Shankar Dayal Singh

Dr. Shankar Dayal Singh

Dr. Shankar Dayal Singh (1937–1995)
Member of Lok Sabha
In office
1971-1977
Constituency Chatra,
Member of Rajya Sabha
In office
1990-1995
Personal details
Born (1937-12-27)27 December 1937
Aurangabad, Bihar
Died 26 November 1995(1995-11-26) (aged 57)
In train at Tundla
Political party Indian National Congress (INC) & Janata Dal (JD)
Spouse(s) Smt. Kanan Bala Singh
Children Ranjan Kumar Singh (Son)
Rajesh Kumar Singh (Son)
Rashmi Singh (Daughter)
Alma mater Banaras Hindu University
Occupation Politician
Profession Author

Litterateur and parliamentarian Shankar Dayal Singh (Hindi: डा० शंकर दयाल सिंह) was twice elected to the Parliament of India. He was one of the youngest members of the Fifth Lok Sabha, in which he represented the Chatra parliamentary constituency in Bihar (now in Jharkhand). Contesting his maiden Lok Sabha election in 1971, he defeated Smt. Vijaya Raje, the wife of Sri Kamakhya Narayan Singh, Raja of Ramgarh.[1] He was again elected to the upper house, the Rajya Sabha, in 1990 from Bihar.[2]
Dr. Singh was a prolific author and a popular columnist. He authored more than thirty books and edited many more. He was a staunch supporter of Hindi and the Indian Languages. As the Vice Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Official Languages, he promoted the use of Hindi and other Indian languages in official work and also encouraged various Public Sector Enterprises (PSE) to come out with their house magazines in vernacular. As a mark of respect for his untiring services several PSEs have instituted annual awards in his memory.[3]
Singh was equally admired and loved by all across the party line.[4] He died of cardiac arrest during a train journey from Patna to New Delhi in the midway at Tundla on 26 November 1995.

75th Birth Anniversary

His 75th Birth Anniversary was celebrated from 27 December 2011 to 27 December 2012 as Amrit Mahotsav (Hindi : अमृत महोत्सव) in the country with much fanfare and enthusiasm. The celebrations started with a grand program at New Delhi on 27 December 2011. Programs were held at Goa (February 2012: organized by the Gomantak Rashtrabhasha Vidyapeeth), Indore (July 2012; organized by Sri Madhya Bharat Hindi Sahitya Samiti [5] and by Shankar Amrit Mahotsava Samiti, Aurangabad [Bihar]). Salasar (Rajasthan), Chennai, Rishikesh and Patna.
To mark the Shankar Amrit Mahotsava, Singh's 75th birth anniversary, the Government of Bihar named an important road stretch from NH2 near Deo More (Hindi : देव मोड़) to Bhawanipur in Aurangabad district after the famous Hindi laureate.[6]
A Felicitation Volume entitled Shankar Dayal Singh: Rajniti Ki Dhoop; Sahitya Ki Chhanv (Hindi : शंकर दयाल सिंह : राजनीती की धूप; साहित्य की छाँव ) was also released on the occasion of his 75th Birth Anniversary and a copy of it was presented to the President of India Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.[7]

Memorial awards

About a dozen Public Sector Enterprises of India, including the State Trading Corporation of India (New Delhi), HL Life Care Limited (Thiruvanantpuram), NHDC (Bhopal), Securities and Exchange Printing Construction Corporation Limited, Container Corporation of India (New Delhi), PEC Limited (New Delhi), Drazing Corporation of India (Vishakhapattanam), India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (New Delhi), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (Bangalore) and National Seeds Corporation (New Delhi) have instituted various annual awards in the memory of the great scholar and Hindi patriarch.[3]
An award by the name of Dr. Shankar Dayal Singh Jan Bhasha Samman (डा० शंकर दयाल सिंह जन भाषा सम्मान) has been instituted in his memory by the Shankar Sanskriti Pratishan. The first award was presented to International Hindi Association of the USA by Honorable Speaker, Lok Sabha Smt. Meira Kumar in a function held at New Delhi on 27 December 2012.[8] The second and third Dr. Shankar Dayal Singh Jan Bhasha Samman was presented to Dr. Ashok Chakradhar and Balendu Sharma Dadhich respectively.

Early life

He was born in Bhawanipur village of Aurangabad, Bihar into a Rajput family to Sri Kamta Prasad Singh 'Kam'. He lost his mother at a very early age and was brought up by his grandmother and paternal aunts. He was a brilliant student of exceptional merit right from his early childhood.

Father

His father Sri Kamta Prasad Singh 'Kam' was a freedom fighter and was close to Shri Sri Krishna Sinha, the first Chief Minister of Bihar. He himself was a writer of extraordinary merit and authored more than a dozen books. He was also a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) in Bihar.[9]

Education

Singh got his primary education at home and went on to study at the Rajghat Besant School in Benaras. He received his B.A. degree from the Banaras Hindu University, followed by M.A. degree from the Patna University. Later, he was awarded D.Litt. by the Vikramshila University.

Career

Singh was a prolific writer and a published author of over 30 books. His memoirs and travelogues found place in almost all the esteemed periodicals of the times, such as the Dharam Yug, Saptahik Hindustan, Kadambini, Dinmaan, Ravivaar etc. besides various news papers like the Nav Bharat Times, Hindustan, Lokmat Samachar, Jansatta, Dainik Jagran, Prabhat Khabar etc. He was also the editor of Mukta Kantha, a literary Hindi magazine. He founded Parijat Prakashan in Patna that became one of the premier Hindi publication houses in eastern India. He was conferred with the title of Bihar Ratna in 1990 and was felicitated with the Anant Gopal Shevade Hindi Samman in 1993, for his contributions to the society and literature.

