Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav

Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav was born on 9 March 1920 in the then Harirampur village of Patna district in the state of Bihar. Shri Yadav was the youngest of four brothers. After completing his Matriculation from Parvati High School, Bikram, Shri Yadav got admitted to BN College, Patna. His active participation in Mahatma Gandhi's Swadeshi Movement, led to him being jailed by the British. As a result, he could not appear for his intermediate examination. It was only after the intervention of the then Chief Minister of Bihar, Dr. Shri Krishan Singh, that Shri Yadav got the opportunity to appear in the Intermediate examination from Patna College. Subsequently, due to his continued involvement in the freedom struggle, the British Government declared him to be a 'dangerous student', a proclamation for student activists who provoked young crowds against the British Raj. This prevented him from pursuing his higher education. As a student freedom fighter, Shri Yadav operated in close proximity to the student group supporting Subhas Chandra Bose and was appointed as the President for the welcome committee for Subhas Babu's reception in Bikram in 1939 at the age of 19. This was the time when Ramlakhan Babu also came in contact with Swami Sahajanand Saraswati and actively joined his Peasant Movement. Ramlakhan Babu was an active member of the Congress since 1934 from the young age of 14. When he was 24, he was made the coordinator of the Student and Youth Conference in the Bombay session of the Congress in 1944. == Political journey and legacy ==

Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav was elected to the Patna Zilla Parishad in 1947. Subsequently, Shri Yadav was a Member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly continuously from 1952 to 1991. In 1998, Shri Yadav wrote elaborately about Krishna Ballabh Sahai, the 'Iron Man of Bihar', in 'Aaj' newspaper published from Patna. In his first ministerial term, Ramlakhan Babu was given the responsibility of expanding the Home Guard in Bihar on the instructions of the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, . The credit goes to Ramlakhan Babu for the construction of barracks and providing medical facilities for the jawans at the Home Guard Center in Bihta. He also played an important role in the implementation of the highly sensitive Lateral Road Project in the border areas and the construction of 24 railway over bridges in Bihar. The construction work of road-cum-railway bridge on Son river in Dehri was also completed under his ministership. He is until date regarded as one of the tallest Yadav leaders of all times in Bihar and an icon. == Contributions as a philanthropist and educationist ==

Ramlakhan Babu used to consider education as a celebration of awakening and consciousness. He firmly believed that countering exploitation and tyranny is possible only through education. This is the reason why he took a keen interest in establishing educational institutions in Bihar and Jharkhand. In an interview to India Today, he is quoted to have said, "For me the farmer comes first. And I am willing to sacrifice anything for him. For the farmer, whatever I have to do, I will do." == Birth anniversary celebration ==

Annually, Shri Yadav's memorial ceremonies are held across Bihar in different institutions established by him, key amongst which is the Shri Krishna Chetna Parishad, Patna. Here, dignitaries have included present and former Chief Ministers of Bihar, politicians, educationists, social thinkers and philanthropists over the course of the years. They gather together to celebrate his legacy and offer homage to his statue installed in the premises. Memorial ceremony and birth anniversary celebration in 2023 A memorial ceremony to commemorate 103rd Birth Anniversary of Shri Yadav was held at Shri Krishna Memorial Hall in Patna which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on 26 March 2023. In his address, he said "No leader of Bihar has built colleges on such a large scale. When we were MLAs, we had seen his ministerial tenure from close quarters. He believed in us a lot. He inspired people from all sections of the society to read. He wanted education to reach all the people." On this occasion, the Chief Minister released the book "Ramlakhan Singh Yadav – Personality and Works" written by Dr. Raghuvar Prasad. Dr Prasad has also done his PhD on Shri Yadav as a subject. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also announced that going forward, Shri Yadav's birth anniversary will be celebrated as a state ceremony and his statue will be installed in Patna. He launched the campaign "Chalo Chalen Kalam Ki Aur". During the program, a short film based on the personality and work of late Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav was screened. ==References==