Raja Devaki Nandan Prasad Singh
Raja Devaki Nandan Prasad Singh | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Raja Devaki Nandan Prasad Singh | |
| Born | |
| Occupations | Philanthropy, Zamindar |
| Known for | Philanthropy, funding the Wheeler Senate House at Patna University |
| Spouse | Rani Ramavati Devi (also known as Rani Parmeshwari Devi) |
| Children | Raja Sachinandana Prasada Singh |
| Father | Raja Shivanandan Prasad Singh |
| Relatives | Raja Kamleshwari Prasad Singh (grandfather) Raja Sir Raghunandan Prasad Singh (uncle) Rajkumar Yadhunandan Prasad Singh (brother) |
Raja Devaki Nandan Prasad Singh was a philanthropist from Munger in Bihar, India. He is known for his financial support to Patna University and for building temples in Munger and Vrindavan.
Devaki Nandan served as a nominated member of the Bihar and Orissa Legislative Council during the 1924–29 term, after the council’s expansion following the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms and the Government of India Act 1919.[1] During his tenure, Devaki Nandan voted against a resolution for total prohibition, arguing that the policy was financially infeasible and would severely impact the state's revenue.[2]
Family and personal life
Devaki Nandan Singh belonged to the royal family of the Munger estate. His father was Raja Shivanandan Prasad Singh, OBE.[3][4] He was married to Rani Ramavati Devi, who is also recorded in some sources as Rani Parmeshwari Devi. They had a son named Raja Sachinandana Prasada Singh.[5]
The family followed Vaishnavism. Devaki Nandan spent time building and taking care of several Vaishnava Hindu temples in his home city of Munger and in the holy town of Vrindavan.[6]
Philanthropy and legacy
In the early 1920s, Patna University needed a large building for its meetings, exams, and events. In 1925, Devaki Nandan Singh offered to pay the entire cost to build a new senate hall for the school.[7] He gave a generous endowment of about ₹1.75 lakh (around ₹10 crore today, adjusted for inflation) to fund the project.[8]
The building was inaugurated on March 20, 1926. It was named the Wheeler Senate House after Sir Henry Wheeler, who laid the foundation stone. Wheeler was the governor of Bihar and Orissa Province and the chancellor of the university at the time. After the opening ceremony, Singh hosted an "at home" gathering for the guests.[8]
The 1,000-seat hall was designed with European architectural elements meant to rival the grandeur of halls at Oxford and Cambridge. The high-quality construction funded by Singh allowed the building to withstand the 1934 Bihar–Nepal earthquake. [9]
For many decades, the Wheeler Senate House served as the traditional venue for the university's convocation ceremonies and senate meetings. The capacious hall hosted famous figures like Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu, and Lord Mountbatten.[7] It was the site for several historic events, including the opening session of the Indian Science Congress in 1933 and a 1936 felicitation event for Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.[8] The hall also hosted addresses from pioneering Indian scientists like Sir C. V. Raman, Jagadish Chandra Bose, and Satyendra Nath Bose.
After Singh's death, his wife continued the family's charitable work. In 1946, Rani Parmeshwari Devi donated ₹1,00,000 to the Diamond Jubilee College in Munger, which was originally established in 1898 to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.[10] To honor his memory and acknowledge the gift, the institution changed its name to R.D. & D.J. College (Raja Deoki Nandan and Diamond Jubilee College) in 1948.[11]
See also
References
- ↑ List of members of the Bihar and Orissa Legislative Council for the 1924-29 term (PDF), 31 December 1923, retrieved 23 August 2026
- ↑ "Legislative Council Proceedings" (PDF). Behar Herald. 21 February 1925.
- ↑ Thacker's Indian Directory. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co. 1925. p. 39.
- ↑ O'Malley, L. S. S. (1926). Bihar And Orissa District Gazetteers Monghyr. Patna: Superintendent, Government Printing, Bihar and Orissa.
- ↑ "Munger (Zamindari)". Indian Rajputs. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ↑ "Devaki Nandan Prasad Singh". World Vaisnava Association. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- 1 2 Kumar, Arun (10 September 2023). "Wheeler Senate hall in Patna University to be renamed after Jayaprakash Narayan". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- 1 2 3 Dutt, Kunal (20 March 2026). "Patna University's historic Wheeler Senate House turns 100". ThePrint. Press Trust of India. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
- ↑ Nasu, Nobuji (20 March 1935). "The Great Indian Earthquake of 1934" (PDF). Earthquake Research Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 May 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
- ↑ Bhushan, Sudhanshu (2021). Governance of Higher Education in Bihar: Influence of Power Centers. Routledge. p. 150. ISBN 9780367564346.
- ↑ "About Us - Historical Timeline". R.D. & D.J. College, Munger. Retrieved 20 August 2026.