Personal Details

• 🎂 Date of Birth
• 12 July 1917
• 📍 Place of Birth
• Poiwan, Bihar and Orissa Province, British India (now in Bihar, India)
• 👨‍👩‍👦 Family
• Spouse: Kishori Sinha
• Children: Nikhil Kumar
• Relatives: Shyama Singh (Daughter-in-law)

Early Career

• 🌱 Early Life and Family Background
• Satyendra Narayan Sinha was born in an aristocratic political family in Poiwan, Bihar. He belonged to the Rajput caste.
• His father was the eminent nationalist leader Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha, who was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Rajendra Prasad during the Champaran Satyagraha, the first satyagraha movement in India. Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha later became the first Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister of Bihar.
• 🎓 Education and Mentorship
• S. N. Sinha spent his student years under the tutelage of Lal Bahadur Shastri at Allahabad. He completed his bachelor’s degree from Allahabad University and went on to earn a law degree from Lucknow University.
• ⚖️ Early Career and Role in Freedom Struggle
• After completing his education, he practised law at the Patna High Court. However, driven by a patriotic spirit, he left his legal career to join the Indian Independence Movement.
• He actively participated in the Quit India Movement of 1942 and also organised Legal Aid Programmes for political prisoners during the pre-Independence days.

Career Journey

• 🏛️ Provisional Parliament (1950–1952)
• After Independence, Satyendra Narayan Sinha was elected to the Provisional Parliament from Bihar in 1950. He was regarded as part of the “Young Turk” brigade of the Indian National Congress during the tenure of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
• 🎓 Bihar State Politics (1961–1967)
• Sinha was a prominent educationist and reformer. He served as the Education Minister of Bihar in the cabinet of Pandit Binodanand Jha (1961–1963) and later in the cabinet of K. B. Sahay (1963–1967).
• He also handled Local Self-Government and Agriculture portfolios.
• He is credited with streamlining Bihar’s education system.
• He played a key role in establishing Magadh University, Bodh Gaya, in 1962.
• Holding the second position in the cabinet, he often acted as the de facto Chief Minister during this period.
• 👑 The Kingmaker
• Sinha became known as a kingmaker in Bihar politics, playing a decisive role in the formation of several governments led by Krishna Ballabh Sahay, Satish Prasad Singh, B. P. Mandal, Sardar Harihar Singh, Bhola Paswan Shastri, and Ram Sundar Das.
• Although Indira Gandhi offered him the Chief Ministership of Bihar in 1966, he refused, stating he wished to be elected by the people rather than unseat the incumbent.
• ⚖️ The Emergency Era (1975–1977)
• During the Emergency (1975–77) imposed by Indira Gandhi, Sinha strongly opposed the suspension of democratic rights.
• He became President of the Bihar Janata Party and Chairman of the State Election Committee in 1977.
• Popularly called “Chhote Saheb”, he worked with national leaders like Morarji Desai, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L. K. Advani, Chandra Shekhar, Charan Singh, Jagjivan Ram, and George Fernandes.
• He inspired the youth of Bihar to join politics, mentoring leaders such as Nitish Kumar, Ram Vilas Paswan, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, and Subodh Kant Sahay.
• In the 1977 General Elections, under his influence and the guidance of Jayaprakash Narayan, the Janata Party won all 54 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar.
• 🔄 Return to Congress (1984)
• Following differences with Chandra Shekhar, Sinha left the Janata Party and rejoined the Indian National Congress in 1984. Indira Gandhi personally came to Patna to welcome him back into the party.
• 👔 Chief Ministership of Bihar (1989)
• Sinha served as the 19th Chief Minister of Bihar from 11 March to 6 December 1989.
• He once again held the Education portfolio.
• He proposed the NTPC Super Thermal Power Project at Nabinagar, though it was implemented much later in 2007 under Manmohan Singh’s government.
• He is credited with establishing the Indira Gandhi Planetarium and Science Centre in Patna.
• He introduced the Panchayati Raj system in Bihar.
