Thakur Batuk Singh

Th. Batuk Singh (1903–1990), (MBE)https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35841/page/18/data.pdf was chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), 4th Controller General of Defense Accounts of independent India. He served in Lebanon and Egypt in the British Army during World War II as an accountant. His distinguished service during the war earned him the title of MBE from the British King.https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35841/page/18/data.pdf
== Early Life ==
He was born in a small village in the district of Jaunpur, in the province of eastern UP in India. Growing up, he started school under a tree sitting on the ground surrounding the teacher, writing on a slate. He survived the Spanish Flu pandemic which wiped out many people in his village. He was married to Yashoda Devi. They had seven children, two of whom died in childhood due to typhoid. The five who survived to adulthood – Brajendra (retired Colonel, Indian Army), Shailaja (teacher - now deceased), Rajendra (retired officer, Indian Administrative Service), Gajendra (retired engineer), Savita (writer).
The lasting impact he left on his family was that of hard work and how to treat all people. He was one of the rare ones who treated all equally in India's highly stratified society. The person coming home to deliver the mail, clean the house, work in the garden, or be senior government officials, successful business people, all were seated at the same table and offered refreshments when they came home. His respect for all levels of society left a lasting impact on the people around him. 
He was an amazingly disciplined man. He liked to tell the story of how his grandfather had once commented to him when he was a young man, "I have seen you as a child and now an old man, where is the young man who lives life with abandon?". This was the discipline he showed at a young age. He worked very hard and exercised daily. His fitness was such that no one who saw him in his later years could guess his age, often guessing him to be 20 years younger.
Once at the age of 75, when his car broke down, he decided to walk the 10 miles in the heat of Delhi summer to meet his daughter and grandchildren rather than take a taxi.
== Education ==
He did his undergraduate degree at Uday Pratap College. He gave back by being active in the Alumni association for nearly 50 years. He was the chairman of the Old Students Association for many years. He was a very hard working student and topped his class in MA in History at University of Allahabad in 1929.
== Work ==
He was appointed on April 10, 1929 to the Indian military Accounts service. 
His work ethic was such that his subordinates complained that because of him they had to stay in the office for long hours. In fact, when he was the Financial Adviser on the River Valley Project Department, Government of Bihar, a question was brought up in the state legislature about it! In 1970, he was appointed to review the recruitment policies and procedures of the NCERT. He submitted the detailed report in May 1971.
He was a lifetime member of the Indian History Congress and contributed to several articles in the archives including "Coinage in Ancient India" and "Eighteen Fifty Seven". His signature contribution there as he told his grandchildren was the history of the massacre experienced by the male Thakurs in his village for shielding freedom fighter, Kunwar Singh, from the British. This story had been lost in most versions of history recorded by the British, as it was not one of the better chapters in the history of British India.
After retirement from the IDAS, he was appointed as a member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). He served there with distinction. Due to his work ethic, for a while he was acting chairman of the commission. He served till 1969. During that period, he was accused of bias in the selection process by Mr. Vijay Bansal.
== References ==
Category:1903 births
Category:1990 deaths
Category:Union Public Service Commission chairman
Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire
Category:Controller General of Defence Accounts
Category:People of World War II