Saran Singh

Saran Singh, a great Sikh missionary, was born in 1923 at Peshawar, NWFP (Now in Pakistan). He studied at the Forman, Christian College, Lahore during 1940s and achieved many distinctions, including Punjab University gold medal, In B.A. (Hons) and a First Class First in M.A. In 1948 in the first post-World War II competitive examination for Civil Services, he was selected for the prestigious India Administrative Service, and assigned to Bihar State, where he served in different capacities, rising to the positions of Member, Board of Revenue, Development Commissioner and the Chief Secretary. On deputation to Govt. of India at New Delhi, Sardar Saran Singh served as the Secretary to Government of India – successively, in the Ministries of Steel, Social Welfare, and the Department of Textiles, before retiring in 1981. He was subsequently appointed Adviser to the Governor of Assam (Feb 1982 to Feb 1983) during the President’s Rule in the troubled state. S. Saran Singh has represented India at a number of international conferences, under the auspices of FAO/United Nations, including as Head of Delegation to the “UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Treatment of Offenders”, held at Caracas (Venezuela).

He was elected Chairman of the UNICEF Committee for Administration and Finance, UNICEF, for 1980-81, at UN HQ, New York. After retirement, he settled down in Calcutta and started assisting Captain Bhag Singh in editing the popular Sikh journal ‘Sikh Review’. Gradually, because of the declining health of Captain Bhag Singh ji, S. Saran Singh became the main editor and under his stewardship, the journal became one of the best journals of Sikh religion. The quality, the content and the circulation of the journal increased tremendously. S. Saran Singh is widely respected for his incisive analysis of, and forthright approach to, national and Panthic issues. Through his enlightened editorials and careful selection of material published in the Journal he has made a significant contribution towards propagation of the beneficent message of Sikhism – as a World Religion. He was invited to attend the International Congress of the World’s Religions, held at Chicago (USA) in 1993 and also in its next session at Barcelona (Spain) in 2004. During the World Sikh Sammelan held at Amritsar in September 1995, S. Saran Singh played a key role in steering and obtaining consensus for the concept of the World Sikh Council, which has since been formed. on 8th October 2011 he was conferred with “Shriomani Sikh Lekhak Sanmaan” by Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Amritsar, the highest temporal Seal of the Sikhs: with the citation below: “In recognition of his services to the cause of the Panth and his outstanding contribution to Sikh journalism, the Institute considers it a privilege to present this award to S. Saran Singh.” Afterward, the World Sikh University, London conferred on 90 years old S. Saran Singh, the honorary degree of Dr. of Philosophy. Thus, after having held one of the top positions in the Central and State Government and an equally esteemed position in the Sikh circles, particularly in the realm of Sikh journalism, he is a great Sikh role-model. His insight into Gurbani and Sikh history as evidenced from various special issues of Sikh review, his commitment to the Doctoral Sikhi, his exemplary devotion and his dedicated selfless service make his stature as a role-model peerless in all respects.