Bhola Paswan Shashtri

Bhola Paswan Shastri (21 September 1914 – 10 September 1984) was an Indian independence activist and politician who thrice served as Chief Minister of Bihar between 1968 and 1982. He was the first individual from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to be Chief Minister of Bihar, and the second person from the SC community overall to be a state Chief Minister after Andhra Pradesh's Damodaram Sanjivayya. To honour him, Bhola Paswan Shastri College, Babhangama, Bihariganj, Madhepura is named after him.

Biography Bhola Paswan Shastri was born in a Paswan community in the village of Bairgacchi, in Purnia district (now Katihar District). Shastri's family was poor, and his father worked in the home of the Raj Darbhanga's royal family.

In 1968, Shastri became Chief Minister of Bihar for the first time, though this term lasted only three months. This marked the first time a member of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes had become Chief Minister of Bihar, and the second SC Chief Minister overall after Andhra Pradesh's Damodaram Sanjivayya.

Legacy Despite his short tenures as Chief Minister, Shastri continues to be a popular figure in Bairgacchi.