Litterateur and parliamentarian Shankar Dayal Singh (Hindi: डा० शंकर दयाल सिंह) was twice elected to the Parliament of India. He was one of the youngest members of the Fifth Lok Sabha, in which he represented the Chatra parliamentary constituency in Bihar (now in Jharkhand). Contesting his maiden Lok Sabha election in 1971, he defeated Smt. Vijaya Raje, the wife of Sri Kamakhya Narayan Singh, Raja of Ramgarh. He was again elected to the upper house, the Rajya Sabha, in 1990 from Bihar. Dr. Singh was a prolific author and a popular columnist. He authored more than thirty books and edited many more. He was a staunch supporter of Hindi and the Indian Languages. He was the Vice Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Official Languages from 7 June 1994 until his demise on 26 November 1995 As the Vice Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Official Languages, he promoted the use of Hindi and other Indian languages in official work and also encouraged various Public Sector Enterprises (PSE) to come out with their house magazines in vernacular. As a mark of respect for his untiring services several PSEs have instituted annual awards in his memory. Singh was equally admired and loved by all across the party line. He died of cardiac arrest during a train journey from Patna to New Delhi in the midway at Tundla on 26 NOVEMBER 1995. 75th Birth Anniversary His 75th Birth Anniversary was celebrated from 27 December 2011 to 27 December 2012 as Amrit Mahotsav (Hindi : अमृत महोत्सव) in the country with much fanfare and enthusiasm. The celebrations started with a grand program at New Delhi on 27 December 2011. Programs were held at Goa (February 2012: organized by the Gomantak Rashtrabhasha Vidyapeeth), Indore (July 2012; organized by Sri Madhya Bharat Hindi Sahitya Samiti and by Shankar Amrit Mahotsava Samiti, Aurangabad [Bihar]). Salasar (Rajasthan), Chennai, Rishikesh and Patna. To mark the Shankar Amrit Mahotsava, Singh's 75th birth anniversary, the Government of Bihar named an important road stretch from NH2 near Deo More (Hindi : देव मोड़) to Bhawanipur in Aurangabad district after the famous Hindi laureate. A Felicitation Volume entitled Shankar Dayal Singh: Rajniti Ki Dhoop; Sahitya Ki Chhanv (Hindi : शंकर दयाल सिंह : राजनीती की धूप; साहित्य की छाँव ) was also released on the occasion of his 75th Birth Anniversary and a copy of it was presented to the President of