Brajkishore Prasad (1877–1946) was a lawyer inspired by Mohandas Gandhi during the

Indian Independence Movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

Early life and education

Born in a Kayastha family in Srinagar,

Siwan district Siwan district is one of the districts of Bihar state, India. Siwan town is the administrative headquarters of this district. Siwan district is a part of Saran Division since 1972. The district was previously also known as Aliganj Siwan after ...

, Prasad gained his early education in

Chhapra Chhapra is a city and headquarters of the Saran district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is situated near the junction of the Ghaghara River and the Ganges River. Chhapra grew in importance as a river-based market in the 18th century when t ...

and

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

before moving to Presidency College in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, where he completed his legal training. He married Phuljhari Devi. He set up a legal practise in Darbhanga and had two sons, Vishwa Nath and Shiv Nath Prasad, more commonly known as SN Prasad, and two daughters, Prabhavati Devi and Vidyawati.

Career

He met with

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

in 1915 and was inspired. He decided to get involved full-time in the freedom struggle and gave up his legal practice. He was instrumental in Gandhi taking up the

Champaran Champaran is a region of Bihar in India. It is now divided into an East Champaran district and a West Champaran district. Notable people * Manoj Bajpai – Indian film actor * Dinesh Bhramar – poet and noted figure in Hindi and Bhojpuri l ...

and

Kheda Kheda, also known as Kaira, is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was former administrative capital of Kheda district. India's First Deputy Prime Minister Vallabhbhai Patel Was Born In Kheda District of Gujarat State ...

Satyagraha, in which Gandhi handpicked

Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, Indian independence activist, journalist & scholar who served as the first president of Republic of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian Nationa ...

and Anugrah Narayan Sinha along with him to successfully lead the movement. Gandhi was so impressed by Prasad's dedication that he set aside a full chapter on him in his autobiographical book, ''

The Story of My Experiments with Truth ''The Story of My Experiments with Truth'' ( gu, Satya Na Prayogo athva Atmakatha, ) is the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi, covering his life from early childhood through to 1921. It was written in weekly installments and published in his jo ...

'', called "The Gentle Bihari". Prasad remained at the forefront of the freedom struggle in

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

, and his collaboration with several colleagues was instrumental in the setting up of the Bihar Vidyapeeth. For the last ten years of his life he was severely infirmed, and died in 1946. s:The Story of My Experiments with Truth/Part V/The Gentle Bihari The National Book Trust, India, recently published a biography titled ''Braja Kishore Prasad: The Hero of Many Battles'', authored by Sachidanand Sinha..

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prasad, Brajkishore 1877 births 1946 deaths Presidency University, Kolkata alumni Indian independence activists from Bihar People from Siwan district University of Calcutta alumni People from Patna Prisoners and detainees of British India Founders of Indian schools and colleges Gandhians 19th-century Indian lawyers 20th-century Indian lawyers