions are eternal. The Department of Posts issued a stamp in his memory.

Keshwa Prasad

He was actively involved in the Civil Disobedience Movement from 1930-32. Prasad was a member of the Hindustan Socialist Republic Association. He was arrested in Gaya in connection with Explosive and Arms seizure incident. He was tried for Gaya Conspiracy case and sentenced to seven years jail in 1933. He was deported to Andaman. He took part in the hunger strike in July 1937 which continued for 37 days. Keshwa Prasad was repatriated in 1937 and was released a year later. Again he was arrested in 1942. In the seventies he turned spiritual and settled down at Brindavan.

Source :

• Indian Culture Portal
• Anupama  Singh, IAS 2020 (Bihar)
• Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav