Legentry Nationalist from Bihar- K.B.Sahay.

                  

Krishna Ballabh Sahay () (31 December 1898 – 3 June 1974) was a freedom fighter, who after Independence became the Revenue minister of Bihar and then later on went on to become the Chief Minister of unified Bihar.

Early Life

Krishna Ballabh Sahay poularly known as K. B. Sahay was born on December 31, 1898 at Sheikhpura in the Patna district of Bihar. He was the eldest son of Muhshi Ganga Prasad, who served as Daroga under British Rule. In 1919 he graduated with first class in English honors from St Columba’s College, Hazaribag and was also awarded the Gait’s Gold Medal from the then Governor of Bihar & Orissa Mr. Gait.

Independence Movement

Soon thereafter in 1920, Sri. Krishna Ballabh Sahay jumped into the fray giving up further studies by joining the Civil Disobedience Movement at the call of Gandhiji. Between 1930 and 1934 he was jailed four times for different periods while taking part in the independence movement. During one of these incarcerations he met his mentor Sri Babu and the bond of friendship which was tied in jail remained intact throughout their lives. He was also close to Anugrah Narayan Sinha, the other legendary nationalist from Bihar.

Came 1942 and with it came Gandhiji’s battle cry of “Do or Die” for the “Quit India Movement”. Before this senior leaders of Bihar Dr. Rajendra Prasad visited Bihar to convey the conclusions of the “Vardha Accord” as well as to charter an action plan for Bihar during the Quit India Movement, in...in an important meeting at Sadaquat Ashram. Sri Krishna Ballabh Sahay was a notable contributor to this plan. “Quit India Movement” was launched with great fierceness all over India and K B Sahay led the movement at Hazaribagh. The British Government ordered immediate arrest of all its leaders. An order to arrest K B Sahay was passed by Deputy Commissioner, Hazaribagh (Order No.: 132 of 10.08.1942) and the very next day he was sent off to jail. In jail, he was instrumental in the escape of Sri Jaya Prakash Narayan from jail along with his associates namely Rama Nandan Mishra, Yogendra Shukla, Suraj Narayan Singh, Sri Gulab Chand Gupta and Sri Shaligram Singh on November 9, 1942. As a consequence, he was sent off to Bhagalpur jail with orders for rigorous imprisonment.

Chief Minister of Bihar

In the years that followed, Kamraj, the veteran Congress leader came forward with his “Kamraj Plan” to strengthen the party. On 19 September 1963, with the announcement of “Kamraj Plan” came the news of Sri B. N. Jha being taken as one of the eight Chief Ministers to look after the affairs of Congress Party. Sri Beer Chand Patel threw his hat in the contest for the Chief Minister of Bihar. K. B. Sahay who was deputy minister in B. N. Jha’s cabinet was the other contestant. Satyendra Narayan Sinha, the prominent Education Minister, who was decidedly second-in-command in the Binodananda Jha Cabinet announced his support for K B Sahay. B. C. Patel was no match for K. B. Sahay, who polled double the number of votes as Sri Patel.
On 2 October 1963, the birth anniversary of Gandhiji was celebrated in Bihar along with the swearing in ceremony of Sri Krishna Ballabh Sahay as the fourth Chief Minister of Bihar with Satyendra Narayan Sinha again becoming second in command.
K. B. Sahay lost the 1967 elections but won the local body elections in 1974 to enter the Bihar Legislative Council as an MLC. He faced enquiries by the Aiyyar Commission in between but was vindicated. Sri K. B. Sahay met with a fatal road accident on 3rd June 1974 just after winning the election, on his way back to his native place Hazaribag. His death was a terrible loss to the country and the people of Bihar.
Among the leaders of Bihar belonging to the 20th century, whom the people of this state would long remember for the constructive and invaluable services rendered towards the progress of Bihar, Sri Krishna Ballabh Sahay would certainly find a prominent place. His life is a superb example of how a man can attain his cherished dream by dogged determination, systematic planning and hard labour. He dreamt of an independent India and an ever progressing Bihar for which he sacrificed his whole life.

 Industries and Education
sri. Krishna Ballabh Sahay was responsible for setting up of several industries in the state, prominent among them are the Barauni Refinery, and the Bokaro Steel Plant. Both were commissioned during his tenure as Chief Minister of Bihar.
As the Chief Minister of Bihar, he gave full support for the establishment of Sainik School in Tilaiya. He was also instrumental in starting women's college in Hazaribah in 1963, which is named after him.