New Delhi, 15 September (H.S.): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will release the book ‘Assi Ke Rai Sahab’ on September 25 to mark the 80th birthday of Ram Bahadur Rai, Group Editor of Hindusthan Samachar and Chairman of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.

According to the organisers, the event will be held at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre here under the joint aegis of Prabhat Prakashan and Pragya Sansthan. Senior journalist Banwari will preside over the programme.

The book, based on the life of senior journalist Ram Bahadur Rai, has been edited by senior journalists Hemant Sharma, Manoj Mishra, Sandeep Joshi and Sanjeev Kumar. It features articles by politicians, thinkers and senior journalists. The contributors include Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav, former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, and several prominent leaders from both the ruling establishment and the Opposition. The volume also includes contributions from Nobel laureates, acclaimed writers, senior journalists and editors from across the country.

It is noteworthy that Ram Bahadur Rai was born on February 4, 1946, into a farming family in Revatipur, his maternal village, in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district. His ancestral home is in Sonadi village. He received his early education in Malda, West Bengal, and Ghazipur. While studying at Banaras Hindu University in 1965, he became associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. He subsequently came into contact with Jayaprakash Narayan in 1971 and K.N. Govindacharya in 1972.

In November 1973, he emerged as one of the principal organisers of the historic Bihar Movement. During the JP Movement, he was arrested for the first time on April 9, 1974, under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA).

Ram Bahadur Rai entered journalism after the death of Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan in October 1979. He began his journalistic career with Hindusthan Samachar and subsequently worked with Jansatta and Navbharat Times. From 2006 to 2010, he was associated with the magazine Pratham Pravakta. Later, on August 15, 2013, he launched the magazine Yathavat.

Among Ram Bahadur Rai’s major published works are Manzil Se Zyada Safar, a biography of former Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh; Rahbari Ke Sawal, a biography of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar; Shashwat Vidrohi Rajneta: Acharya J.B. Kripalani, a biography; Bharatiya Samvidhan Ki Ankahi Kahani, published in Hindi, Urdu and English; and Bhanupratap Shukla: Vyaktitva Evam Vichar.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar