Litterateur and parliamentarian Shankar Dayal Singh (

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

: डा० शंकर दयाल सिंह) was twice elected to the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok ...

. 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 Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

). Contesting his maiden Lok Sabha election in 1971, he defeated Smt. Vijaya Raje, the wife of Sri Kamakhya Narayan Singh, Raja of Ramgarh. He was again elected to the upper house, the

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

, in 1990 from

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

. 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

and the Indian Languages. He was the Vice Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Official Languages from 7 June 1994 until his demise on 26 November 1995 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.News on Hindi Home Page
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Singh was equally admired and loved by all across the party line.
/ref> He died of cardiac arrest during a train journey from

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

in the midway at

Tundla Tundla () is a town and a municipal board in Firozabad district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is an important railway junction between the Delhi-Kanpur main line and the Agra branch line. Tundla is a railway town that sprang up when ...

on 26 November 1995.

75th Birth Anniversary

His 75th Birth Anniversary was celebrated from 27 December 2011 to 27 December 2012 as Amrit Mahotsav (

: 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'' and by ''Shankar Amrit Mahotsava Samiti, Aurangabad ihar'). 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 (

: देव मोड़) to Bhawanipur in Aurangabad district after the famous Hindi laureate.
A Felicitation Volume entitled ''Shankar Dayal Singh: Rajniti Ki Dhoop; Sahitya Ki Chhanv'' (

: 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 The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, ISO: ''Rāṣṭrapati Bhavana''; ; formerly Viceroy's House (1931–1947) and Government House (1947–1950)) is the official residence of the President of the Republic of India at the western end of Rajpath, Rai ...

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.
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 Meira Kumar (born 31 March 1945) is an Indian politician and former diplomat. A member of the Indian National Congress, she was the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment from 2004 to 2009, the Minister of Water Resources for a brief peri ...

in a function held at New Delhi on 27 December 2012. 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 Aurangabad is a city in Aurangabad District, Bihar, India. It is the district's centre of governance and has a population of 102,244 as of 2011. The people of this region speak Magahi and Hindi. History In ancient times, Aurangabad was located ...

into a

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

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 Shri Krishna Singh (Sinha) (21 October 1887 – 31 January 1961), also known as Shri Babu, was the first chief minister of the Indian state of Bihar (1946–61). Except for the period of World War II, Sinha was the chief minister of Bihar from t ...

, the first Chief Minister of

. 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.

Education

Singh got his primary education at home and went on to study at the Rajghat Besant School in

Benaras Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of ...

. He received his B.A. degree from the

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU), formerly Benares Hindu University, is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. The university incorporated the Central Hindu College, ...

, followed by M.A. degree from the

Patna University Patna University is a public state university in Patna, Bihar, India. It was established on 1 October 1917 during the British Raj. It is the first university in Bihar and the seventh oldest university in the Indian subcontinent in the modern e ...

. 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 The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

. 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.

Janata Party

In 1984, he joined the

Janata Party The Janata Party (JP, ) is an unrecognised political party in India. Navneet Chaturvedi is the current president of the party since November 2021, replacing Jaiprakash Bandhu. The JP was established as an amalgam of Indian political partie ...

and unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary election from

, but still he was able to shake the bastion of the

Supremo Sri

Satyendra Narayan Sinha Satyendra Narayan Sinha (12 July 1917 – 4 September 2006) was an Indian politician and statesman, participant in the Indian independence movement, a leading light of Jaya Prakash Narayan's ‘ ''complete revolution''’ movement during the E ...

as he had to trail in one of the assembly segments for the first time.

Janata Dal

Singh was one of the founder members of the

Jan Morcha The Jan Morcha ( translation: ''People's Front'') was an Indian political party founded by V. P. Singh after he left the Indian National Congress party in 1987 upon being dismissed as Defence Minister by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Together ...

with Sri

Vishwanath Pratap Singh Vishwanath Pratap Singh (25 June 1931 – 27 November 2008) was an Indian politician who served as the prime minister of India from 1989 to 1990 and the Raja Bahadur of Manda. He was educated at Allahabad University and Fergusson College in ...

and raised it in Bihar almost solely. Jan Morcha later merged into the

Janata Dal Janata Dal () was an List of political parties in India, Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Lok Dal, Indian National Congress (Jagjivan), and the Jan Morcha on 11 October 1988—the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Na ...

