Shankar Dayal Singh

Shankar Dayal Singh Biography

Shankar Dayal Singh was an Indian author, politician and former parliamentarian. He hailed from Aurangabad, Bihar, born in the year 1937. He was one of the youngest members of the longest Fifth Lok Sabha during 1971-1977. He got elected to Rajya Sabha in the year 1990, representing his state Bihar. Singh was a prolific author and a popular columnist, who authored more than 30 books. He was a staunch supporter of Hindi and the Indian Languages, and an admired person within the political circle as well as the masses. He died of cardiac arrest in 1995 during a train journey from Patna to New Delhi. He was only 57 and serving his term as a Rajya Sabha MP when he passed away so unexpected. He belonged to Indian National Congress, and was associated with Janata Dal too.

Shankar Dayal Singh was born on 27 December 1937 into a Rajput family in Aurangabad, Bihar. His father Kamta Prasad Singh 'Kam' was a freedom fighter, politician and author who published many books. He lost his mother at a very early age and was brought up by his family members. Right from school days he was a brilliant student in academics. His father was close to Sri Krishna Sinha, the first Chief Minister of Bihar. Shankar Dayal’s higher education was completed at Banaras Hindu University and Patna University. Later, he was awarded D.Litt. by the Vikramshila University.

Singh was a prolific writer who authored many columns for different publications, apart from several books. He was conferred with the title of Bihar Ratna in 1990 followed by Anant Gopal Shevade Hindi Samman in 1993, for his contributions to the society and literature. He loved travelling. He got elected to Fifth Lok Sabha in 1971, when he defeated Vijaya Raje, the wife of Sri Kamakhya Narayan Singh.

Published: September 18, 2018

Updated: September 18, 2018