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Sundar Singh Majithia

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Portrait of Sundar Singh Majithia

Sardar Bahadur Sir Sundar Singh Majithia CIE (17 February 1872 – 2 April 1941) was a Punjabi landowner and politician.[1][2]

Biography

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He was born to an aristocratic Sher-Gill Jat Sikh family, the son of Raja Surat Singh of Majitha.[3][4] He was educated at Aitchison College, and Government College, in Lahore.[2][5] In 1909 he established Saraya Sugar Mills.[5]

One of the largest landowners in the Punjab, he was also honorary secretary of the Chief Khalsa Diwan, the representative body of the Sikh community in British India, from its formation in 1902 until 1920. He was a supporter of British rule in India, opposed to the activities of the Ghadar Party and served on various bodies appointed by the Viceroy.[6] He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in the 1920 New Year Honours[7] and was knighted in 1926.[2]

He served as Revenue Member at the first and second legislative councils of the Punjab Legislative Assembly in 1921 and 1926. Following the Unionist victory in the 1937 Indian provincial elections, Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan promoted him to the cabinet of his new ministry as Revenue Member. He remained in the position until his death in 1941.[8]

He played a leading part in forming the conservative and loyalist Khalsa Nationalist Party and was a significant contributor to the Singh Sabha Movement.[6]

Bottom Row: from right to left Sundar Singh, Haji Wadal Shah, Mir AllahDad Talpur, Unknown, Seth Jhamandas, Ghulam Nabi Shah, Ali Murad Sanjrani, Din Muhammad Junejo, Seth Prem Chand Upper Row: Fourth from left is Ghulam Rasool Shah, rest unknown.

It had been alleged that he hosted a dinner for Reginald Dyer on the evening after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.[9]

Personal life

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Sundar Singh had two sons, one of whom was Surjit Singh Majithia. He was also the great-grandfather of Bikram Singh Majithia and Harsimrat Kaur Badal.[10] His brother was the scholar and photographer Umrao Singh Sher-Gil Majithia and his niece was the artist Amrita Sher-Gil.[11][12] One of his grandchildren was the aviator Dalip Singh Majithia.[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Singh, Sangat (2001). The Sikhs in history: a millennium study, with new afterwords. Uncommon Books. p. 213. ISBN 9788190065023. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Obituary: Sir Sundar Singh Majithia". The Times. London. 25 June 1941.
  3. ^ Lethbridge, Roper. The Golden Book of India: A Genealogical and Biographical Dictionary of the Ruling Princes, Chiefs, Nobles, and Other Personages, Titled Or Decorated, of the Indian Empire. United Kingdom, Macmillan, 1893.
  4. ^ Rekhi, Gurnam Singh (1999). Sir Sundar Singh Majithia and His Relevance in Sikh Politics (PDF). Har-Anand Publications Pvt. Ltd. p. 15. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 November 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023. ...the small village of Majithia (near Amritsar)—which the family of Sir Sundar Singh, of Shergill clan among the Jat Sikhs—had adopted as their surname, could also be proud of its illustrious Sardars.
  5. ^ a b Brunner, Michael Philipp (2022). "2. The politics of education: socioreligious transformation, politicised Sikhism and limited nationalism c 1880-1947". Education and Modernity in Colonial Punjab: Khalsa College, the Sikh Tradition and the Webs of Knowledge, 1880-1947. Springer. p. 36. ISBN 978-3-030-53514-8.
  6. ^ a b Mansingh, Surjit (9 May 2006). Historical Dictionary of India. Scarecrow Press. p. 377. ISBN 9780810865020.
  7. ^ "No. 31712". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1919. p. 5.
  8. ^ Siṅgha, Guranāma (1999). Sir Sundar Singh Majithia and his relevance in Sikh politics. Har-Anand Publications. p. 222. ISBN 9788124106174. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  9. ^ Bharti, Vishav (25 February 2019). "Apologise for forefather's action in 1919: Cong leaders to Majithia". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 21 May 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  10. ^ The Indian Journal of Political Science. India, Indian Political Science Association, 1974.
  11. ^ "Amrita Sher-Gil Portrait Comes to Market After 80 Years". Sotherbys. 26 November 2018. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  12. ^ Singh, N Iqbal (1975). "Amrita Sher-Gil". India International Centre Quarterly. 2 (3): 209–217. ISSN 0376-9771. JSTOR 23001838.
  13. ^ Sundaram, Vivan (2010). Amrita Sher-Gil: A Self-Portrait in Letters and Writings. Vol. 1. New Delhi: Tulika Books. p. xviii. ISBN 978-81-89487-59-1.
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