Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia (1848–1898) was an Indian banker and activist in progressive and social reform measures in

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

. He established ''

The Tribune ''The Tribune'' or ''Tribune'' is the name of various newspapers: United States Daily California *'' Oakland Tribune'' * ''The Tribune'' (San Luis Obispo) *''San Gabriel Valley Tribune'' Indiana *'' Kokomo Tribune'' *'' Peru Tribune'' * ''The Tri ...

'' newspaper in Lahore in 1881, and later remained founder chairman of the

Punjab National Bank Punjab National Bank (abbreviated as PNB) is an Indian public sector bank headquartered in Delhi. The bank was founded in May 1894 and is the second largest government-owned bank in India, both in terms of its business volumes and its network ...

, established in 1894. Dyal Singh trust also opened a school at village Mirjajan, Tehsil Batala, District Gurdaspur, Punjab and also donated many acres of land to the school,which is running successfully under the name of Dyal Singh Govt. Sen. Sec. School Mirjajan.

Biography

Born in

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

, Dyal Singh was the son of General Lehna Singh of the renowned Majithia family of

. He got his early education in the Mission School at Amritsar and was later self-educated. He founded the newspaper ''The Tribune'' and managed the affairs of the Harmandir Sahib ("Golden Temple") for nearly thirty years. He took up business in real estate and diamonds and earned huge wealth. He was the first president of the Indian Association of Lahore and continued in that capacity till his death. He was a founding Trustee of the

Sadharan Brahmo Samaj , native_name_lang = bn , abbreviation = , image = Sadharan Brahmo Samaj building in Kolkata 01.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = Sadharan Brahmo Samaj building, Bidhan Sarani, Kolkata , motto = , predecessor = Brahmo Samaj , esta ...

. He was Chairman, Board of Directors of the country's first indigenous bank, the

. The Bank was founded on 23 May 1894 (its first meeting was held at 6:30 PM at Dyal Singh's house). At the second meeting on 27 May 1894, Dyal Singh was appointed Chairman and Lala Harkishen Lal, the Secretary of the Board. He was also a pillar of the Brahmo Samaj and donated liberally for educational institutions and libraries, including numerous colleges all over Northern India, like

Dayal Singh College, Lahore Government Dyal Singh Graduate College, Lahore is a college for graduate and post-graduate students affiliated to Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Lahore and University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. History The college was fo ...

and Dyal Singh Memorial Library, Lahore. He was closely associated with Punjab University.

Legacy

''The Tribune'' newspaper founded by him is still a popular English daily. He willed his property for establishing college for secular education, initially resulting in creation of Dayal Singh College (Lahore), later also

Dyal Singh College, Delhi Dyal Singh College is a co-educational institute of University of Delhi. It was established in 1959 in Delhi, India. It offers undergraduate as well as postgraduate courses in science, the humanities and commerce. It has been ranked 21st all o ...

and Dyal Singh College, Karnal.

References

External links

Biography
at Dyal Singh Memorial Trust Library, Lahore
Government Dayal Singh College, Lahore

Dyal Singh College Karnal

Dyal Singh Public School Jagadhari

Dayal Singh Trust Library Lahore

Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Majithia, Dyal Singh 1848 births 1898 deaths Indian bankers Indian newspaper founders Punjabi people Brahmos Activists from Varanasi Writers from Varanasi 19th-century Indian journalists 19th-century Indian male writers 19th-century Indian businesspeople Businesspeople from Varanasi 19th-century Indian philanthropists