Karan Singh

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Major-General Shriman Rajrajeshwar Maharajadhiraj Shri Dr. Karan Singh Indar Mahindar Bahadur, Sipar-i-Sultanat (1931- ) is an Indian politician, author, diplomat and present titular Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. Born in Cannes, France, he is the son of the last ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh and his wife Maharani Tara Devi. He was educated at Doon School, Dehra Dun, Sri Pratap Singh (S. P.) College, Srinagar, and later received a PhD from Delhi University.

In 1949, he was appointed as the regent of Jammu and Kashmir state after his father stepped down as the king, following the state's accession to India. He served successively as regent, Sadr-i-Riyasat and governor of the state of Jammu and Kashmir from 1965-1967. He was then, successively, Union Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation from 1967-1973, Minister of Health and Family Planning from 1973-1977 and Minister of Education and Culture in 1979-1980. In 1990-1991, he served as Indian Ambassador to the US. From 1967-1980, and in 1990, Karan Singh served as an MP in the Lok Sabha; since 1996, he has been an MP in the Rajya Sabha. He served as Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University, Jammu and Kashmir University, and Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is an active member of several boards, organizations, and foundations, including the Author's Guild of India, the ICCR, the Auroville Foundation, the Indian Board of Wildlife, and several others. He is an author whose books include: "Towards A New India"(1974), "One Man's World" (1986), "Essays on Hinduism" (1987),"Autobiography" (1989), and "Brief Sojourn" (1991). He received the Padma Vibhushan in 2005.

In 1956 he married princess Yasho Rajya Lakshmi (1937-), the granddaughter of Maharaja Sir Mohan Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, the last Rana Prime Minister of Nepal from the Rana dynasty of [[Nepal].

[edit] See also

• List of Rajputs
• Hari Singh
• Instrument of Accession (Jammu and Kashmir) to the Country / Dominion of India
• List of topics on the land and the people of Jammu and Kashmir
• The royal house of Jammu and Kashmir

[edit] Cited references

[edit] External links

• Dr Karan Singh’s official website
• Article on Shri Dr. Karan Singh, by Indian Princely States website
• Genealogy of the ruling chiefs of Jammu and Kashmir
• Article on Dr. Karan Singh by The Doon School
• Proclamation of May 1, 1951 on Jammu & Kashmir Constituent Assembly by Karan Singh from the Official website of Government of Jammu and Kashmir, India
• Conflict in Kashmir: Selected Internet Resources by the Library, University of California, Berkeley, USA; University of California at Berkeley Library Bibliographies and Web-Bibliographies list
• "The Times of India" (Newspaper) - India's 'Rajput diplomacy' in Nepal: Karan Singh is heir to the throne of India's former princely state of Kashmir and his wife is from Nepal's royal family.