Karan Singh
Karan Singh is an Indian politician and member of the royal family of Jammu and Kashmir. He is a MP in the Rajya Sabha, a senior member of the ruling Indian National Congress Party serving as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Department, President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), India's Ambassador to UNESCO, Chairman of the Auroville Foundation and of the Temple of Understanding, author, diplomat, champion of interfaith dialogue, and Hindu scholar. Singh (born 1931) is the son of the last ruler of the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu, Maharaja Hari Singh. In the 26th amendment[1] to the Constitution of India promulgated in 1971, the Government of India abolished all official symbols of princely India, including titles, privileges, and remuneration (privy purses).[2] Singh received the Padma Vibhushan in 2005.
Biography
Early life and education
Karan Singh was born on March 9, 1931, in Cannes, France, to the last ruler of the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu (also known as The Royal House of Jammu and Kashmir), Maharaja Hari Singh and his wife Maharani Tara Devi.
He was educated at Doon School, Dehra Dun, and received a B.A. from Sri Pratap Singh (S. P.) College, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir University, and an M.A. in Political Science from Delhi University. He went on to receive a Ph.D. from Delhi University.[3]
Political career
In 1949, at age of eighteen, he was appointed as the regent of Jammu and Kashmir state after his father stepped down as the king, following the state's accession to India.[4] He served successively as regent, Sadr-i-Riyasat and governor of the state of Jammu and Kashmir from 1965 to 1967. He has held several ministerial positions in the Union cabinet: Union Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation from 1967 to 1973, Minister of Health and Family Planning from 1973 to 1977 and Minister of Education and Culture in 1979–1980. In 1990–1991, he served as Indian Ambassador to the US.
From 1967 to 1980, and in 1990, Karan Singh served as a MP in the Lok Sabha; since 1996, he has been a MP in the Rajya Sabha. He served as Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University, Jammu and Kashmir University, and Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is an active member of several boards, organizations, and foundations, including the Author's Guild of India, the ICCR, the Auroville Foundation, the Indian Board of Wildlife, and several others.
Presently, Karan Singh is Chairman of the AICC Foreign Department.
Personal life
In 1956, he married Princess Yasho Rajya Lakshmi (1937–2009), the granddaughter of Maharaja Sir Mohan Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, the last Rana Prime Minister of Nepal from the Rana dynasty of Nepal.[5] They had three children — a daughter, Jyotsna, and two sons Vikramaditya and Ajatshatru, and six grandchildren — Vivaswat, Viveka, Mriganka, Martand, Adishree and Ranvijay.
Styles
[6]
Honours
[7]
Bibliography
- "Towards A New India"(1974)
- Population, Poverty and the Future of India (1975)
- "One Man's World" (1986)
- Essays on Hinduism. Ratna Sagar. 1987. ISBN 8170701732.
- Humanity at the Crossroads . with Daisaku Ikeda. Oxford University Press, 1988.
- "Autobiography" (2 vols.)(1989)
- "Brief Sojourn" (1991)
- Hymn to Shiva and Other Poems (1991)
- The Transition to a Global Society (1991)
- Mountain of Shiva (1994)
- Autobiography. Oxford University Press, 1994. ISBN 0195636368.
- Prophet of Indian Nationalism
- Hinduism. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd, 2005. ISBN 1845574257
- Mundaka Upanishad: The Bridge to Immortality.
- Ten Gurus of the Sikhs Their Life Story, Tr. into English Pramila Naniwadekar & Moreshwar Naniwadekar.
- Nehru's Kashmir. Wisdom Tree. ISBN 9788183281607.
- A Treasury of Indian Wisdom. Penguin Ananda, 2010. ISBN 9780670084500.
