Sir Chandeshwar Prasad Narayan Singh (18 April 190129 November 1994) was an Indian freedom fighter, diplomat and administrator.

Early life

Singh was born in Parsagarh in Saran district of

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 ...

. He obtained an M.A. from

Calcutta University The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

, from where he also obtained the Mallick Gold Medal in 1925. After returning to Bihar, he joined the national movement, getting elected to the then Bihar

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

in 1927. He was also elected Chairman of the District Board of Muzaffarpur, where he organised relief efforts for earthquake victims of the

1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...

Career

He was conferred a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in New Year Honours List of 1935. In 1945, he was appointed as the

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

of the new Patna University. His contribution to development of a post-graduate course in the university was acclaimed by all. He brought teachers of eminence from all over the country to administer the newly opened departments. Further, his support for the education of girls was highlighted and the tradition continues to this day with three of the thirteen colleges of Patna University being exclusively for girls, and another eight being co-educational with a high percentage of girls. The Patna University Institute of Psychological Research and Service, one of the oldest psychological service centres in

Eastern India East India is a region consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The states of Bihar and West Bengal lie on the Indo-Gangetic plain. Jharkhan ...

was founded in 1945 by him. The institute is located at Krishna Kunj. The building housing the institute was donated to the university by the late Sir Ganesh Dutt Singh, an eminent educationist of the state. In 1946 he was conferred his knighthood. After independence, in 1949, he was invited by the then Prime Minister of India,

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

, to become India's ambassador to Nepal. It was during this tenure that the

King of Nepal The King of Nepal (traditionally known as the Mahārājdhirāja i.e. Great King of Kings; ) was Nepal's head of state and monarch from 1768 to 2008. He served as the head of the Nepalese monarchy—Shah Dynasty. The monarchy was abolished on 2 ...

sought refuge at the Indian embassy in 1950. After completing his tenure in Kathmandu, he was appointed as the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of undivided Punjab in 1953. Under his aegis that the city of Chandigarh as well as the Bhakra Dam were built. The establishment of the

Kurukshetra University Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra (KUK) is a university established on 11January 1956 in Kurukshetra, in the Indian state of Haryana, from the capital, Delhi. It is a member of Association of Commonwealth Universities. History The univers ...

was his dream. He wanted to set up an institute to promote

Indian culture Indian culture is the heritage of social norms and technologies that originated in or are associated with the ethno-linguistically diverse nation of India, pertaining to the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and the Republic of India post-1947. ...

and traditions. He was also appointed as the governor of Uttar Pradesh. He was a close friend of Jawaharlal Nehru. Also, Pracheen Kala Kendra, an institution for arts and culture was established in

Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...

in 1956 with his active support and kind patronage. In 1958, he went as India's ambassador to Japan. There he was given an honorary doctorate from Ohtani University. Unable to continue in that post, due to ill-health, he was forced to come back to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Zamindari

Singh opposed the abolition of zamindari, along with Kameshwar Singh of Raj Darbhanga. Singh was the leader of the pro-establishment landed aristocracy. His speeches from the opposition bench against Restoration of the Bakasht Land Act and the Bihr Tenancy Act by the Congress Ministry during 1937-39 and Sri Krishna Sinha's forceful defence, though they added a memorable chapter in the province's legislative history, marked the division of the aristocracy into pro and anti-Congress factions.

Retirement

After retirement he became a director of the

Reserve Bank of India Reserve Bank of India, abbreviated as RBI, is the central bank of the Republic of India, and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system and Indian rupee, Indian currency. Owned by the Ministry of Finance (India), Min ...

and the IDBI Bank, and chairman of several companies. In 1977 he was honoured with a

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ( , lit. "Lotus Grandeur") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons w ...

for meritorious services rendered to the country. Singh's focus on the empowerment of women, both in his family and outside, was well known. He supported his daughter, Pratibha Singh, to become a multiple term member of the Rajya Sabha. He was responsible for his granddaughter, Ratna Singh (now Ratna Vira), who topped the CBSE board examination, joining the prestigious St. Stephen's College in Delhi, against opposition from other members of the family. Ratna Vira is a best-selling author and artist, and her first book, Daughter By Court Order, has received a lot of acclaim.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Chandeshwar Prasad Narayan 1901 births University of Calcutta alumni Ambassadors of India to Nepal

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

Governors of Punjab, India Governors of Uttar Pradesh Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in literature & education Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Indian Knights Bachelor 20th-century Indian educational theorists Bihari politicians People from Saran district 1994 deaths