biography of education minister of bihar

Ashok Chaudhary appointed as new Bihar Education Minister

Bihar Building Construction Minister Ashok Chaudhary was on Thursday, November 19, 2020, given additional charge of the education department, following the resignation of Mewa Lal Choudhary over corruption allegations.

Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan appointed Ashok Chaudhary as the education minister on the recommendation of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Mewa Lal Choudhary was among the 14 ministers who were sworn in on November 16 as part of Nitish Kumar’s new term as Bihar chief minister.

He was forced to resign over allegations of irregularities in the selection of faculty members, while he was the Vice-Chancellor of Bihar Agriculture University between 2010 to 2015.

He was allocated as the new education minister on Tuesday, November 17, 2020 and a day after taking the oath, he sent his resignation immediately after assuming charge at 1 pm, as per sources.

Chadhaury was elected as the Tarapur MLA, served as the Vice-Chancellor of Bihar Agricultural University for half a decade. 

He was suspended from the party in February 2017, over allegations of massive irregularities in the hiring of faculty at the varsity he headed. 

Source: ANI

Read: Bihar education minister resigns over corruption taint

Also read:  Bihar board proposes 30 percent syllabus cut

Also read:  NISA sends defamation notice to Rajasthan minister for derogatory remarks against pvt schools

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Ashok Chaudhary appointed Bihar education minister after Mewalal Choudhary steps down

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Recently, when Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar distributed appointment letters to 1.20 lakh teachers, one person who got the loudest cheers was Education Department Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) K K Pathak. So much so that the CM too could not but acknowledge that “ Hum log dekh rahe hain Pathakji kitne popular hain (We are all seeing how popular Pathakji is)”.

Just a month earlier, in the last week of November, about 15 MLCs had met Nitish demanding Pathak’s immediate removal for stopping the pension of retired professor and CPI MLC Sanjay Kumar Singh, reportedly because of Singh’s opposition to instructions regarding university teachers, in his capacity as general secretary of the Federation of University Teachers of Bihar.

That, in a nutshell, is Pathak, who has left the Education Department astir despite just six months as its ACS. Hence, few know what to make of an Education Department letter doing the rounds that Pathak has “voluntarily” relinquished his position with effect from January 9.

A senior government official, for one, told The Indian Express that Pathak has only given charge to another official “till January 14, his leave period”.

Characteristically, the letter followed a fracas involving Pathak and the Raj Bhavan, and an audio of his that went viral.

“The Governor’s office recently objected to frequent interference by Pathak in the functioning of higher education, which amounted to undermining the authority of the Governor as Chancellor of universities,” a source said.

The audio tape that went viral purportedly features Pathak hurling abuses at former Indian Medical Association president Dr Ajay Kumar, who had criticised the ACS earlier. Kumar has lodged a police complaint against Pathak over the tape.

The blue-eyed boy

Nitish and Pathak, 55, a 1990-batch IAS officer, go back a long way, with the latter becoming Managing Director of the Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority and later of the Bihar State Awas Board after Nitish became CM for the first time in 2005. He also served as Secretary in the Education Department, before going on Central deputation in 2010.

In 2015, Nitish sought his return to Bihar and roped in the bureaucrat to draft provisions of the prohibition law introduced by him.

The decision to pick Pathak for the Education Department was strategic. “As the department has been under RJD Minister Chandra Shekhar, Nitish wanted a strong and dynamic bureaucrat who could start new initiatives,” a JD(U) leader said.

Pathak hit the ground running after joining the Education Department in June 2023, introducing a host of measures – such as cutting down the holiday list and increasing school hours – trodding on several feet in the process, including of teachers, Education Minister Chandra Shekhar and the Raj Bhavan. The measure to take several Hindu festivals off the holiday list also sparked off a controversy.

However, what has kept Pathak going is the backing of the CM. To complaints against the ACS, Nitish has been known to tell aides, “Ek aadmi achchha kaam kar raha hai, usse bhi log hatana chahte hain (One person is doing good work, and people want to remove him too)”.

