The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar has recently announced April 14 as a public holiday from 2016 on account of Ashoka’s “birth anniversary”.
After a proposal from the General Administration Department, which is directly under Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, April 14 will be declared as national holiday. Although, historians differ on the year of Ashoka’s birth.
The Bihar cabinet approved the GAD’s proposal to include April 14 as a public holiday under provisions of the Negotiable Instruments Act.
Kishwar Kunal a former IPS officer and author of books on ancient history said that “While writing my book Dalit Debo Bhav, I referred to all important sources relating to the Mauryan dynasty but did not come across a definite date of Ashoka’s birth.”
