Batak Mian, was a cook who saved the life of Mahatma Gandhi from a murder attempt by food poisoning [1] in 1917. He was an employee of an indigo plant at Motihari, Bihar. Afterwards, he was ousted from his job, tortured, and compelled to leave the village.
Mahatma Gandhi was invited to dinner by the manager of an indigo plant, Erwin. Erwin insisted to his cook, Batak Mian, to add poison to a glass of milk, and to serve to Gandhi. [2] He went to serve, but revealed the plot to Rajendra Prasad. [3] [4] After escaping from the attempt, Mahatma Gandhi continued his protest at Champaran. The estate manager tortured Batak Mian, lost his house and properties, and was driven out of his village. [5]
Rajendra Prasad visited Motihari in 1950, as President of India.[ citation needed ] A crowd formed around him and he recognized Batak Mian from the crowd, and described to the public how the incident happened in 1917.[ citation needed ] He ordered to grant Batak Mian 24 acres of land as an appreciation from the nation. He died in 1957.[ citation needed ]
Jayaprakash Narayan Srivastava, who is popularly referred to as JP or Lok Nayak, was an Indian independence activist, theorist, socialist and political leader. He is largely remembered for leading the mid-1970s opposition against Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and called for her overthrow in a "total revolution". In 1999, Narayan was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in recognition of his social service. His other awards include the Magsaysay award for public service in 1965.
Rajendra Prasad was an Indian politician, lawyer, journalist and scholar who served as the first president of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian independence movement and became a major leader from the region of Bihar and Maharashtra. A supporter of Mahatma Gandhi, Prasad was imprisoned by British authorities during the Salt Satyagraha of 1930 and the Quit India movement of 1942. After the constituent assembly 1946 elections, Prasad served as 1st Minister of Food and Agriculture in the central government from 1947 to 1948. Upon independence in 1947, Prasad was elected as President of the Constituent Assembly of India, which prepared the Constitution of India and which served as its provisional Parliament.
Kasturbai Mohandas Gandhi was an Indian political activist who was involved in the Indian independence movement during British India. She was married to Mohandas Gandhi, commonly known as Mahatma Gandhi. National Safe Motherhood Day is observed in India annually on April 11, coinciding with Kasturba's birthday.
Motihari is a city and headquarters of East Champaran district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is located 80 kilometres west of Muzaffarpur and 152 kilometres northwest of the state capital Patna. In early days the land of Motihari was ruled by different kingdoms as Videha, Sunga, Kanvas. It is also believed that Champaran used to be a major part of King Janak's empire. Mahatma Gandhi Started his famous Satyagraha movement from here.
Brajkishore Prasad (1877–1946) was a lawyer inspired by Mohandas Gandhi during the Indian Independence Movement.
Shri Krishna Singh (Sinha) (21 October 1887 – 31 January 1961), also known as Shri Babu, was the first chief minister of the Indian state of Bihar (1946–61). Except for the period of World War II, Sinha was the chief minister of Bihar from the time of the first Congress Ministry in 1937 until his death in 1961. Along with the Desh Ratna Rajendra Prasad and Bihar Vibhuti Anugrah Narayan Sinha (A.N. Sinha), Sinha is regarded among the 'Architects of Modern Bihar'. He also led the Dalit entry into the Baidyanath Dham temple (Vaidyanath Temple, Deoghar). He was the first chief minister in the country to abolish the zamindari system. He underwent terms of imprisonment for a total of about eight years in British India. Sinha's mass meetings brought many people to hear him. He was known as Bihar Kesari for his "lionlike roars" in public speaking. His close friend and Gandhian Bihar Vibhuti A.N. Sinha in his essay Mere Shri Babu wrote that, "Since 1921, the History of Bihar has been the history of the life of Shri Babu".
The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was the first satyagraha movement led by Mahatma Gandhi in British India and is considered a historically important rebellion in the Indian independence movement. It was a farmer's uprising that took place in Champaran district of Bihar in the Indian subcontinent, during the British colonial period. The farmers were protesting against having to grow indigo with barely any payment for it.
Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya was an Indian independence activist and political leader in the state of Andhra Pradesh. He was also the first governor of Madhya Pradesh. His books include Feathers and Stones, The History of Congress, and Gandhi and Gandhism.
