Rajkumar Jhalajit Singh (14 September 1924 – 8 January 2021) was an Indian writer, historian, Gandhian and academic. He was known for his book, ''"A Short History of Manipur"'', which was banned from publishing or selling by his own family members, because the book misleads the readers that the

Manipuris The Meitei people, also known as the Manipuri people,P.20: "historically, academically and conventionally Manipuri prominently refers to the Meetei people."P.24: "For the Meeteis, Manipuris comprise Meeteis, Lois, Kukis, Nagas and Pangal." is ...

are the descendants of

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...

of the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

. Born on 14 September 1924 at Yaiskul Hiruhanba Leikai,

Imphal Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal/; English pronunciation: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (also known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the fo ...

, in the Northeast Indian state of

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

to Maipak Sana and Ningthemcha Rajani Devi, he did his schooling at local schools and graduated from Guwahati Cotton College. His post graduate studies were at

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 ...

from where he secured his master's degree (MA) in Economics, followed by a graduate degree in Law (LLB). He was active in student politics during his college days and participated in the ''All India Students' Congress'', held in Delhi. He carried on his political activities after studies and was involved with

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

as a member of the Assam Congress Working Committee and as the general secretary of the

Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee The Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (or Manipur PCC) is the unit of the Indian National Congress for the state of Manipur, India. Its head office is situated at the Congress Bhawan, B.T. Road, Imphal Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal ...

. His contributions are reported in getting Manipur seceded from the undivided

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

state and eventually getting it full statehood. Singh was one of the early journalists of Manipur and has been the Editor of ''Anouba Matam'', one of the oldest local dailies. He worked as a lawyer for a while, before turning to law academics by joining the erstwhile Manipur Law College (presently LMS Law College) as a lecturer. Subsequently, he became the principal of the institution and also worked as a visiting professor at

Guwahati University Gauhati University, also known as GU, is a Collegiate university, collegiate public state university located in Guwahati, Assam, India. It was established on 26 January 1948 under the provisions of an Act enacted by the Assam Legislative Assem ...

. He was a former president of Manipur Sahitya Parishad (1987–1989) and continued his association with the organization as its member. He also worked with

Manipur University Manipur University ( mni, Manipur Taibang Maheikol) is a central university located in Imphal, Manipur, India. It was established on 5 June 1980, under the ''Manipur University Act, 1980'' (Manipur Act 8 of 1980), as a teaching cum-affiliating ...

as the Controller of Examinations and was the president of Research Society of Manipur. He was the founder president of ''Manipur Sanskrit Parishad'' and sat in management committee of Sanskrit College, a Parishad initiative. He has published several books such as ''Manipur from 1508'', ''Bharatkee Swaraj'', ''A History of Manipur Literature'' (2 volumes) and ''A Short History of Manipur'' and has contributed a chapter, ''History and Development of the Ras Leela Dance of Manipur'' to a book, ''Aesthetics and Culture:Performing Arts''. He has also released a book, ''Kabita Nikunja'', as publisher. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian award of the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

in 1999. Singh resided at Yaiskul Hiruhanba Leikai of Imphal. Singh died in January 2021 at the age of 96.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Rajkumar Jhalajit 1924 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Indian historians 20th-century Indian writers People from Imphal Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education Scientists from Manipur University of Calcutta alumni Writers from Manipur

See also

References