A Statesman and a Seeker

by Harbans Singh

English 480 pages 1 edition

The authorized biography of one of India’s most well-known and admired public figures, whose life journey is inextricably linked to that of Jammu and Kashmir, and of India since Independence. Karan Singh was just 18, and had barely recovered from a mysterious illness that left him bedridden for over a year, when he was catapulted into political life in 1949. His father, the last Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir who had recently signed the Instrument of Accession to India, appointed him Regent and left the State, never to return. Over the next two decades, Karan Singh presided over J&K’s difficult transition to a modern but troubled democracy—first as Regent, then as Head of State (Sadr-e-Riyasat) and finally as Governor. In 1967, he joined Indira Gandhi’s Congress government at the Centre, becoming India’s youngest cabinet minister, and served as Minister of Tourism and Aviation, Health, and Education. He was also India’s Ambassador to the USA, head of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Member of the Rajya Sabha, Chairman of the Auroville Foundation and member of the UNESCO Executive Board. Throughout, he has remained of independent mind and spirit—a gentleman and a consensus-builder in the fractious world of Indian politics, and a celebrated scholar of Hinduism, a philosopher and spiritual seeker who has championed interfaith understanding for over half a century. Both intimate and objective, A Statesman and a Seeker tells the story of Karan Singh’s life and legacy—and his fascinating encounters with, among others, Nehru, Patel, Sheikh Abdullah, Shastri, Indira Gandhi, J.R.D. Tata, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Rajiv Gandhi, Aldous Huxley, and the spiritual gurus Sri Krishnaprem and Sri Madhav Ashish. At 94, Karan Singh remains one of India’s most respected public personalities—and arguably the best President India never had. This comprehensive biography examines his life and times with the rigour and nuance that has never been brought to any portrait of this remarkable figure.