See also
References
- ^ "The Constitution (26 Amendment) Act, 1971", indiacode.nic.in (Government of India), 1971, http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/amend/amend26.htm, retrieved 9 November 2011
- ^ 1. Ramusack, Barbara N. (2004). The Indian princes and their states. Cambridge University Press. p. 278. ISBN 978-0-521-26727-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=Kz1-mtazYqEC&pg=PA278. Retrieved 6 November 2011. , "Through a constitutional amendment passed in 1971, Indira Gandhi stripped the princes of the titles, privy purses and regal privileges which her father's government had granted." (p 278). 2. Naipaul, V. S. (8 April 2003), India: A Wounded Civilization, Random House Digital, Inc., pp. 37–, ISBN 978-1-4000-3075-0, http://books.google.com/books?id=XYeWbmq7pkIC&pg=PT37, retrieved 6 November 2011 Quote: "The princes of India – their number and variety reflecting to a large extent the chaos that had come to the country with the break up of the Mughal empire – had lost real power in the British time. Through generations of idle servitude they had grown to specialize only in style. A bogus, extinguishable glamour: in 1947, with Independence, they had lost their state, and Mrs. Gandhi in 1971 had, without much public outcry, abolished their privy purses and titles." (pp 37–38). 3. Schmidt, Karl J. (1995), An atlas and survey of South Asian history, M.E. Sharpe, p. 78, ISBN 978-1-56324-334-9, http://books.google.com/books?id=FzmkFXSgxqgC&pg=PA78, retrieved 6 November 2011 Quote: "Although the Indian states were alternately requested or forced into union with either India or Pakistan, the real death of princely India came when the Twenty-sixth Amendment Act (1971) abolished the princes' titles, privileges, and privy purses." (page 78). 4. Breckenridge, Carol Appadurai (1995), Consuming modernity: public culture in a South Asian world, U of Minnesota Press, pp. 84–, ISBN 978-0-8166-2306-8, http://books.google.com/books?id=LN4MN35b-r4C&pg=PA84, retrieved 6 November 2011 Quote: "The third stage in the political evolution of the princes from rulers to citizens occurred in 1971, when the constitution ceased to recognize them as princes and their privy purses, titles, and special privileges were abolished." (page 84). 5. Guha, Ramachandra (5 August 2008), India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy, HarperCollins, pp. 441–, ISBN 978-0-06-095858-9, http://books.google.com/books?id=2fvd-CaFdqYC&pg=PA441, retrieved 6 November 2011 Quote: "Her success at the polls emboldened Mrs. Gandhi to act decisively against the princes. Through 1971, the two sides tried and failed to find a settlement. The princes were willing to forgo their privy purses, but hoped at least to save their titles. But with her overwhelming majority in Parliament, the prime minister had no need to compromise. On 2 December she introduced a bill to amend the constitution and abolish all princely privileges. It was passed in the Lok Sabha by 381 votes to six, and in the Rajya Sabha by 167 votes to seven. In her own speech, the prime minister invited 'the princes to join the elite of the modern age, the elite which earns respect by its talent, energy and contribution to human progress, all of which can only be done when we work together as equals without regarding anybody as of special status.' " (page 441). 6. Cheesman, David (1997). Landlord power and rural indebtedness in colonial Sind, 1865-1901. London: Routledge. pp. 10–. ISBN 978-0-7007-0470-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=rtBi1MgVD0AC&pg=PA10. Retrieved 6 November 2011. Quote: "The Indian princes survived the British Raj by only a few years. The Indian republic stripped them of their powers and then their titles." (page 10). 7. Merriam-Webster, Inc (1997), Merriam-Webster's geographical dictionary, Merriam-Webster, pp. 520–, ISBN 978-0-87779-546-9, http://books.google.com/books?id=Co_VIPIJerIC&pg=PA520, retrieved 6 November 2011 Quote: "Indian States: "Various (formerly) semi-independent areas in India ruled by native princes .... Under British rule ... administered by residents assisted by political agents. Titles and remaining privileges of princes abolished by Indian government 1971." (page 520). 8. Ward, Philip (September 1989), Northern India, Rajasthan, Agra, Delhi: a travel guide, Pelican Publishing, pp. 91–, ISBN 978-0-88289-753-0, http://books.google.com/books?id=KubCD2jHjEsC&pg=PA91, retrieved 6 November 2011 Quote: "A monarchy is only as good as the reigning monarch: thus it is with the princely states. Once they seemed immutable, invincible. In 1971 they were "derecognized," their privileges, privy purses and titles all abolished at a stroke" (page 91)
- ^ Dr. Karan Singh Profile Doon School.
- ^ Dr. Karan Singh Raj Bhawan, Jammu and Kashmir official website.
- ^ India's 'Rajput diplomacy' in NepalThe Times of India,April 18, 2006. "Karan Singh is heir to the throne of India's former princely state of Kashmir and his wife is from Nepal's royal family"
- ^ The Royal Ark
- ^ The Royal Ark
- ^ http://www.hindustantimes.com/Karan-Singh-awarded-D-Litt-by-Kathmandu-University/Article1-765845.aspx
Further reading
- Jammu and Kashmir: 1949-1964: Selected Correspondence between Jawaharlal Nehru and Karan Singh. Edited by Jamaid Alam. Penguin 2006. [1]
External links
| Persondata |
| Name |
Singh, Karan |
| Alternative names |
|
| Short description |
|
| Date of birth |
19 March 1931 |
| Place of birth |
Cannes, France |
| Date of death |
|
| Place of death |
|