About the Book

In 1974, during the firing on the procession of national leader Jayaprakash Narayan in Patna, Bihar’s capital, a conspiracy was orchestrated against the rapidly rising Congress Party MLA and staunch protector of the Indira Brigade, MLA Phulena Rao. He was framed as a shooter, a charge from which he was later proven innocent.

Author Manoj Kumar Rao’s debut book, “”Yashoda: The Story of a Self-Luminous Woman,”” has been honored with 14 awards from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Among these accolades, he received the “”Author of the Year”” and “”Best Author”” awards from Miss India Shivani Yadav in Navi Mumbai, and the “”GIFA”” honor in Goa. At the Indraprastha Literature Conference held in New Delhi, in the presence of the then Governor of Himachal Pradesh, he was awarded two additional prizes.

Hailing from Bettiah in the West Champaran district of Bihar, Manoj Kumar Rao pursued a Bachelor’s degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He began his journalism career with Hindustan Times in New Delhi. Following that, he worked as a senior journalist in several districts of Bihar for prominent newspapers like Dainik Jagran, Prabhat Khabar, Chauthi Duniya, and Dainik Bhaskar. Due to his excellent writing, he has been recognized by various state and national organizations throughout his 26-year journalism career.