Bihar CM inaugurates statue of Sachchidananda Sinha on his birth anniv in Patna; library also gets 'Shatabadi Vatika'

Patna, Nov 10 (PTI) A life-size statue of Sachchidananda Sinha, one of the makers of modern Bihar, who also served as the provisional president of the Constituent Assembly, was inaugurated by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna on the occasion of his birth anniversary on Friday.

The statue is located on the premises of the famed 'Sinha Library' he founded nearly a century ago in the city.

A garden christened 'Dr Sachchidananda Sinha Shatabdi Vatika' has been developed in front of the old library building and the statue has been installed in its corner.

He donned multiple hats during his illustrious career as a barrister, a lawmaker, journalist and university administrator, and was at the forefront of a movement that eventually led to the creation of a separate province of Bihar and Orissa (now Odisha) in 1912 with Patna as its capital.

One of his lasting legacy is the library he founded in 1924, which has served generations of scholars, historians, knowledge-seekers and book lovers in general. Sinha was born on November 10 in Arrah near Patna in 1871.

Kumar inaugurated the statue by cutting a ribbon and then unveiled a plaque, and offered floral tributes.

Located in the heart of the Bihar capital, the handsome two-storey old structure was established officially as the 'Srimati Radhika Sinha Institute and Sachchidananda Sinha Library', popularly known as 'Sinha Library'. The institute was named after his wife.

The institution, which turns 100 in February next year, is run by the Srimati Radhika Sinha Institute and Sachchidananda Sinha Library Trust.

The library has a rich collection of 1.8 lakh books and copies of some of the oldest newspapers from 1901 onwards, said Sunil Kumar, a senior advocate in the Supreme Court who holds the chair of the trust.

The statue of Sinha has been installed in the library campus as a tribute. It was installed late night on November 8.

This is his first statue on the eponymous library campus and perhaps in entire Patna. The road in front of the library campus is called the Sinha Library Road.

Sinha was also the provisional president of the Constituent Assembly of India when it met in Delhi for the first time in 1946.

After returning from England, he started practising at the Allahabad High Court.

Following the creation of Patna High Court in 1916, he shifted his practice there.

Sinha, who served also as a vice chancellor of Patna University from 1936-1944, lived in a palatial house -- 'Sinha Kothi' -- located adjacent to the library, which later became the Bihar State Education Board office, and his family had shifted to a new building next door. PTI KND SKY SKY