Sachchidanand Sinha and Syed Ali Imam
vijay shankar
PATNA: Janata Dal (U) spokesperson and former MLC Ranbir Nandan fondly remembered Sachchidanand Sinha and Syed Ali Imam as “architect of modern Bihar” on the occasion of Bihar Diwas on the Thursday.
He said that people would always remember their struggle for the identity of modern Bihar leading to the constitution of Bihar-Orissa council by the then British government on December 12, 1911 and eventually creation of Bihar as a separate state on March 22, 1912.
The JDU leader said that both Sinha and Imam not only plyed a crucial role in the creation of Bihar but also contributed to the development of the country. “While Sinha donated his personal assets in the contruction of buildings in Bihar, Imam worked to shift the capital of the country from Calcutta to New Delhi. It was Imam’s efforts that the announcement for shifting the capital from Calcutta to Delhi was made on December 12, 1911 and finally the capital was shifted on February 13, 1931,” he said.
Ranbir said that the first president of India Dr Rajendra Prasad had described Sachchidanand Sinha and Syed Ali Imam as the architenct of modern Bihar. “Sinha library, Bihar legislatrure building and Bihar School Examination Board building were constructed on the land donated by Sinha, who also gave 70 acres of land for the construction of the Patna airport,” he added.
The former MLC said that the legacy of Sinha and Imam was carried forward by chief minister Nitish Kumar who began observing ‘Bihar Diwas’ on March 22 every year and took the state to the road of rapid development. “Now, it is celebrated throughout the world and the credit for this goes only to Nitish Kumar,” he added.
He said that the statues of Sachchidanand Sinha and Syed Ali Imam should be erected in the state capital and their constributions should be included in the school curriculum in the state.