Born heir apparent (Yuvraj) to Maharaja Hari Singh & Maharani Tara Devi of Jammu and Kashmir, Dr. Karan Singh was catapulted into political life at an early age of eighteen when, in 1949, he was appointed Regent by his father on the intervention of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Thereafter he was head of the Indian State of Jammu & Kashmir for the next eighteen years as Regent, as elected Sadar-i-Riyasat and lastly as Governor. His was a unique instance of the last representative of the old order becoming, by the will of the people, the first representative of the new. During these years he fulfilled his delicate and onerous duties with commendable success.

In 1967, Dr. Karan Singh was inducted as a member of the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. At 36, he was the youngest person to ever become a Central Cabinet Minister in India.

Dr. Karan Singh was for many years Chancellor of the Jammu and Kashmir University, the Jawaharlal Nehru University and the Banaras Hindu University, President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Chairman of the Central Sanskrit Board, President of the Authors Guild of India, the Commonwealth Society of India, the Delhi Music Society, the India International Centre and member of the Unesco International Commission on Education for the Twenty first Century, Co-Chair of the Indo-French Forum jointly set up by the Govt. of India and France. He is Chairman of the Auroville Foundation with the personal rank of Central Cabinet Minister, of the Temple of Understanding, a major global Interfaith association, Vice Chairman of the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, His tenure as Ambassador of India to the United States, though brief, received extensive coverage in both countries and won many friends for India.

Dr. Karan Singh is associated with many other cultural and academic institutions. He has received several honorary degrees and other awards, including doctorates from the Banaras Hindu University, the Aligarh Muslim University, the Soka University, Tokyo and the Shenzhen University, China. He is a member of the prestigious club of Rome and the club of Budapest and a Trustee of the Green Cross International. He is a lifelong conservationist, having been Chairman of the Indian Board of Wildlife for many years and the head of the spectacularly successful Project Tiger. He was awarded Padma-Vibhushan, a high civilian award by the President of India in 2005. He is an Honorary Major General in the Indian Army.

Dr. Karan Singh is an author of distinction, having written a number of books on political science, philosophical essays, travelogues and poems in English. His fascinating autobiography, important collections of his writings entitled Triveni and essays on Hinduism have been widely acclaimed. He has composed and recited devotional songs in his mother tongue, Dogri, and is a connoisseur of Indian classical dance and music. He has travelled extensively throughout the country and abroad, having represented India at many important conferences. With his deep insight into the Indian Cultural tradition, as well as his wide exposure to western literature and civilisation, Dr. Karan Singh is recognised as an outstanding leader and thinker in India and abroad. He is a renowned orator, and has lectured in five continents on philosophy and culture, politics and environment, education and Vedanta.