The ‘reformist’

In seven months as ACS, Education, Pathak issued over 100 letters to district magistrates, district education officials and other officials, even as he travelled across the state, inspecting schools and notching up viral social media videos and reels.

In interactions with newly-appointed teachers, Pathak was captured telling them to focus on rural education, or to quit if not up to the rigours of the job. Remarks such as “Agar mazdoor ka beta mazdoor hi banega, to hamari kya zaroorat (What is the need for us, if the son of a labourer becomes a labourer)” won him instant fame, and popularity – even as teachers grumbled at being made “scapegoats”.

Pathak’s other measures included an app to track the attendance of students as well as teachers, to check fudging of records; the initiation of biometric system of attendance phase-wise, to gradually be extended to all 72,663 Bihar government schools, so as to have correct records regarding midday meals, for example; Internet connectivity for 4,602 senior secondary schools; routine and surprise inspections to check attendance as well as quality of midday meals and status of washroom facilities; regularising leave applications by teachers; empanelling retired teachers to help collect data; and provision of basic infrastructure like benches, to ensure that “no student sits on the floor”.

Officials said a survey showed that of the 72,663 government schools in Bihar, more than 15,000 did not have benches or desks, even as allocated funds remained unutilised.

Another measure by Pathak that became very popular was provision of coaching for engineering and competitive exams in government schools, acknowledging the reality that students depended on the same for basic English, maths and science. In a letter to DMs last October, Pathak wrote: “Lack of teachers in secondary and higher secondary schools is a major reason why students are going to coaching institutes… The department is enlisting certain institutions… which will take science, mathematics, English and computer classes at fixed rates… and will be paid for by the department.”

In another measure to check dropout rates, Pathak announced ‘Mission Daksh’ to offer special classes for students struggling in subjects. Under the programme, a teacher takes on such five students at a time, across Classes 3 to 8.

The ‘maverick’

If Pathak earned accolades for the above measures, his other announcements too kept hitting the headlines, such as a ban on wearing of jeans and T-shirts to office by Education Department employees; an order that teachers not be part of any union or association, or take part in any dharna; separate annual holiday lists for Hindi and Urdu-medium schools, with some holidays taken off the list such as for Durga Puja and Jitiya and Rakshabandhan; and the instruction that teachers report to schools during the entirety of the summer vacations, with over 150 of them getting notices for airing their views on social media against this.

Where Pathak landed in hot water, however, was a decision to withhold the salary of over 1,200 teachers for “absenteeism”, and the denial of pension of some university teachers for apparently criticising his decisions.

On at least four occasions since last June, the Education Department also came in direct conflict with the Raj Bhavan. On June 16, the Education Department wrote to state universities not to introduce four-year degree courses that had been approved by Governor R V Arlekar, in line with UGC recommendations. But the Raj Bhavan had the final say.

On August 18, the Bihar Education Department withheld the salary of the VC and the pro-VC of B R Ambedkar Bihar University. Raj Bhavan reversed the decision a day later. On August 22, the Education Department invited applications for appointment of VCs of five state universities, despite Raj Bhavan having brought out a similar advertisement on August 4. The CM met the Governor amid the tussle, with Pathak’s department finally withdrawing the circular.

A B R Ambedkar Bihar University professor said that the Nitish government has ignored higher education, and the Governor is trying to “stem the rot”. “Using its bureaucracy, the state government is engaged in a confrontation with the Raj Bhavan to cling on to its power.”

And it’s not just the Governor that Pathak has left upset. Bihar Education Minister Chandra Shekhar reportedly feels the ACS does not take him into confidence. In July, just a month after Pathak took over, a letter believed to have been written by the minister’s personal secretary to officials in the Education Department had gone public.

The letter read: “The department has been more in the news for kadak, sidha karne, nut and bolt tight karne (being strict and taking stringent action against errant employees), cleaning, dress code… nakel kasne (bringing some to book), deducting salaries and suspending employees… The minister wants the Robin Hoods and actors among officers to be punished.”

