Pandit Sheo Dyal Singh Ji
Pandit Sheo Dyal Singh Ji, an alumnus 1858 batch of Thomason Civil Engineering (TCE) College, now IIT Roorkee. He served as curator of Central Equipment Depot and Accountant at this college. In addition to this, he also worked as an observer of Meteorological Instruments Department under Dr. Tomson, who was a Professor of Physics and Head of Meteorological Department.
Dr. Tomson, under whom Pandit Sheo Dyal Singh Ji was working in Meteorological Department, once said about him that he had not seen in his whole life, any man of this good character amongst Indians as that of Pandit Sheo Dyal Singh Ji. Such was the most pious and exemplary personality of Pandit Sheo Dyal Singh Ji, who could get this unique tribute from a high ranking officer of TCE College. Pandit Sheo Dyal Singh Ji fell seriously sick and suffered a paralytic stroke on 24th July 1872. He could not recover from this dreaded sickness and expired at the age of 36 years.
Pandit Sheo Dyal Singh Ji was adopted by Shri S.N.Agnihotri Ji (reverentially called Param Pujaniya Bhagwan Devatma by his followers) as his ‘Guru’. Devatma was deeply impressed during his student life by the simplicity, dutifulness and complete truthfulness of Pandit Sheo Dyal Singh Ji and therefore, along with his wife He accepted him their mentor and guide (Guru) and got initiated as his disciples on 9th July 1871. Devatma later founded a unique science-grounded religion called ‘Dev Samaj’ in 1887. In Dev Samaj Pandit Sheo Dyal Singh Ji has been reverentially called Rishi Ji Maharaj.
The sacred seeds of divinity, capable of sprouting and ultimately getting evolved in Devatma into complete and all-sided absolute love for Truth & Goodness and hatred for Untruth & Evil, got favourable environment and first started growing rapidly under the livinginfluence of Pandit Sheo Dyal Singh Ji. He ultimately attained an epitome of ‘complete and all-sided love for Truth and Goodness and hatred for Untruth and Evil’. As a mark of singularly deserved great respect to this unique inventor and propagator of universal science-grounded religion, with due approval of the Senate, Devatma’s photograph was installed in Central Library, IIT Roorkee in October 1975, which was later shifted to MGC Library building.
An award is also instituted in IIT Roorkee by Lt Col Kuldip Singh Dahiya s/o Ch. Phool Singh Ji Dahiya as a mark of great respect for his revered grandfather Master Inder Singh Ji (who was initiated as a disciple of Param Pujaniya Bhagwan Devatma in 1922) in recognition of the most sacred, unique and pertinent contribution of Pandit Sheo Dyal Singh Ji.