Patna:
The hapless grandchildren of Batak Mian, who saved the life of Mahatma Gandhi in 1917 by alerting him not to drink a glass of poisoned milk in Bihar, have got a helping hand from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
After learning that Mian's grandchildren were living in penury in West Champaran, the Chief Minister directed the Divisional Commissioner, Tirhut, S M Raju to provide help to the family, an official release said.
Mian, a cook in the house of a British officer overseeing indigo farming, was asked by the Briton to serve a glass of milk laced with poison to Gandhiji in a dinner party at his house when the Mahatma was in Champaran leading an agitation against indigo farming.
"Our grandfather had informed Gandhiji about the plot and ensured that he did not drink the milk. After knowing Mian's role in saving the life of Gandhiji, the British officer brutally tortured our grandfather," a grand child of Mian, who died in 1957, said, according to the release.
The divisional commissioner and the district magistrate had also been asked to submit a proposal at the earliest so that Mian's family could receive additional government help, it said.