Although the letter was not signed by anyone, Education Department Director (Administration) Subodh Kumar Chaudhary had taken on the minister’s private secretary in a public spat, saying “his entry to the department had been barred”. It also sought to know the details of the private secretary’s PhD degree on the basis of which he used the title of “Dr” in his name.

The bad blood had led to Chandra Shekhar complaining to RJD chief Lalu Prasad, and to Nitish stepping in. Chandra Shekhar later told the media: “Everyone knows whose position is superior as per the Constitution.”

The last word, though, may not have been heard on the Pathak matter.

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Meet the New Education Minister of Bihar, A Former IPS Officer

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KK Pathak Wiki, Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

KK Pathak is an Indian Civil Servant (IAS) of Bihar who is known for abusing the deputy collector and ‘BASA’ (Bihar Administrative Service Association) in a meeting. On 2 February 2023, a video of him abusing them went viral on social media.

Wiki/Biography

Keshav Kumar Pathak [1] Indian Mandarins was born on Monday, 15 January 1968 ( age 55 years; as of 2023 ) in Uttar Pradesh. His zodiac sign is Capricorn. He has pursued a bachelor’s degree in economics and M.Phil in economics. [2] Easy.nic

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 9″

Hair Colour: Semi-bald

Eye Colour: Black

Parents & Siblings

His father’s name is Major G.S. Pathak, who was the Principal Secretary of the Minor Water Recourses Department of Bihar.

Wife & Children

There is not much information available about his marital status.

KK Pathak’s signature

Pathak was appointed as the IAS in 1990. In 2016, he was a part of the Excise and Prohibition Department but was transferred by the Bihar government after he imposed total prohibition of alcohol in Bihar. In 2019, he was appointed as the Managing Director of National Highway and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL). Later in 2019, he also became the CEO of Bihar Foundation and Principal Secretary Department of Industries. In 2021, he was again appointed as the Additional Chief Secretary of the Excise and Prohibition Department in Bihar. He also serves as the Director General of Bipard (Bihar Institute of Public Administration & Rural Development).

Controversies

Violence towards a journalist.

In 1990, Pathak attracted controversy when he served as the deputy commissioner of Giridh and hit a journalist for presenting a wrong report about him. [3] The Print

Accused of misusing his power

In 2018, he attracted controversy when he was accused by the SBI of misusing his power and filing a false case against them. In 2016, Pathak filed a case against seven branch managers of SBI for late deposit of stamp duty. In 2018, the Patna High Court imposed a fine of Rs. 1.75 lakhs on Pathak. [4] The Times of India

Accused of threatening and beating

In 2019, while he was serving as the Principal Secretary of the Minor Irrigation Department, he was accused of threatening to kill and beat Kumud Raj Singh, director of Maa Shakuntala Infrastructure Pvt Ltd. [5] Amar Ujala

Abusing his own staff during a meeting

On 2 February 2023, Pathak was seen abusing the deputy collector and ‘BASA’ (Bihar Administrative Service Association) in a video that went viral on social media. In the video, he was seen talking about people in the city not following traffic rules. In the video, he said,

In Chennai, people follow rules. Have you ever seen anyone here following the traffic rules? They will keep honking even if there is a red light. Have you not seen this? People here are like that only. Laal light bhi hai, pe pe bhi karega…the situation of the deputy collector is this.” [6] Hindustan Times

In the video, it was seen that the deputy collector also tried to apologise to him, but Pathak was very aggressive and kept shouting at him. After the video went viral, the Bihar Administrative Service Association filed an FIR against him and demanded his resignation from the post. Sunil Kumar, the Prohibition, excise and registration minister in the Bihar government, demanded strict action against him. Reportedly, this behaviour of Pathak was related to the death of Vivek Kumar, a deputy collector. On 14 November 2022, Vivek was sent to Gaya for field training from Dehradun, where he died. When he died, Pathak was a trainer there. On 5 December 2022, ten other trainees fell ill in Gaya and were admitted to the hospital. BASA complained about Vivek’s death to the Chief Secretary, but no action was taken against Pathak. On 10 December 2022, Pathak wrote a letter to Chief Secretary and talked about the state officers and said that they were “indisciplined”, “self delusional” and have “a weird sense of superiority complex and self entitlement”. BASA decided to protest against Pathak by wearing black wristbands and praying for his mental purification. [7] Aaj Tak

Rift between KK Pathak and Bihar Education Minister

Bihar’s Education Minister, Chandrashekhar, expressed his dissatisfaction with the operations of the department in a letter addressed to KK Pathak on 4 July 2023. Pathak, who assumed the role of Additional Chief Secretary of the education department, had implemented a series of changes that infuriated Chandrashekhar. These changes included eliminating the domicile policy for teacher job recruitment and imposing a ban on wearing jeans and T-shirts. In response, Chandrashekhar’s private secretary sent a confidential letter to KK Pathak, but it backfired as Pathak prohibited the secretary from entering the education department. According to Pathak, the minister’s secretary leaked the letter, which he referred to as the “yellow” letter, to the media, intensifying the controversy. On 6 July 2023, Chandrashekhar met with Lalu Prasad Yadav and briefed him on the entire dispute. Subsequently, Yadav advised Chandrashekhar to meet Chief Minister Nitish Kumar . [8] India Today Lalu Yadav said,

I spoke to Chandrashekhar first and then told Nitish Kumar over the phone to meet him and solve the crisis.”

Facts/Trivia

• Pathak is known for his unbiasedness and honest behaviour. In 2005, while he was the district magistrate of Gopalganj, he did not wait for the VIP invited for the inauguration of a hospital building, rather he asked the hospital sweeper to inaugurate the building. This behaviour caused a problem for him because MP Sadhu Yadav was very angry with him for wasting the money from the MPLAD fund spent on the inauguration.
• In 2021, when he became the Additional Chief Secretary of the Excise and Prohibition Department in Bihar, he made his mobile number public so that people could call him for assistance in any case related to liquor.

The government should sack KK Pathak as soon as possible. He is not in a good frame of mind. Apart from being the Secretary of the Prohibition Department, he is also in charge of BIPARD and during training, He harasses the officers of Bihar. Meanwhile, One officer has also died after being publicly humiliated by him. All our officials are angry about this video. We are going to take action as soon as possible. At present, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the Chief Secretary are requested to take action against him.”

Bihar’s CM cum Home Minister Nitish Kumar has no control over the police-administration. Administrative redtapism- anarchy unbridled bureaucracy is behaving arbitrarily with public. IAS KK Pathak must apologise for lumpenism misbehavior to BASA officers or Govt must dismiss.”

References [+] [−]

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One response.

KK Pathak demonstrates a troubling mindset and should be excluded from involvement in public matters. His arbitrary handling of BPSC teacher postings resulted in fatal road accidents, denying them any say in their assignments, thereby endangering lives. He exhibits a disregard for human life. Additionally, his decision to keep schools open during freezing winters led to student fatalities from exposure to cold temperatures. Moreover, numerous female teachers face daily risks due to postings far from their homes, indicating his indifference to their safety. His actions seem to derive pleasure from causing suffering to others.

Why does the Nitish government maintain such restraint towards KK Pathak? Could there be underlying motives behind their leniency? Are there undisclosed factors influencing their stance on his conduct?

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Bihar Ministers List 2024: Full list of ministers and their portfolios in Nitish Kumar-led Cabinet

Bihar cabinet ministers list 2024: portfolios were allocated in the new nitish kumar-led bihar cabinet headed who retained the home department, while samrat choudhary got finance and vijay kumar sinha got agriculture and road construction..

Bihar Cabinet Ministers portfolios: Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the ninth Chief Minister of Bihar on Sunday at the Raj Bhawan in Patna. He was administered the oath of office by Bihar Governor Rajendra Arlekar. Along with Nitish Kumar, BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary, Vijay Kumar Sinha and six other leaders also took oath as ministers in the new government. Portfolios were allocated on Saturday (February 3) in the new Bihar cabinet headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who retained the Home department, while Samrat Choudhary, one of the two Deputy Chief Ministers, got finance, and Vijay Kumar Sinha, the other Deputy CM, has been given crucial portfolios of agriculture and road construction.

