Krishna Pal Singh
Krishna Pal Singh (January 10, 1922 – September 27, 1999) was an Indian politician. His career began in the 1950s and ended in the 1990s.
Struggle for Indian independence
In 1942, Singh entered India's freedom fight against British rule after joining the activist Bhai Paramananda. He participated in the Quit India Movement. He was arrested and jailed for approximately one year. After independence, he became an advocate for the poor people and opposed the atrocities of the feudal elements in poorer areas. Singh was arrested and jailed more than 12 times while fighting for students, farmers, colliery workers and other laborers. He once was arrested during a labor movement against the British at the Colliery Management in the Shahdol district. During the riots, Singh was handcuffed and dragged on foot for about 40 kilometres (25 mi).
Singh was also a well-known trade union leader. He was the vice president of the Madhya Pradesh Unit of the All India Trade Union Congress, and was a favorite of S.A. Dange. He was enrolled in the Socialist Party in 1946 by Acharya Narendra Dev and had been a close associate of Jaya Prakash Narayan and Dr. Sunil Jose Joy. Singh was also the president of the Socialist Party of Vindhya Pradesh and president of the Samyukta Socialist Party in Madhya Pradesh. In 1965 he was inducted into the Indian National Congress Party by the late Shri Indira Gandhi. He served in various capacities as a member of the All India Congress Committee and the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC). He was PCC general secretary with Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma as president. He was also the vice president of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee and a special invitee in the All India Congress Committee, while Indira Gandhi was its president.
Political career
Singh was elected seven times to the Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha in 1962, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1980, 1990 and 1998. He was minister five times in the Government of Pandit Dwarka Prasad Mishra, Shyama Charan Shukla, Prakash Chandra Sethi and Arjun Singh up to 1990. He held several portfolios including finance, law, revenue, planning, jail, excise taxation and tourism.
He served as deputy leader in Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha; Party Observer in general elections in Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and West Bengal; PRO for party elections to Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal; and political observer for Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. He was president of the Friends of Soviet Union, India-China Society, Bharat-Nepal Maitri Sangh of Madhya Pradesh Unit. He was also president of the India-Africa Friendship Association and general secretary of the All India Indo-Arab Friendship Society.
Social activities
Singh traveled to all the states in India. He visited Soviet Russia five times, and also visited Malta, Hungary, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, West Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, France, Italy, London, Australia, Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Oman, UAE, Dubai, Nepal, Sahara (Africa), Algeria, Libya, China and United States to participate in international meetings, seminars, and conferences, some of which he presided over.
Singh was always interested in learning. He studied Marxism, Socialism, Tilak Bhashyas, Vedas, Puranas, Geeta and other Hindu religious books, and studied the Bible, Quran, Hadis, Jainism and Buddhism in depth. Singh was interested in international relations and world economy. The problems he addressed included socialist economics, capitalism, and liberalization of the world economy. He was devoted to social justice and committed to democratic socialism and secularism. A religious Khadi wearer, he adopted the Gandhian way of life. He was the president of his college's student union where he organized activities, including volunteering corps. He served the victims of 1947-48 communal riots, and he helped the Sindhi refugees with their transportation and rehabilitation.
External links
- http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/jul/05spec2.htm
- http://www.expressindia.com/news/ie/daily/19971230/36450663.html
- http://www.india-today.com/itoday/03111997/gujarat.html
- http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19980108/00850284.html
- https://books.google.com/books?id=_Ps1_lvyBxMC&pg=PA93&lpg=PA93&dq=Krishna+Pal+Singh+student+congress&source=bl&ots=7UxLLvrpP8&sig=OT47YjN9n_SMBsb2g1WRAFhxyMM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xzHEU6bgB466oQS6kYKICw&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Krishna%20Pal%20Singh%20student%20congress&f=false