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New Delhi, NCR of Delhi, India
I am an Indian, a Yadav from (Madhepura) Bihar, a social and political activist, a College Professor at University of Delhi and a nationalist.,a fighter,dedicated to the cause of the downtrodden.....

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Late Lamented Rash Behari Lal Mandal, the Yadav King and Lion of Mithila

The editorial of 27th April,1908 Amrita Bazar Patrika, the renowned daily of India then, published from Calcutta was all praise for Rash Bihari Lal Mandal, the Zamindar of Murho Estate, Madhepura for having taken headlong Mr FF Lyall, the haughty Disrtict Magistrate of Bhagalpur, and Mandal's petition at Calcutta High Court for transfer of his cases from Bhagalpur to Darbhanga on the ground of prejudiced attitude of Lyall had been accepted. Lyall raked the issue again by making defamatory comments against the Justices of Calcutta High Court on the order, and was again hauled for it. Before that the 22nd February, 1908 issue of Amrita Bazar Patrika had reported the issue, according to which Mr Jackson, the Lawyer of Rashbihari Lal Mandal had argued before Justice Geidt that since 1902, when Mandal had refused to part with a certain piece of Land at heart of Madhepura (where now Rashbihari Vidyalay stands) on the orders of the Mr Shirres, the then District Magistrate, had incurred the wrath of the administration and police. Since then series of criminal cases were brought against Mr Mandal and he had to move to High Court more than a dozen of times to save himself. It was not a mere coincidence that the first person to be granted bail before arrest (so common these days as Anticipatory Bail), on the orders of Calcutta High Court was Late Rashbihari Lal Mandal. The Gazetteer of Bhagalpur District has also mentioned the extraordinary case of Rashbihari Lal Mandal. Late Rashbihari Lal Mandal had many distinctions to his credit. Born in 1866 to Raghubar Dayal Mandal, the Zamindar of Murho, he had inherited considerable property at Ranipatti also. Rashbihari Lal's parents died when he was very young and he had to look after his estate since adolescence. He was educated till Class XI and knew many languages including Sanskrit, Hindi, Maithili, English, Urdu, Persian and French. Everyday newspaper in various languages were by his bedside at Murho. By 1908 Rashbihari Lal Mandal had come to the forefront of the National Movement, started his contribution in the Social Justice Movement and continued his legal crusade against the British rulers. However, late Rashbihari Lal Mandal also made history by attending the coronation of King GeorgeV at Delhi and also by leading a delegation of Yadav leaders to Montagu-Chelmsford Committee to demand rights for Yadav's and also to establish Ahir Regiment in the Army. Here he shook hands with Lord Chelmsford rather than rendering the traditional 'salami' to the Viceroy. Rashbihari Lal Mandal was the first leader of Yadav Community, nay the Backward Classes, to be the elected Member of Provincial Congress Committee and the All India Congress Committee from Bihar. He came in contact with Surendra Nath Bannerjea, Bipin Chandra Pal,Sachidanand Sinha and other Congress leaders at Calcutta, and remained on the forefront of the Congress leadership of Bihar till his death in 1918. Dr Rajendra Prasad had confided with Late B P Mamdal, the youngest son of late Rashbihari Lal Mandal in 1952, when he had gone to seek Congress ticket for Vidhan Sabha, that Rashbihari Babu used to be our inspiration and guide us at Calcutta when we were students. Rashbihari Lal Mandal organised the first GopeJatiy Mahasabha (later christened as Yadav Mahasabha) at Murho, Madhepura in December, 1911. The other Yadav leaders who had joined him in this endeavor included Keshav Lal, Devkumar Prasad, Sant Das(Pleader), Sita Ram, Mewa Lal from Bankipore (Patna), Kanhaiya Lal (Lucknow), Ram Narayan Raut (Gorakhpur), Shiv Nandan Prasad(Pleader), Jamuna Prasad(Chhapra), Feku Ram (Jaunpur), Nandlal Rai (Dashara, Darbhanga), Ram Dhani Gope, Ram Dhyan Prasad (Muzaffarpur), Syambhardas (Hazaribagh), Raghunandan Prasad (Saligrami,Munghyr), Brij Bihari lal Mandal, Shiv Nandan Prasad Mandal (Madhepura). The resolutions adopted at the Mahasabha included steps to improve education among Yadav's by establishing, Schools, Colleges, Boarding Houses and giving stipends, stopping Child-Marriage, ending Dowry System, staying away from Liquor consumption, improving Agriculture practices, protecting Cows, taking part in Commerce, avoid fight among themselves, establish Gope Jatiy Buildings and organisation in every district with a Secretary, bring out a Monthly Magazine "Gopal Mitr" and have a session of Mhasabha annually at different places. The most important step taken by the Mahasabha was what was later called "Sanskritisation" by Sociologists, or holding of 'Janaiu Dharan' ceremony. This was vehemently opposed by the upper caste and caste clashes took place at Munger while the Yadav's who had donned sacred thread were cauterised. It was a unique coincidence that when Late Rash Bihari Lal Mandal breathed his last at a young age of 51 at Benaras on 25th-26th
August 1918, it was here that his youngest son B P Mandal, former Chief Minister of Bihar was born. Rashbihari Babu's eldest son was Bhubneshwari Prasad Mandal, Member, Bihar-Orissa Legislative Council in 1924 and Chairman, Bhagalpur Local Board (District Board) till his death in 1948, and second son was Kamleshwari Prasad Mandal, member, Bihar Legislative Concil in 1937. His eldest grandson Justice Rajeshwar Prasad Mandal was the first Yadav Judge of Patna High Court. Other grandsons including Suresh Chandra Yadav was Ex-MLA, Ramesh Chandra Yadav, Advocate was Chairmn of Bhumi Vikas Bank, Director, Madhepura-Supaul Central Co-operative bank and Ward Commissioner, Madhepura Municiapality and Manindra kumar Mandal, Ex-MLA. *************************************************************************************
Rash Behari Lal Mandal v. Emperor 12 C.W.N. 117 : 6 C.L.J. 760 : 6 Cr. L.J. 408 where it was held that "the High Court has full jurisdiction under Section 437 of the Criminal Procedure Code to revise a commitment order made under Section 436 on points of law as well as of facts."
Rash Behari Lal Mandal and Ors. v. The Emperor (1907) 12 C.W.N. 117. Under the Codes of 1871 and 1892 it has been held that this Court will not exercise its power of revision on the ground that the lower Court has not rightly appreciated the evidence the reason being that it is for the Court called upon to determine whether the person charged is guilty or not, to consider and weigh the evidence, and any error as to the probative force and effect is not open to correction on revision, but only on appeal.
In Rash Behary Lal Mandal v. Emperor (1908) 35 Cal. 1076, it was held by a Bench of the Calcutta High Court that a warrant of arrest which had been illegally issued under Section 96, Criminal P.C., could not be treated as valid under Section 98.

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