Bihar: Full list of Ministers and their portfolios

Chief minister nitish kumar.

General Administration Home Cabinet Secretariat Monitoring Election All other departments not allotted to anyone

Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary

Finance Commercial tax Urban development and housing Health Sports Panchayati Raj Industry Animal and Fisheries Resources Planning

Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sinha

Agriculture Road Construction Revenue and land reforms Sugarcane Industry Mines and Geology Labour resources Art, Culture and Youth Minor Water Resources Public Health Engineering

Ministers in Nitish Kumar Cabinet

JD(U)- Vijay Kumar Choudhary JD(U)- Vijendra Yadav JD(U)- Shravan Kumar BJP – Prem Kumar HAM- Santosh Kumar Suman Sumit Kumar Singh (Independent)

Portfolios allocated to the cabinet ministers

Vijay Kumar Chaudhary

Water Resource Parliamentary Affairs Building construction Transport Education Information and Public Relations

Vijendra Prasad Yadav

Energy Planning and Development Prohibition Excise & Registration Department (Excise) Rural work Minority Welfare

Co-operation Backward Class and Most Backward Class Welfare Disaster Management Environment, Forest and Climate Change Tourism

Shravan Kumar

Rural Development Social welfare Food and Consumer Protection

Santosh Kumar Suman

Information Technology Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Welfare Science, Technology and Technical Education

Nitish had joined the Mahagathbandhan, also comprising the Congress and RJD, in August 2022, after he severed ties with the BJP accusing it of trying to “split” his party, the JD(U). He formed a new government with a multi-party coalition that included RJD, Congress and three Left parties.

In the current 243-member Bihar Assembly, JD(U) has 45 MLAs and the BJP 78. Kumar also has the support of one Independent member. Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha, which is already a part of the NDA, has four MLAs. The RJD (79) along with the Congress (19) and the Left parties (16) have a combined 114 MLAs, eight short of a majority.

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Nitish Kumar Biography: Birth, Family, Political Career and More

Chief minister nitish kumar has retained the home department while his deputy chief minister tejashwi yadav has been given the health department in bihar cabinet expansion. .

Nitish Kumar Biography:  Around 30 MLAs, including the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Tejashwi Yadav's brother Tej Pratap Yadav, were sworn in as part of Bihar's new cabinet under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The largest share of ministerial berths have gone to the RJD, which is the single largest party in Bihar. 

Nitish Kumar took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the eighth time on August 10, 2022, while Tejashwi Yadav of Rashtriya Janata Dal was announced as the Deputy Chief Minister. 

Nitish Kumar had submitted his resignation to the Governor of the state on August 9, 2022, as his Janata Dal decided to sever ties with the ruling alliance partner, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Nitish Kumar's resignation came hours after, at a meeting, he reportedly said that the tie-up with the BJP was over as the party was not giving respect and was conspiring against them. 

Nitish Kumar in Cabinet

As per the list of portfolios allotted, the Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar has retained the Home Department while his Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav has been given the Health Department.

#BiharCabinetExpansion | Portfolios allocated - CM Nitish Kumar keeps Home Dept, Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav gets Health Dept, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary gets Finance Dept. RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav to be the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change pic.twitter.com/UYpvzwzJgl — ANI (@ANI) August 16, 2022

Nitish Kumar: Birth, Family, and Education

Nitish Kumar was born on 1 March 1951 in  Bakhtiarpur, Bihar to Kaviraj Ram Lakhan Singh (Father) and Parmeshwari Devi (Mother). His father was an ayurvedic practitioner.  

Nitish Kumar is a graduate in Mechanical Engineering from Bihar College of Engineering (present-day NIT Patna). Before entering into politics, he was associated with Bihar State Electricity Board.

