SHUBHANGI SHIFA
Ranchi, Nov 16: The St Xavier Institute of Social Service (XISS) on Wednesday inaugurated its Dr Kumar Suresh Singh Tribal Resource Centre. Chief Guests on the occasion were Finance Minister Rameshwar Oraon; MP to Rajya Sabha Mahua Manjhi; Dhruv Singh, son of Dr Singh; and Bimleshwari Devi, wife of Dr Singh.
Notably, along with being an Indian Administrative Officer, Dr Kumar Suresh Singh was a versatile scholar from being an administrator to a historical ethnographer. In course of the long tenure of explorations on tribal matters, he published many academic papers on relevant tribal themes, such as tribal movement, agrarian relations, tribal customary law, tribal economy, and tribal women among others. He adopted a combined methodology of historical research and anthropological fieldwork in his landmark studies.
With his postings in areas inhabited by various tribal communities, he was exposed to several of their customs and cultures, the Ho, and the Munda community in particular. The extraordinary influence of these cultures on his life can be witnessed by the fact that his last wish was that his last rites be performed as per the Munda rituals and that his ashes be immersed in the Tajna river in Khunti.
During his address to the audience on occasion, Dhruv Singh talked of his father’s achievements and his thought process. He said, “My father had a very long association with XISS. Even the last event that he attended was on held here. He never read books for research but would visit the regions and research the issues himself in order to be accurate. Even in his last days, as a patient of Parkinsons, my father worked on his last book and finished it before he took his last breadth.”
He further added, “We have donated his books to XISS. His books will remain as sacred as he was. We are grateful to XISS for creating a section of his works in the library. We are grateful to the people felicitating him, which should have been done a long time ago.” Notably, this has been done keeping Dr Singh’s urge to help people in mind.
Dr Rameshwar Oraon commended the efforts of XISS in honouring and promoting Dr Singh’s work for the tribal community. He said, “This resource centre is in the name of Dr Kumar Suresh Singh who has written the books with his own experience and not by quoting others. He has shared his own life and his experience and problems faced which are instrumental in the development of the country. If anyone wants to name and fame he should do something similar to what Dr Singh did to save the lives of many people.”
He brought the need for the study of tribal society and culture and through his work, he conveyed the idea to study tribal community in the perspective of time and space, he added.
Dr Joseph Marianus Kujur SJ, Director, XISS, “It was the wish of Dr Singh that his last rites be performed as per the Mundari rituals and that his ashes be immersed in the Tajna river in Khunti. Dr Singh started his career as an IAS from Khunti. This was his Karmakshetra, where he was immersed with Birsa Munda.”
He further added, “XISS has always believed in highlighting the state’s rich tribal and cultural heritage for the world to see. This resource centre is another step in this direction, which I am sure will prove extremely resourceful for scholars, researchers, students, and anyone who wishes to learn more about our wonderful state.”
Dr Mahua Maji, MP, Rajya Sabha, addressed the crowd saying, “To understand Jharkhand holistically it is essential to know the words of Dr Kumar Suresh Singh. He is a great contribution to our country.”
Notably, the Resource Centre features approximately 3500 books, more than 400 manuscripts, and handwritten and typed notes of Dr Kumar Suresh Singh on a range of topics including Birsa Munda, Tribal Movements in India, Tribal Society of India etc. The Resource Centre is in process of digitalising the entire centre for people to access from across the world. For more details on the vast collection available, membership policy and timings of the resource centre, one can connect with the XISS Library through the website.
The event was also graced by Dr Pradeep Kerketta SJ, Assistant Director, XISS, Dr Amar E. Tigga, Dean Academics, XISS along with several dignitaries, guests, faculty, staff, and students of XISS.