• His autobiography, “Meri Yaadein, Meri Bhoolein”, accused certain Congress leaders of fanning the 1989 Bhagalpur riots to malign his government.
• 🏛️ Role in Parliament of India
• Sinha was elected multiple times to the Lok Sabha from Aurangabad between 1952–1961 and 1971–1989, holding the record of maximum parliamentary victories in Bihar, second only to Jagjivan Ram.
• Committees served: Committee on Estimates (1956–1958, 1977–1979, 1985–1986), Committee on Finance (1950–1952), Committee on Public Undertakings (1982–1983)
• He was also deeply engaged in social and educational work, serving as Secretary of the Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Fund (Bihar Provincial Committee) and as a member of the Senate and Syndicate of Patna University and Bihar University.
• ✈️ Global Engagements
• Satyendra Narayan Sinha was a widely travelled leader who actively represented India on international platforms. He attended the Inter-Parliamentary Union Conference in Helsinki, Finland (1955) and later led the Indian cultural delegation to Kabul during the Jasan celebrations in 1963.
• 🏛️ Parliamentary Diplomacy
• He led the Indian Parliamentary Delegation to the Spring Meetings of the Inter-Parliamentary Council at Canberra (1977) and also represented India at its meeting in Lisbon (1978). In 1976, he was part of the Indian Parliamentary Delegation to the USSR.
• ⚖️ Human Rights Advocacy
• In 1977, in Canberra, he was elected as a member of the Special Committee on Violations of Human Rights of Parliamentarians, representing Asia. He later became the President of the Committee (1977–1988), a position that carried the status of a Union Cabinet Minister. In this role, he played a crucial part in defending the rights of parliamentarians worldwide.
• 📌 Posts and Positions Held
• Satyendra Narayan Sinha had a long and diverse political career. He began as a Member of the Senate and Syndicate at Patna University (1946–1960) and served as Secretary of the Bihar Provincial Committee of the Gandhi National Memorial Fund (1948). He entered national politics as a Member of the Provisional Parliament (1950), later elected to the 1st Lok Sabha (1952) and re-elected multiple times up to the 8th Lok Sabha (1984), serving on key committees such as Finance, Estimates, and Public Undertakings. In Bihar state politics, he was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (1961–1969) and held portfolios of Education, Local Self Government, and Agriculture as a Cabinet Minister (1961–1967). He later became President of Congress(O), Bihar (1969–1977) and President of Janata Party, Bihar (1977–1980).
• Internationally, he led and joined several parliamentary delegations to Kabul, the USSR, Canberra, and Lisbon. He also served as President of the Special Committee on Human Rights for Parliamentarians (1977–1988) with Union Cabinet rank. His political journey culminated as a Member of the Bihar Legislative Council (1989–1990) and finally as the Chief Minister of Bihar (1989–1990).
• ✍️ Autobiography
• S. N. Sinha authored his autobiography Meri Yadein: Meri Bhoolein, which reflects his experiences, struggles, and perceptions as a leader of great stature.
• 🌟 Commemoration
• The Satyendra Narayan Sinha Memorial Lecture Series was inaugurated with the first lecture delivered by Vice-President of India, Shri Hamid Ansari, in Patna.
• In 2014, the Bihar CM announced the renaming of Magadh University (founded by Sinha) as Satyendra Narayan Sinha Magadh University.
• A Children’s Park in Patna has been renamed as Satyendra Narayan Sinha Park.
• In 2015, CM Nitish Kumar laid the foundation for installing a life-size statue of Sinha at a state function.

Achievements and Milestones

• Memorial Lecture Series – The Satyendra Narayan Sinha Memorial Lecture Series was inaugurated by Vice-President of India Shri Hamid Ansari in Patna.
• University Renaming – In 2014, Magadh University (which he founded) was renamed Satyendra Narayan Sinha Magadh University.
• Satyendra Narayan Sinha Park – A children’s park in Patna was renamed in his honor.
• Life-size Statue – In 2015, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar laid the foundation for a statue of S. N. Sinha at a state function.
• S. N. Sinha College, Jehanabad – Established in 1970 and named after him, recognizing his contributions to education.