- Baron Sinha
Baron Sinha, of Raipur in the Presidency of Bengal, is a title in the
Peerage of the United Kingdom . It was created in 1919 for Sir Satyendra Prasanno Sinha, who was the first Indian to be elevated to the peerage. There was controversy over the succession on his death in 1928. He ought to have been succeeded in his title by his first son, Aroon Kumar Sinha. However, Aroon Sinha had been born at a time when there was no system of registration of births and marriages in India, so he was unable to prove his claim to the title to the satisfaction of theHouse of Lords .In 1936, Aroon Sinha presented petition for a writ of summons to the House of Lords, but objections were raised that Aroon's father was a Hindu, and so could have lawfully taken more than one wife (although in fact he had not); thus, according to the objections, Aroon was the offspring of a "potentially polygamous marriage." Furthermore Aroon, as an Indian, was not entitled to inherit the title. The petition which was referred to the Committee for Privileges on
27 June 1938 , and a Commission was appointed to take evidence in Calcutta. Ultimately, on25 July 1939 , the Viscount Maugham in theCommittee for Privileges decided that Aroon had made good his claim.More controversy followed in the 1950s, when Lord Sinha was refused a British
passport : eventually, he was issued a passport in 1955 which described him as a British subject. On his death the title passed to his eldest son, the third Baron. His son, the fourth Baron, died without surviving male issue and was succeeded by his uncle, the fifth Baron. As of 2007 the title is held by the latter's eldest son, the sixth Baron.Barons Sinha (1919)
*
Satyendra Prasanno Sinha, 1st Baron Sinha (1863-1928)
*Aroon Sinha, 2nd Baron Sinha (1887-1967)
*Sudhindro Prossanho Sinha, 3rd Baron Sinha (1920-1989)
*Susanta Prasanna Sinha, 4th Baron Sinha (1953-1992)
*Anindo Kumar Sinha, 5th Baron Sinha (1930-1999)
*Arup Kumar Sinha, 6th Baron Sinha (b. 1966)References
*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). "Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage" (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
* [http://www.leighrayment.com/peers.htm Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page]
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