Maniklal Sinha, also ''Maniklal Singha''; (13 January 1916 -21 March 1994) was an Indian archaeologist,

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, pla ...

, poet, folk-culture scholar (Lokasangskritibid), novelist and assistant teacher at

Bishnupur High School Bishnupur High School is a co-educational higher secondary school in Balasore, Odisha, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most pop ...

. He was the main entrepreneur and founding director of Acharya Jogesh Chandra Pura Kirti Bhavan(museum) and

Bangiya Sahitya Parishad Bangiya Sahitya Parishat is a literary society in Maniktala of Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Established during the time of the British Raj, its goal is to promote Bengali literature, both by translating works in other languages to Bengali and ...

– Bishnupur Branch in 1951 at Bishnupur. He was awarded an honorary D.Litt. degree by the

University of Burdwan The University of Burdwan (also known as Burdwan University or B. U.) is a public university in Purba Bardhaman, West Bengal, India. It was established by the West Bengal Government as a teaching and affiliating university on 15 June 1960 wit ...

in 1989 for his contribution as an archaeologist, writer and novelist.

Biography

Maniklal Sinha, son of Amulyaratan Singha and Narayani Debi was born on 13 January 1916 at

Joykrishnapur Joykrishnapur is a village in the Bishnupur CD block in the Bishnupur subdivision of the Bankura district in the state of West Bengal, India. A Medieval Survey of History A beautiful Garuda pillar of 12th‒13th-century was found at Joykrishn ...

, near Bishnpur. In 1934, he passed

Matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...

from

(English Medium) and then completed I.S.C from

Bankura Christian College Bankura Christian College, established in 1903, is the oldest college in Bankura district in India. It offers undergraduate courses in arts and sciences. It is affiliated with the Bankura University. History Bankura Christian College was es ...

. On 16 June 1936, Sinha was arrested from his home in

on charges of sedition for the crime of

Swadeshi The Swadeshi movement was a self-sufficiency movement that was part of the Indian independence movement and contributed to the development of Indian nationalism. Before the BML Government's decision for the partition of Bengal was made public in ...

. On that day he was kept in Bishnupur Jail, but the next day i.e. 17 June, Sinha was transferred to Mednipur Central Jailafter that on fourth of September, he was again transferred to Madarganj,

Mymensingh Mymensingh ( bn, ময়মনসিংহ) is the capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center and educational hub of north- ...

. Finally, on 22 December 1937, he was released from jail. In 1938, he married Jui Rani Sinha and later in 1942, he completed a Bachelor's and a Master's degree (1945) from

Calcutta University The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, C ...

and joined

as an assistant teacher. He took up teachers training i.e. B.T training from David Hare training college in 1952. At the age of 78, Maniklal Sinha died due to physical ailments of old age at home. In 2016, S.D.O, Bishnupur and D.M,

Bankura Bankura () is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bankura district. Etymology In the Mahabharata, Bankura was described as Suhmobhumi. The word or (in Nagari: rāḍh) was introduced a ...

, organised few events to celebrate his 101 years of birth day at Bishnupur and

. Maniklal Sinha and Jui Rani Sinha have five sons. Among of them Pradip Kumar Sinha and Pranab Kumar Sinha are eminent writer, Sukanta Sinha is a publisher, Dr. Srikanta Sinha is a scientist,

ISRO The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman of ...

, Satellite Center,

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, India and Srikrishna Sinha is an independent researcher.