Nitish Kumar: Political Career

In his early years, Nitish Kumar was associated with Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia, S. N. Sinha, Karpuri Thakur and V. P. Singh. From 1974 to 1977, he participated in Jayaprakash Narayan's movement and joined the Janata Party led by Satyendra Narain Sinha.  

He briefly served as the Union Minister for Railways, Minister for Surface Transport, and the Minister for Agriculture. After the Gaisal train crash (2 August 1999), he resigned as the Union Minister of Railways. During his tenure as the Union Minister for Railways, he brought in widespread reforms including internal ticket booking facility (2002) and a tatkal scheme for instant booking of tickets. 

Nitish Kumar contested from two constituencies (Nalanda and Barh) in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. He lost from his traditional constituency, Barh but won from Nalanda. 

In March 2000, for the first time, he was elected as the Chief Minister of Bihar. In November 2010, he became the Chief Minister of Bihar for the second time. However, on May 17, 2014, he resigned from the Chief Ministerial post after his party performed poorly in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and took the moral responsibility of the party's performance. He was succeeded by Jitan Ram Manjhi of Janata Dal (United). 

Nitish Kumar: Personal Life

Nitish kumar: awards.

1- Anuvrat Puraskar in 2017 for liquor ban in Bihar. 

2- JP Memorial Award in 2013. 

3- Ranked 77th in 'Foreign Policy Magazine' top 100 global thinkers 2012. 

4- XLRI, Jamshedpur Sir Jehangir Ghandy Medal in 2011 for Industrial and Social Peace. 

5- MSN Indian of the Year 2010. 

6- NDTV Indian of the Year- Politics in 2010. 

7- Forbes' India's Person of the Year in 2010.

8- CNN-IBN Indian of the Year Award- Politics in 2010. 

9-  NDTV Indian of the Year- Politics in 2009. 

10- Economics Times Business Reformer of the Year in 2009. 

11- Rotary International Polio Eradication Championship Award 2009.

Nitish Kumar: Biographies

1- Single Man: The Life and Times of Nitish Kumar of Bihar by Sankarshan Thakur

2- Nitish Kumar and The Rise of Bihar by Arun Sinha

List of all Chief Ministers of Bihar

Get here current GK and GK quiz questions in English and Hindi for India , World, Sports and Competitive exam preparation. Download the Jagran Josh Current Affairs App .

• Nitish Kumar is associated with which political party? + The former Chief Minister of Bihar is associated with Janata Dal (United) Party.
• When was Nitish Kumar born? + Nitish Kumar was born on 1 March 1951 in Bakhtiarpur, Bihar.
• What is Nitish Kumar's qualification? + Nitish Kumar is a graduate in Mechanical Engineering from Bihar College of Engineering (present-day NIT Patna). Before entering into politics, he was associated with Bihar State Electricity Board.
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Alok Mehta is Bihar's new Education Minister, Chandra Shekhar gets cane department

I n an unprecedented rejig in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led Bihar Cabinet, the portfolio of Bihar Education Minister Chandra Shekhar has been relinquished, and the ministry has been handed over to Alok Kumar Mehta. 

Chandra Shekhar, in turn, is now appointed to lead the Ministry of Cane Development. Additionally, Minister Lalit Yadav has been assigned an extra role in the Land Revenue Department, which was earlier headed by Alok Mehta. 

Lalit Yadav currently holds the Public Health Engineering Department in the Bihar government. 

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Nitish Kumar (Politician) Age, Caste, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Some lesser known facts about nitish kumar.

• Nitish Kumar is an Indian politician. He is serving as the Chief Minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015. He also held the position from 2005 to 2014 and for a short time in 2000. He is the founder member of the Samata Party Movement. In January 2024, he was elected as the Chief Minister of Bihar for his 9th term.
• His father, Kaviraj Ram Lakhan Singh, was interested in politics. He was well-known as a freedom fighter and worked closely with Anurag Narayan Sinha, who was deeply committed to Gandhian principles. Nitish’s mother belonged to Nepal.
• Before India gained independence, Kaviraj Ram volunteered with the Indian National Congress and joined the freedom movement. In 1952, Nitish Kumar’s father wanted to contest for the Vidhan Sabha (state legislature), but he was not given the chance. When the same thing happened again in 1957, Kaviraj Ram then joined the Janata Party.
• Growing up in this political environment, Nitish Kumar was inclined towards politics. He did not feel comfortable in the engineering job he initially took up in Bihar State Electricity Board for some time, and later, shifted to politics.

