The NLS Public Lecture Series | Of Untold Stories and Unlikely Migrations: Partition Refugees in Bangalore

Our next public lecture will be a talk by the guest speaker, Mr. Chiranjiv Singh on the topic: “Of Untold Stories and Unlikely Migrations: Partition Refugees in Bangalore.”

About the Speaker

Mr. Chiranjiv Singh, former Ambassador of India to UNESCO in Paris, joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1969. He retired in 2005 as Development Commissioner of Karnataka and Additional Chief Secretary to Govt. of Karnataka. During his career he held various positions in the central and state governments, some of which are: Principal Secretary, Finance Dept.; Development Commissioner Northern Karnataka; Principal Secretary, Agriculture; Secretary, Culture and Tourism Depts.; Director General Administrative Training Institute, Mysore, among many others. Since his retirement he is associated with numerous non-governmental organizations working in the fields of rural development, environment and culture. For his services rendered to the state he was awarded the “Rajyothsava Award” in 2005 by the Government of Karnataka. At present, he is President of the Alliance Française, Bangalore.

Abstract

Partition histories focus usually on migration to the north of the country, but several migrants came, through often odd and circuitous roots, to the south, particularly Bangalore. Mr Chiranjiv Singh, former Indian Ambassador to UNESCO, comes from one such family. Bringing his many years of experience both as a resident of Bangalore and as the Development Commissioner of Karnataka, Mr. Singh will explore, through a mix of autography and academic research, the story of Partition families mingling with the growing, complicated and fascinating urban space of Bangalore.