In the pre-independent era, as an administrator he has given significant contributions to the improvisations of education and health services in the states of Bihar and Orissa. He was also a philanthropist who made generous donations from his earnings and personal property for the setup of educational institutions as well as new wings in many schools and colleges. He played a key role in Patna University’s development. He holds the record of longest tenure as a minister during British rule. He served as Minister of Local Self Government in the British Cabinet for 14 long years. State functions are organized every year by state of Bihar on his birth anniversary.
He was born in 1868 in Chhatiyana village, Nalanda district, Bihar.
He completed LLB and started practising as a lawyer. He had association with politics too and has served as a minister in the government of Bihar and Orissa from 1923 to 1937. The states were divided in the year 1936. He was knighted by British in 1928 for his overall contributions for social cause. On the introduction of provincial autonomy in 1937 he returned from his tenure as a minister.He donated a big amount for the development of Patna University in the 1930s. He also gave preference to backward castes than forward people for students’ admission. University awarded him honorary doctorate in 1933.
