Ranjan Kumar Singh hails from a distinguished lineage of literary excellence. His father, the late Shankar Dayal Singh, was a respected parliamentarian and acclaimed author, while his grandfather, the late Kamta Prasad Singh ‘Kam,’ was a freedom fighter and celebrated prose writer. Continuing this legacy, Ranjan’s daughter, Dr. Rachita Ramya, has also made her mark as a published author with two English titles.

Ranjan himself has made significant contributions to both print and audiovisual media, with a particular focus on art and culture. With a dozen published books and over 350 hours of films to his credit, Singh’s work has been widely recognized and celebrated. He has presented scholarly papers on Indology and Upanishadic philosophy at numerous international conferences and has held various esteemed positions in educational institutions.

He represented India in the Third World Archaeological Congress to present a paper on “Theft and Smuggling of Antiquities” and has also directed a film on the subject. He has travelled far and wide to give lectures on various aspects of Indian Culture and Archaeology. One of his most remarkable journeys was along the Line of Control that he undertook in 1999 to capture the essence of life in the disturbed land. This journey culminated into an eight episodes serial ‘Ek Duniya Sarhad Ki’ for Doordarshan and also a book ‘Sarhad: Zero Mile’ (awarded).

He started his career with the Navbharat Times (Times of India Group) and served for eighteen years before switching over to the audio-visual media. Earlier, he went to the USA on an invitation by the International Hindi Association, Washington D.C. in 1985. There he was instrumental in establishing many new chapters of the Association and thereafter organized a series of Kavi Sammellans or Poet Symposiums in various cities of USA and Canada. He is the founder editor of Vishwa, a Hindi magazine published from the USA.

He is the President of Takshila Educational Society that runs Delhi Public Schools in Patna, Pune and Ludhiana. Earlier, he was on the Media Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, GOI; Internship Committee of the Lok Sabha, the Governing Council of the Mailthili-Bhojpuri Academy, Delhi and the Advisory Committee of the Indian Council for Cultural Relation’s Regional Office in Patna (Bihar). He was also a member of the Organizing Committee for the 8th World Hindi Conference held at New York in 2007 and also participated in the Conference as an official delegate.

Besides, he has taught journalism in esteemed institutions like the Ranchi University and Kendriya Hindi Sansthan and has developed courseware for various departments of IGNOU. He has served as the National Media Consultant for the World Health Organization. He was associated with National Skill Development Corporation as its Head, Corporate Communications and Customer Care. Ranjan was closely associated with the language testing of Hindi DOS (a vernacular version of PC DOS). As Media Consultant he helped the Mission Convergence, GNCTD and Sugarcane Department, UP in their projects that got them the coveted CAPAM Gold Medals in the years 2010 and 2012 respectively.

Singh’s photographic talent has been showcased in two solo exhibitions. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Delhi and furthered his studies in Norwegian Arts at the University of Oslo. His accolades include the Hindi Academy, Delhi Award for Short Stories (1985), the Indira Gandhi National Award for Rural Reporting (1986), the Defense Ministry, GOI Rajbhasha Award for Sarhad Zero Mile (2011) and, the Best Screen Play Award for Shankar ka Bachhpan at the 10th Bangalore Shorts Film Festival (2021).

Ranjan Kumar Singh’s multifaceted career and diverse body of work continue to inspire and influence many in the fields of literature, film, and photography.

He resides in the National Capital Region of Delhi with his wife, Rachna. Their daughters, Dr. Kriti Kalpana and Dr. Rachita Ramya, are based in New York City. 

To read about him in Hindi, click here.