. 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). He was also on the Panel of Vice-Chairmen of the Rajya Sabha (1990–92). Biographical Sketches of Rajya Sabha Members 1952-2003
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Services

He also served as the Deputy Chairman of the

Delhi Public Library Delhi Public Library is a national depository library in the Indian Union Territory of Delhi. The library has 37 branches across the state. History The library was established on 27 October 1951 as a pilot project sponsored by UNESCO and th ...

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 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

and

, left his family of friends, admirers and followers shocked and surprised. 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''. His wife, Kanan Bala Singh published her reminiscence on the life of her husband titled ''Mere Sahchar'' (English: My Co-partner) in 2001.

Published works

* ''Yudh Ke Chaurahe Tak'' * ''Yudh Ke Aas Pass'' * ''Gandhi Ke Desh Se, Lenin Ke Desh Mein'' * ''Kitna Kya Ankaha'' * ''Emergency: Kya Sachh, Kya Jhooth'' * ''Emergency: Fact and Fiction'' * ''Kuchh Batein, Kuchh Log'' * ''Ek Din Apna Bhi'' 1980 * ''Hindi Sahitya Katipaya More'' (Hindi), 1980 * ''Samaya; Asamaya'' (Hindi), 1980 * ''Baat Jo Bolegi'', (Hindi), 1982 * ''Paas Se Dekhne Ka Sukh'' (Hindi) * ''Jo Chhor Gaye Veh Bhi Rahenge'' (Hindi) * ''Bheegi Dharti Ki Sondhi Gandh'' (Hindi) * ''Parivesh Ka Sukh'' (Hindi) * ''Rajniti Ki Dhoop, Sahitya Ki Chhanva'' (Hindi) * ''Dhara Ke Is Par, Dhara Ke Us Par'' (Hindi)Prabhat Prakashan 1994

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

* ''Surbhit Smritiyan'' (Hindi) * ''Yeh Kahani Nahin'' (Hindi) * ''Gandhi's First Step: Champaran Movement'' * ''Mahatma Gandhi: Pratham Darshan, Pratham Anubhuti'' (Hindi) * ''Mahatma Gandhi: Satya Se Satyagrah Tak'' (Hindi) * ''Gandhi Aur Ahinsak Andollan'' (Hindi) * ''Hindi: Rashtra Bhasha; Raj Bhasha; Jan Bhasha'' * ''Khile Gulab Ki Pankhuri'' (Hindi)

Edited works

* ''Pandit Motilal Nehru, a Great Patriot'', with D. C. Goswami, R. K. Nayak. National Forum of Lawyers and Legal Aid, 1976 * ''Acharya Hazari Prasad Dwivedi Smriti Dharohar'' (Hindi), Muktakantha Prakashan, 1979 * ''Dr. Karan Singh: Ek Saumya Vyaktitva'' (Hindi), 1981 * ''Yaad Ek Yayavar Ki'' (Hindi), Parijat Prakashan, 1988 * ''Bihar : Ek Sanstkritik Vaibhav'' (Hindi) Bihar : Ek Sanstkritik Vaibhav
/ref>

References

Shankar Dayal Singh
at

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External links

Shankar Dayal Singh
at World Catalogue {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Shankar Dayal Indian National Congress politicians from Bihar 1937 births 1995 deaths Banaras Hindu University alumni Patna University alumni Writers from Bihar India MPs 1971–1977 Rajya Sabha members from Bihar People from Aurangabad, Bihar Lok Sabha members from Bihar People from Chatra district Janata Dal politicians Janata Party politicians 20th-century Indian biographers