TLI Staff
New Delhi: Shankar Sanskriti Pratisthan on Friday celebrated 82nd birth anniversary of litterateur and former parliamentarian Dr Shankar Dayal Singh in the national capital with scores of eminent personalities from various fields attending the event.
On the occasion, Dr Shankar Dayal Singh Jan Sewa Samman was awarded to “Sapna”- A Social Institution.
Dr Rashmi Singh, daughter of Dr Shankar Dayal Singh and an IAS officer, announced that the award instituted in the memory of her father would henceforth be given annually. The award carrying a cash prize of Rs 1 Lakh and citation will recognize extraordinary example in the field of social work and language.
Dr Vinay P Sahasrabuddhe, Member of Parliament and Chairman, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) was the special guest at the annual event.
“He was a unique personality in politics and one of the few parliamentarians who had keen interest in literature and he was pioneer in promoting Hindi language as the official language in government sector,” said Dr Sahasrabuddhe.
Dr Singh was a prolific author and a popular columnist. He authored more than 30 books and edited many more. He was a staunch supporter of Hindi and the Indian languages. As the Vice Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Official Languages, he promoted the use of Hindi and other Indian languages in official work and also encouraged various Public Sector Enterprises (PSE) to come out with their house magazines in vernacular.
As a mark of respect for his untiring services, several PSEs have instituted annual awards in his memory. Popularly called litterateur-parliamentarian, Dr Singh was one of the youngest members of the fifth Lok Sabha, in which he represented the Chatra parliamentary constituency in Bihar (now in Jharkhand).
Among the who’s who present at the event on Friday were KC Tyagi, General Secretary of JD (U), Dr Shyama Chona (educationalist), Amita Chauhan, Chairperson, Amity Foundation and former Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy.