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Born heir apparent
(Yuvaraj) to Maharaja Hari Singh and Maharani Tara Devi of Jammu
and Kashmir, Dr Karan Singh was catapulted into political life at
the early age of eighteen when, in 1949, he was appointed Regent
by his father on the intervention of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Thereafter he was head of the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir
for the next eighteen years as Regent, elected Sadar-i-Riyasat and
lastly as Governor. His was a unique instance of the last representative
of the old order becoming, by the will of the people, the first
representative of the new. During these years, he fulfilled his
dedicate and onerous duties with commendable success.
In 1967, Dr Karan Singh joined the Union Cabinet headed by Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi at the age of 36. He was elected soon thereafter
to the Lok Sabha (the Lower House of Parliament) from the Udhampur
Parliamentary Constituency in Jammu and Kashmir) on behalf of the
Indian National Congress by an overwhelming majority, and was re-elected
from there in 1971, 1977 and 1980. He is now a member of the Rajya
Sabha (the Upper House of Parliament) from Delhi.
Dr Karan Singh first held the portfolio of Tourism and Civil Aviation
for six years, where he created a marked impact by his vision and
dynamism. In 1973 he moved to the Ministry of Health and Planning.
In 1979, he assumed the portfolio of Education and Culture. During
the tenures as Minister, Dr Karan Singh neither drew any salary
nor lived in government accommodation.
Dr Karan Singh was the only former ruler of a princely state to
voluntarily surrender his Privy Purse. He put the entire sum into
the Hari-Tara Charitable Trust, commemorating his parents, in the
service of the people of India. He converted his Amar Mahal Palace
in Jammu into a Museum and Library containing priceless collection
of Pahari miniature paintings and modern Indian art, as well as
his personal library of over twenty thousand volumes. Dr Karan Singh
also looks after several other trusts in Jammu and Kashmir including
the Dharmarth Trust which administers over a hundred Hindu shrines
and temples.
Dr Karan Singh passed the Senior Cambidge from the Doon School,
Dehradun in the first division, and later graduated from the Jammu
and Kashmir University, of which he was himself the Chancellor.
In 1957, he took the M.A. degree of the Delhi University in Political
Science with a first class first, creating a university record which
is still unbroken. He then earned earned his doctorate from the
Delhi University by writing a thesis on the Political Thought of
Sri Aurobindo, thus reaching the apex of a brilliant educational
career.
Dr Karan Singh was for many years Chancellor of Jammu and Kashmir
University as well as the Banaras Hindu University, Chairman of
the Central Sanskrit Board, President of the Authors Guild of India,
the CommonWealth Society of India, the Delhi Music Society and the
Indian International Centre. He was Chairman of the Auroville Foundation,
with the personal rank of Central Cabinet Minister, and member of
the UNESCO’s International Commission on Education for the
Twnety-first Century. He is Vice Chairman of the Jawaharlal Nehru
Memorial Fund and Chairman of the Temple of Understanding, a major
global Interfaith association. He was the first Co-Chair of the
Indo-French Forum jointly set up by the Governments of India and
France. His tenure as Ambassador of India to the United States,
though brief, received extensive coverage in both countries and
won many friends for the country.
Dr Karan Singh is associated with many other cultural and academic
institutions. He has received several honorary degrees and other
awards, including doctorates from the Banaras Hindu University,
the Aligarh Muslim University and the Soka University, Tokyo. He
is a member of the prestigious Club of the Rome and the Club of
Budapest and is a lifeling conservationist, having been Chairman
of the Indian Board of Wildlife for many years and head of the spectacularly
successful Project Tiger. He is President of the People’s
Commission on Environment and Development (India) and also a Trustee
of the Green Cross International. He is Chancellor of the Jawaharlal
Nehru University.
Dr Karan Singh is an author of distinction, having written a number
of books on political science, philosophical essays, travelogues
and poems in English. His classic Autobiography, important collections
of his writings entitled As I See It and Essays on Hinduism have
been widely acclaimed. He has composed and recited devotional songs
in his mother tongue, Dogri, and is a connoisseur of Indian classical
music. He has travelled extensively throughout the country and abroad,
having represented India at many important international conferences.
With his deep insight into the Indian cultural tradition, as well
as his wide exposure to Western literature and civilisation, Dr
Karan Singh is recognised as an outstanding thinker and leader in
India and abroad. He is a renowned orator, and has lectured in five
continents on philosophy and culture, politics, and the environment.
Dr Karan Singh is married to the gracious Princess Yasho Raja Lakshmi,
grand-daughter of the last Rana Prime Minister of Nepal, Maharaja
Mohan Shumsher. She is an eminent social worker. As President of
the Delhi Society for the Welfare of Mentally Retarded Children
(Okhla Centre), she has built up an excellent institution in New
Delhi providing day-care, vocational training and other facilities
to the mentally challenged.
The Karan Singhs have three children, a daughter Jyotsna, and two
sons, Vikramaditya and Ajatshatru, and six grandchildren.
VIDEOS/AUDIOS
VIDEOS:
Message of the Upnishads
Message of the Bhagavadgita
Message of Sri Aurobindo
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, 1997
AUDIOS:
Voices of Freedom
Readings From Sri Aurobindo
Dogri Bhajans
HMV, Bombay, 1998
PUBLICATIONS
Varied Rhymes (Essays & Poems)
Shadow & Sunlight
Prophet Of Indian Nationalism
Welcome the Moonrise
Post-Independence Generation Challenge and Response
Comtemporary Essays
Population, Poverty and the Future of India
In Defense of Religion
Religions of India
One man’s World
Bridge to Iimmortality
Humanity at the Crossroads
Autobiography
Essays on Hinduism
Brief Sojourn
Hymn to Shiva and Other Poems
The Mountain of Shiva
India and the World
Hinduism: The Eternal Religion
The Earth has No Corners
As I See It
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