Maniklal Sinha, also ''Maniklal Singha''; (13 January 1916 -21 March 1994) was an Indian

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

, writer, poet, folk-culture scholar (Lokasangskritibid), novelist and assistant teacher at

Bishnupur High School Bishnupur High School is a co-educational higher secondary school in Balasore, Odisha, India. It is one of the oldest and top-ranked high schools in the Balasore and the first in Bahanaga. The school offers grades from class IIIX to class X. It ...

. He was the main entrepreneur and founding director of Acharya Jogesh Chandra Pura Kirti Bhavan(museum) and

Bangiya Sahitya Parishad Bangiya Sahitya Parishat is a literary society in Maniktala of Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Established during the time of the British Raj, its goal is to promote Bengali literature, both by translating works in other languages to Bengali and ...

– Bishnupur Branch in 1951 at

Bishnupur Bishnupur or Vishnupur may refer to: Administrative divisions * Bishnupur district in Manipur, India * Bishnupur district, West Bengal in West Bengal, India * Bishnupur subdivision in West Bengal, India Municipal division * Bishnupur Rural Munic ...

. He was awarded an honorary D.Litt. degree by the University of Burdwan in 1989 for his contribution as an archaeologist, writer and novelist.

Biography

Maniklal Sinha, son of Amulyaratan Singha and Narayani Debi was born on 13 January 1916 at Joykrishnapur, near Bishnpur. In 1934, he passed Matriculation from

(English Medium) and then completed I.S.C from

Bankura Christian College Bankura Christian College, established in 1903, is the oldest college in Bankura district in India. It offers undergraduate courses in arts and sciences. It is affiliated with the Bankura University. History Bankura Christian College was esta ...

. On 16 June 1936, Sinha was arrested from his home in Joykrishnapur on charges of sedition for the crime of

Swadeshi The Swadeshi movement was a self-sufficiency movement that was part of the Indian independence movement and contributed to the development of Indian nationalism. Before the BML Government's decision for the partition of Bengal was made public in ...

. On that day he was kept in Bishnupur Jail, but the next day i.e. 17 June, Sinha was transferred to Mednipur Central Jail after that on fourth of September, he was again transferred to Madarganj, Mymensingh . Finally, on 22 December 1937, he was released from jail. In 1938, he married Jui Rani Sinha and later in 1942, he completed a Bachelor's and a master's degree (1945) from Calcutta University and joined

as an assistant teacher. He took up teachers training i.e. B.T training from David Hare training college in 1952. At the age of 78, Maniklal Sinha died due to physical

ailments A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function (biology), function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medica ...

of old age at home. In 2016, S.D.O,

and D.M, Bankura, organised few events to celebrate his 101 years of birth day at

and Bankura. Maniklal Sinha and Jui Rani Sinha have five sons. Among of them Pradip Kumar Sinha and Pranab Kumar Sinha are eminent writer, Sukanta Sinha is a publisher, Dr. Srikanta Sinha is a scientist,

ISRO The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman ...

, Satellite Center, Bangalore, India and Srikrishna Sinha is an independent researcher.

Works

In the 1970s, Maniklal Sinha discovered a Chalcolithic emplacement at Dihar north of

, on the north bank of Dwarakeshwar river. Coins, beads, semiprecious stone jewellery, and pottery were excavated. Sinha wrote to the archaeological department, University of Calcutta to take charge of it. Furthermore, his archaeological research was embodied through these books which are ''Kasai Sabhyata'', ''Paschim Rarh Tatha Bankura Sanskrti'', ''Rarher Jati o Kristi'', ''Subarnarekha hoite Mayurakshi'', ''Rarher Mantrayan'' etc. These books are the products of the author's lifelong hard work and so much affection for '' Rarh region''. Moreover, he highlighted the Jhumur song.

Accolades

National Teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

award in 1979. *Tamra Patra award for his contributions towards freedom from the Government of India. *

Ram Kumar Bhualoca Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...

award for ''Rarher Mantrayan'' from Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad in 1982. *

Madhusudan Prize Madhusudan may refer to: * Madhusudanah, another name of the Hindu deity Vishnu * ''Madhusudan'' (film), a 1941 Bollywood film People * Madhusudan Gupta (1800–1856), Indian doctor * Michael Madhusudan Dutt (1824–1873), 19th-century Indian ...

for ''Rather Jati o Kristi'' in 1986. *An honorary

D. Litt. Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

from the University of Burdwan in 1989. * Anushilan Samiti award in 1994.

Publications

Poetry books

*Deepshikha *Anabasa‍yaka kaba‍yagrantha

Novel

*Shalful

Drama

*Hammer

Little magazine

*Shilpi *Rarha Upabhasara Bhumika

Criticism book

*Adhunika bangla Sahitya

Books on Rarh Region

*Kasai Sabhyata *Paschim Rarh Tatha Bankura Sanskrti *Rarher Jati o Kristi *Subarnarekha Hoite Mayurakshi *Rarher Mantrayan *Jhumur songs of the West Bengal highlands

References

Bibliography

*''Rediscovering Living Buddhism in Modern Bengal: Maniklal Singha's The Mantrayāna of Rārh (1979)'' : From the book Buddhism and Medicine: Mukharji Bihari Projit, https://doi.org/10.7312/salg18936-028 *''Mallabhum Bishnupur'' – Chandara Manoranjan; Mitra & Ghosh Publishers Pvt Ltd, 10 Shyamacharan De Subreet, Kolkata 700 073, https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.265671/2015.265671.Mallabhum-Bishnupur_djvu.txt *''Late Mediaeval Temples of Bengal'' (Origins and Classifications Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, 1972) McCutchion David. *''Brick Temples of Bengal'': From the Archives of McCutchion, David. (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1983), his research collected, interpreted and published by George Michell. *''Smritir Nadite Manikratan'' (Dec 1999); Roy, Mohit. ''Ekabinsati'': Editor- Achintya Biswas. *''Puratattik Maniklal Singha'' (Dec 1999); Das, Mantu, ''Ekabinsati'': Editor- Achintya Biswas. *''Manabbidayar Ekjon Pathik Maniklal Singha'' (Dec 1999); Karan, Sudhir. ''Ekabinsati'': Editor- Achintya Biswas. *Why the Bishnupur Museum in Bankura is a must visit https://www.getbengal.com/details/why-the-bishnupur-museum-in-bankura-is-a-must-visit {{DEFAULTSORT:Sinha, Maniklal 1916 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Indian archaeologists 20th-century Indian historians 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian poets Bengali-language writers Indian novelists Indian poets Indian historical novelists Indian male novelists University of Calcutta alumni People from Bankura district Novelists from West Bengal Writers from West Bengal Poets from West Bengal