Jagjit Singh, better known as J. J. Singh (October 5, 1897 – 1976), was an

Indian-American Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from India. The terms Asian Indian and East Indian are used to avoid confusion with Native Americans in the United States, who are also referred to as "Indians" or "Am ...

activist and president of the India League of America.

Biography

Singh was born in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, on October 5, 1897. From 1926 to 1959, he lived in the United States; he ran a successful textile import business in New York City and

lobbied Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...

for the passage of the Luce–Celler Act of 1946, which permitted

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

naturalize Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

in the United States.

Personal life

Singh married Malti Saksena, daughter of Ramji Saksena, a diplomat with Indian Consulate. His granddaughter

Sabrina Singh Sabrina Singh (born 1988) is an American administrator who served as the Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary in the United States Department of Defense from April 2022 to January 2025. Singh previously served as Special Assistant to the President and ...

has served as the Deputy

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon () is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple polygon, simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simple or list of self-intersecting polygons, self-intersecting. A self-intersecting ...

Press Secretary A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Dutie ...

in the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

References

1897 births 1976 deaths American activists {{India-bio-stub Emigrants from British India to the United States American people of Punjabi descent Punjabi Sikhs American Sikhs