Jogendra Kumar Sinha: A man of many parts

Jogendra Kumar Sinha – a dedicated social activist, a prolific writer with a good grip over multiple genres of literature and a dedicated member of the Rastriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS)—breathed his last on January 7, 2026, in Silchar. A pall of gloom descended in the Barak Valley and the RSS, besides the Bishnupriya Manipuri community, after his demise.

Based on my knowledge of him, the late Jogendra Kumar Sinha – born to the late Raikishor Singh and the late Manabi Devi on October 11, 1940, at Mashughat on the outskirts of Silchar – was a poet, dramatist, short-story writer, and an active social worker, among other things. He is a wholesome combination of all the attributes mentioned above rolled into one. He had his elementary education in Mashughat and secondary education in Government High School, Silchar. He did his intermediate and graduation from GC College, Silchar, under Gauhati University. He also did his B.T. degree at Gauhati University. He superannuated as the headmaster of Mashughat High School.

The late Jogendra Sinha had 25 books of varied genres in the Bishnupriya Manipuri language to his credit. His literary oeuvre includes dramas, short stories, poetry collections, songs, histories, etc. His 14 dramas – mostly mythological, historical and social – did rock the stage. The literati in the community regularly read his two poetry collections, Madhu Malati, under his pen name Kalu Singh, and Tandav.

His contribution to the history of Manipur, especially that of the Bishnupriya Manipuris, is remarkable. His works, like ‘Itihasor Pahura Pata’ (the forgotten pages of the history), Chronology of the Moirangs and the Kshumuls, Chirua, etc., are important contributions in the retrieval of the forgotten or lost history of the Bishnupriya Manipuris.

He also contributed immensely to the Vaishnavite literature. His Arti Pareng (songs of arati), Amar Ela (our songs), Nimai Sanyas (Vaishnav Podavali Kirtan), Subal Milan (Vaishnav Podavali Kirtan), Nauka Vilas (Vaishnav Podavali Kirtan), and Mathur (Vaishnav Podavali Kirtan) scripted a success story, as they still strike a chord with the Vaishnavite Bishnupriya Manipuris. He contributed a lot as a resource person and a reviewer in workshops with the State Educational Research and Training, Assam, for Bishnupriya Manipuri language textbooks for Class III and Class IV. On the strength of his literary works, he got a literary pension from the Department of Higher Education, Assam. Apart from literary works, he also contributed articles in Bishnupriya Manipuri, Bengali, and Hindi to various newspapers, magazines, and souvenirs.

His creative pursuit extends beyond literary works alone. He did write and produce a documentary on the life and culture of the Bishnupriya Manipuris that was telecast from the local TV channel—Barak Varta—in February and March in 2003.

This is not all. He was the vice president of the Nikil Bishnupriya Manipuri Mahasabha (NBMM) and the president of the Nikhil Bishnupriya Manipuri Sahitya Parishad (NBMSU). He was the president of the Nikhil Bishnupriya Manipuri Sanskriti Parishad from 1996 to 2011. He did hold the post of chairman of the Bishnupriya Manipuri Bhasha Jnan Pariksha Parishad from 1999 to 2002.

His success stems from his ability to create captivating dramas on stage and connect deeply with the Vaishnavite Bishnupriya Manipuris through his songs. His poems under the pen name Kalu Singh are a valuable contribution to the Bishnupriya Manipuri literature.

In social service, the Bishnupriya Manipuri community still fondly recalls him as one of the Pancha Pandavas, alongside the late Gopinath Sinha, the late Manoranjan Sinha, the late Hemkanti Sinha, and Harekrishna Mukherjee, for his contributions to the language movement of the Bishnupriya Manipuris since the 1960s. 

Being a dedicated RSS cadre since 1962, he had to be behind bars during the emergency in 1975. In addition to his literary pension, the Assamese government honours him with an honorarium for his oppression as an RSS cadre during the emergency. 

This writer prays to the Almighty for the eternal peace of the late Jogendra Kumar Sinha.

This writer is indebted to the late Jogendra Kumar Sinha for the latter taking part as the chief guest in one of the ten Kapoklei-Tanu Literary Award-giving ceremonies. This writer and his siblings gave away the Kapoklei-Tanu Literary Award for ten years. 

– Ramlal Sinha

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