An old picture of Nitish Kumar with his late wife, Manju

A politician while addressing a rally during the JP Movement in the 1970s

Jayaprakash Narayan in 1974 with then-student leader Nitish Kumar (right)

• Soon, he then joined the Janata party headed by Satyendra Narain Sinha.
• As a member of the Indian delegation, Nitish Kumar visited Singapore, Thailand, Havana (Cuba), and Moscow (Russia) for the World Youth Festival in 1978. He then travelled to Australia and France as a member of the Indian Parliamentary Delegation to the IPU Conference.

Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav in the 1980s

Nitish Kumar with George Fernandes

• In the 1998 Parliamentary elections, when the Samata Party and Janata Dal were weakened by the formation of RJD, Kumar merged both parties to form Janata Dal (United).

An old picture of Nitish Kumar

• During his tenure as Railway Minister, he visited France, Switzerland, and the UK. As the Agriculture Minister, he attended the Regional Conference of FAO in Yokohama, Japan.
• In the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, the Rashtriya Janata Dal suffered a lapse after the BJP and JD(U) alliance. Despite fighting alongside the Congress, RJD’s image was degraded due to Lalu Prasad Yadav ‘s involvement in the Fodder Scam which led Congress to contest solo in the 2000 assembly elections.

A picture of the Gaisal train disaster

Nitish Kumar with senior BJP leaders LK Advani, Mamata Banerjee, Jayalalitha

• In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, he contested from two constituencies; won from Nalanda but lost in the Barh constituency.
• According to Nitish Kumar, when he became the Chief Minister of Bihar, he faced many challenges including a poor law and order situation marked by organized criminal gangs and rampant kidnapping, as well as the persistent threat of left-wing extremism in certain backward areas of Bihar. To address these issues, Kumar implemented the Arms Act and established special courts for quick convictions.

A picture of the Special Auxiliary Police (SAP) rally in Bihar

• Thereafter, Kumar started reforms in the state’s police recruitment process to assure justice and clearness. He implemented measures like the “Carbon Copy system” in written examinations to prevent interference and partiality.

Nitish Kumar paying tribute to his wife Manju Sinha through her statue

• During his tenure as the Chief Minister of Bihar, Kumar reformed prison rules in Bihar such as installing mobile phone jammers to catch criminal activities operated from within prisons and implementing the ‘All India Prison Reforms’ program issued by the Supreme Court of India.

Nitish Kumar with the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at an NDA program in Ludhiana in 2010

An ATS team screening the crime scene after Bodh Gaya, Patna, blasts

The cover of the book titled ‘Nitish Kumar and The Rise of Bihar’ by Arun Sinha

Nitish Kumar with his son

Nitish Kumar with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017

• On 8 December 2020, his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar after the demise of Ram Vilas Paswan . As a result, Nitish resigned on 16 August 2020 but later returned as Chief Minister with new deputies Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi.
• On 9 August 2022, Nitish ended his alliance with the BJP. He resigned as chief minister and cut his ties with the NDA. He then rejoined the Mahagathbandhan, which included RJD, INC, CPI, and others, to form a new governing coalition. He was sworn in as the chief minister for the eighth time on 10 August 2022, marking 22 years in office.

Nitish Kumar while offering flowers to his father’s statue

Nitish Kumar while swearing as the Chief Minister of Bihar in 2024

• He introduced the “Jankari Scheme,” the electronic version of the RTI Act in Bihar during his tenure as a chief minister.

Nitish Kumar while enjoying ‘chuda-dahi’ on Makar Sankranti

References/Sources: [ + ]