Works

In the 1970s, Maniklal Sinha discovered a

Chalcolithic The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', " copper" and ''líthos'', " stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin ''aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regul ...

emplacement at

Dihar Dihar is a village and an ancient archaeological site (approximately 3,200 years old) of great antiquarian importance brought into the limelight by Maniklal Sinha. Located in the Bishnupur subdivision of the Bankura district in the Indian ...

north of Bishnupur, on the north bank of Dwarakeshwar river. Coins, beads, semiprecious stone jewellery, and pottery were excavated. Sinha wrote to the archaeological department,

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, C ...

to take charge of it. Furthermore, his archaeological research was embodied through these books which are ''Kasai Sabhyata'', ''Paschim Rarh Tatha Bankura Sanskrti'', ''Rarher Jati o Kristi'', ''Subarnarekha hoite Mayurakshi'', ''Rarher Mantrayan'' etc. These books are the products of the author's lifelong hard work and so much affection for ''

Rarh region Rarh region () is a toponym for an area in the Indian subcontinent that lies between the Chota Nagpur Plateau on the West and the Ganges Delta on the East. Although the boundaries of the region have been defined differently according to various ...

''. Moreover, he highlighted the Jhumur song.

Accolades

National Teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

award in 1979. *Tamra Patra award for his contributions towards freedom from the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

. *

Ram Kumar Bhualoca Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...

award for ''Rarher Mantrayan'' from Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad in 1982. *

Madhusudan Prize Madhusudan may refer to: * Madhusudanah, another name of the Hindu deity Vishnu * ''Madhusudan'' (film), a 1941 Bollywood film People * Madhusudan Gupta (1800–1856), Indian doctor * Michael Madhusudan Dutt (1824–1873), 19th-century Indian ...

for ''Rather Jati o Kristi'' in 1986. *An honorary D. Litt. from the

in 1989. *

Anushilan Samiti Anushilan Samiti ( bn, অনুশীলন সমিতি, , bodybuilding society) was an Indian fitness club, which was actually used as an underground society for anti-British revolutionaries. In the first quarter of the 20th century it su ...

award in 1994.

Publications

Poetry books

*Deepshikha *Anabasa‍yaka kaba‍yagrantha

Novel

*Shalful

Drama

*Hammer

Little magazine

*Shilpi *Rarha Upabhasara Bhumika

Criticism book

*Adhunika bangla Sahitya

Books on Rarh Region

*Kasai Sabhyata *Paschim Rarh Tatha Bankura Sanskrti *Rarher Jati o Kristi *Subarnarekha Hoite Mayurakshi *Rarher Mantrayan *Jhumur songs of the West Bengal highlands

References

Bibliography

*''Rediscovering Living Buddhism in Modern Bengal: Maniklal Singha's The Mantrayāna of Rārh (1979)'' : From the book Buddhism and Medicine: Mukharji Bihari Projit, https://doi.org/10.7312/salg18936-028 *''Mallabhum Bishnupur'' – Chandara Manoranjan; Mitra & Ghosh Publishers Pvt Ltd, 10 Shyamacharan De Subreet, Kolkata 700 073, https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.265671/2015.265671.Mallabhum-Bishnupur_djvu.txt *''Late Mediaeval Temples of Bengal'' (Origins and Classifications Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, 1972) McCutchion David. *''Brick Temples of Bengal'': From the Archives of McCutchion, David. (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1983), his research collected, interpreted and published by George Michell. *''Smritir Nadite Manikratan'' (Dec 1999); Roy, Mohit. ''Ekabinsati'': Editor- Achintya Biswas. *''Puratattik Maniklal Singha'' (Dec 1999); Das, Mantu, ''Ekabinsati'': Editor- Achintya Biswas. *''Manabbidayar Ekjon Pathik Maniklal Singha'' (Dec 1999); Karan, Sudhir. ''Ekabinsati'': Editor- Achintya Biswas. *Why the Bishnupur Museum in Bankura is a must visit https://www.getbengal.com/details/why-the-bishnupur-museum-in-bankura-is-a-must-visit {{DEFAULTSORT:Sinha, Maniklal 1916 births 1994 deaths 20th-century archaeologists 20th-century Indian historians 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian poets Bengali-language writers Indian novelists Indian poets Indian historical novelists Indian male novelists University of Calcutta alumni People from Bankura district Novelists from West Bengal Writers from West Bengal Poets from West Bengal