Indian National Congress

Besides being one of the youngest MPs in the Fifth Lok Sabha, he was also an elected member of the Central Election Committee (CEC) of the ruling Indian National Congress.He was a special invitee to the Congress Working Committee (CWC). Up against a popular anti-Indira wave in 1977, he lost to Sri Sukhdev Prasad Verma of BLD.[10]

Janata Party

In 1984, he joined the Janata Party and unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary election from Aurangabad, Bihar, but still he was able to shake the bastion of the Rajput Supremo Sri Satyendra Narayan Sinha as he had to trail in one of the assembly segments for the first time.[11]

Janata Dal

Singh was one of the founder members of the Jan Morcha with Sri Vishwanath Pratap Singh and raised it in Bihar almost solely. Jan Morcha later merged into the Janata Dal. Thereafter, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1990, the office that he held until his death.

Parliamentary committees

He served as a Member on various Parliamentary Committees. His contribution as the Member of the Parliamentary Committee on Official Languages deserves special mention. Later, he rose to become its Deputy Chairman (07.06.1994 to 26.11.1995).[12] He was also on the Panel of Vice-Chairmen of the Rajya Sabha (1990–92).[13]

Manifold services

A widely travelled person, he made valuable contribution in the fields of literature, education, culture, social work and labour welfare. He served as the secretary of B.D. College, Patna for almost a decade and held this post until the college became a constituent college of the Magadh University. He was also associated with many other academic institutions like the Balika Vidyapeeth, Lakhisarai; Deogarh Vidyapeeth, Deogarh and Madhustahli, Madhupur. He also served as the Deputy Chairman of the Delhi Public Library and the Kendriya Hindi Sansthan (en.Central Hindi Institute). Earlier, he was a Director on the Board of Samachar Bharti, a news agency for vernacular languages; and went on to become its Chairman. He authored more than thirty books and edited many others. He was a popular columnist for Hindi dailies and periodicals.

Personal life

A true humanitarian, he was a friend of all and a foe of none. Even being in politics, he did not let himself be bound in the shackles of the party that he represented. He was equally admired and loved by all across the party line. His sudden demise in the night of 26 November 1995, in a train journey between Patna and New Delhi at Tundla, left his family of friends, admirers and followers shocked and surprised.[4] He was survived by his wife Kanan Bala Singh, an educationist, and three children: viz Ranjan Kumar Singh, a journalist, Rajesh Kumar Singh and Rashmi Singh, both in the civil services.[13][14] His wife, Kanan Bala Singh published her reminiscence on the life of her husband titled Mere Sahchar (English: my co-partner) in 2001.[15]

Published works

Edited works

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ Lok Sabha Results 1971 Page 101
  2. ↑ Alphabetical List of All Members of Rajya Sabha Since 1952
  3. 1 2 News on Hindi Home Page
  4. 1 2 Obituary references in the Parliament of India
  5. ↑ News in Nai Dunia, Indore
  6. ↑ News in Times of India, Patna
  7. ↑ Press Information Bureau
  8. ↑ Lok Sabha Website
  9. ↑ Literature and Culture, Aurangabad, Bihar district official site
  10. ↑ Lok Sabha Results 1977 Page 103
  11. ↑ Lok Sabha Results 1984 Page 85
  12. ↑ Official Report of the Department of Official Languages, GOI
  13. 1 2 Biographical Sketches of Rajya Sabha Members 1952-2003
  14. ↑ Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Award to Rashmi Singh
  15. ↑ Vice President Sri Krishna Kant presented with a copy of Mere Sahchar
  16. ↑ Parijat Prakashan 1970 Patna
  17. ↑ Star Pocket Books 1972 Delhi
  18. ↑ Star Pocket Books 1974 Delhi
  19. ↑ Parijat Prakashan 1974 Patna
  20. ↑ Delhi Printers 1977 Delhi
  21. ↑ Delhi Printers 1978 Delhi
  22. ↑ Poorvodaya Prakashan, 1978 Patna
  23. ↑ Parijat Prakashan 1983 Patna
  24. ↑ Anurag Prakashan 1986 Delhi
  25. ↑ Parijat Prakashan 1990 Patna
  26. ↑ Parijat Prakashan 1991 Patna
  27. ↑ Parijat Prakashan 1992 Patna
  28. 1 2 Prabhat Prakashan 1994 Delhi
  29. ↑ Prabhat Prakashan 1994 Delhi ISBN 81-7315-034-6
  30. ↑ Prabhat Prakashan 1994 Delhi ISBN 81-7315-033-8
  31. ↑ B.R. Pub. Corp. 1994 Delhi ISBN 81-7018-834-2
  32. ↑ Abhiruchi Prakashan 1994 Delhi
  33. ↑ Kitab Ghar 1995 Delhi ISBN 81-7016-257-2
  34. ↑ Kitab Ghar Delhi ISBN 81-7016-290-4
  35. ↑ Sri Almora Book Depot 1995
  36. ↑ Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd. 1999 Delhi ISBN 81-7182-294-0
  37. ↑ Bihar : Ek Sanstkritik Vaibhav
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