Anugrah Narayan Sinha, known as Bihar Vibhuti, was an Indian nationalist statesman, participant in Champaran Satyagraha, Gandhian & one of the architects of modern Bihar, who was the first Deputy Chief Minister and the Finance Minister of the Indian state of Bihar (1946–1957). He was also a Member of the Constituent Assembly of India, which was elected to write the Constitution of India and served in its first Parliament as an independent nation. He also held a range of portfolios including Labour, Local Self Government, Public Works, Supply & Price Control, Health and Agriculture. A.N. Sinha, affectionately called Anugrah Babu, was a very close associate of Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom struggle movement and worked with Bihar Kesari Sri Krishna Sinha to lead the Gandhian movement in Bihar. One of the leading nationalists in the Indian independence movement from Bihar after Dr Rajendra Prasad, he was elected as the Congress Party deputy leader in the state assembly to assume office as first Deputy Chief Minister cum Finance Minister of independent Bihar, and re-elected when the Congress Party won Bihar's first general election with a massive mandate in 1952.
Chandi Prasad Bhatt is an Indian environmentalist and social activist, who founded Dasholi Gram Swarajya Sangh (DGSS) in Gopeshwar in 1964, which later became a mother-organization to the Chipko Movement, in which he was one of the pioneers. For his work Bhatt was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1982, followed by the Padma Bhushan in 2005.
Ravishankar Shukla was a leader of the Indian National Congress, Indian independence movement activist, the Premier of the Central Provinces and Berar from 27 April 1946 to 25 January 1950, first Chief Minister of the reorganised Madhya Pradesh state from 1 November 1956 until his death on 31 December 1956, he was elected from Saraipali in Madhya Pradesh. He also served as Member of Constituent Assembly of India from Central Provinces and Berar.
Raj Kumar Shukla was the person who convinced Mahatma Gandhi to visit Champaran which later led to the Champaran Satyagraha. Shukla at the time worked under Hafiz Din Mohammad and was sent to meet Gandhi.
Jagdish Chandra Jain was a scholar, indologist, educationist, writer, and freedom fighter during the freedom struggle of India. He authored over 80 books on a variety of subjects, including Jain philosophy, Prakrit literature, and Hindi textbooks for children. Jain was the chief prosecution witness in Gandhi's murder trial. He repeatedly tried to warn the government of the conspiracy to assassinate Mahatma Gandhi, which became to known to him after Madan Lal Pahwa, a Punjabi refugee and one of the conspirators of the murder of Mahatma Gandhi, confided to him of their plan. Jain's attempts to warn the government met deaf ears. He recounted his personal experiences in two books: I Could Not Save Bapu and The Forgotten Mahatma. He died from cardiac arrest in July 1993 in Bombay at the age of 84.
The National Gandhi Museum or Gandhi Memorial Museum is a museum located in New Delhi, India showcasing the life and principles of Mahatma Gandhi. The museum first opened in Mumbai, shortly after Gandhi was assassinated in 1948. The museum relocated several times before moving to Raj Ghat, New Delhi in 1961.
Thakur Ramapati Singh, was a freedom fighter, politician, MLA and Minister of Bihar, Member of Indian Parliament and a prominent social personality from Motihari, Bihar in India.
Abdul Bari (1892–1947) was a descendant of Syed Ibrahim Malik Baya, an Indian academic and social reformer. He sought to bring about social reform in Indian society by awakening people through education. He had a vision of India free from slavery, social inequality, and communal disharmony. He took part in the freedom movement, for which he was killed.
Shanti Kumar Morarjee was a noted industrialist, businessman and close associate of Mahatma Gandhi.
Mahatma Gandhi Central University (MGCU), is a central university located in Motihari, Bihar, India. MGCU has 7 schools and 20 academic departments.
Maulana Mazharul Haque was an educator, lawyer, independence activist of the Indian National Movement.
Prabhudas Gandhi was an Indian Gujarati language writer and translator. He was a son of Mahatma Gandhi's nephew Chhaganlal Gandhi. He was awarded the Narmad Suvarna Chandrak (1948) for his book Jivannu Parodh..
