Sir Ganesh Dutt(a) Singh (13 January 1868 – 26 September 1943) was an Indian lawyer, educationist and administrator during the British Raj. He did much to improve education and health services in the state of Bihar and Orissa before the

independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

from Britain. Dutta made generous donations from his earnings and personal property for the development of educational institutions, Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital, Ayurvedic College and schools for the blind and deaf. A short film based on the life and works of Dutta was made by

Prakash Jha Prakash Jha (born 27 February 1952) is an Indian film producer, actor, director and screenwriter, mostly known for his political and socio-political films such as “Hip Hip Hurray” (1984), ''Damul'' (1984), ''Mrityudand'' (1997), ''Gangaaja ...

. Dutta was Minister for Local Self Government of Bihar and Orissa under

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

rule, and one of the major public figures of the province of Bihar. Sir Ganesh Dutta donated his house Krishna Kunj to

Patna University Patna University is a public state university in Patna, Bihar, India. It was established on 1 October 1917 during the British Raj. It is the first university in Bihar and the seventh oldest university in the Indian subcontinent in the modern er ...

to start the Patna University Institute of Psychological Research and Service, one of the oldest psychological service centres in

Eastern India East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the historical region of Magadha fr ...

in 1945 on the initiative of Sir Chandeshwar Prasad Narayan Singh Sinha, the

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

of Patna University. Dutta saved nearly three-quarters of his salary each month for 14 years to give it to various charities to benefit orphans, widows, and schools in the state. He took keen interest in the development of Patna University. He donated some of his assets to the University and worked towards abolishing the practice of appointing former Judges as vice-chancellors; Sachchidanand Sinha became the first VC of Patna University who was not a judge.

Biography

Dutta was the Minister of Local Self Government in the British Raj cabinet from 1923 till 1937 when the

Provincial Government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, ...

was established. While he was the Minister of Local Self Government, Dutta was made

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

by the British government for his contributions to the public good. State functions are organised by the

Government of Bihar The Government of Bihar, known locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Bihar and its 9 divisions which consist of 38 districts . It consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Bihar, a jud ...

on the anniversary of Dutta's birth on 13 January every year. Dutt was a minister of Bihar and Orissa until 31 March 1936. After the separation of

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...

and

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

he continued to hold the position. He became minister on 27 March 1923 and five years later in June 1928, he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

by the King Emperor, in recognition of his ability as an administrator and his service to the country. He retired from ministership on the introduction of provincial autonomy in 1937 after having held office continuously for 14 years from 1923.

Philanthropy

During Dutta's period of office as minister, he set apart most of his salary for charitable and educational purposes. He gave Rs. 100,000 to Patna University on 30 November 1931, and a further Rs. 200,000 on 27 May 1933. With this endowment the Patna University Sir Ganesh Dutta Singh's Trust Fund was created, funding loan scholarships for higher studies in industry, agriculture, science, medicine, engineering, etc. Dutta required that all else being equal, preference was to be given to the untouchable

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

s and

backward castes The Other Backward Class is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are educationally or socially backward. It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with General castes, S ...

over the forward castes. Patna University awarded him the degree of Doctor Honouris Causa in 1933.

Policy criticism

In 1928, there had been widespread agitation in Bihar due to an ill-advised step on the part of the ruling British Government in superseding the District Board at Gaya and removing Anugraha Narain Sinha, a prominent national leader, from its chairmanship.

Sri Krishna Sinha Shri Krishna Sinha (21 October 1887 – 31 January 1961), also known as Shri Babu, was the first chief minister of the Indian state of Bihar (1946–61). Except for the period of World War II, Sinha was the chief minister of Bihar from the tim ...

(first Chief Minister of Bihar),leader of the Congress party, disapproved of the policy of Ganesh Dutta Singh as Minister of the Local-Self Government in superseding the Gaya district board, and came down heavily on the government in the Bihar and Orissa Legislative council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutta, Ganesh 20th-century Indian educational theorists Indian philanthropists Patrons of schools Knights Bachelor People from Nalanda district 1943 deaths 1868 births Indian Knights Bachelor 19th-century Indian educational theorists Scholars from Bihar