Remembering Pt. Prem Nath Dogra on his 137th birth anniversary – "A man with a nationalist vision"

 

Maharaja Gulab Singh had knitted the great Indian state of J&K, but it was Pandit Prem Nath Dogra who by his untiring efforts played a great role to make the erstwhile state an integral part of India, more so in the removal of several barriers between this state and the rest of the country. Pt. Prem Nath Dogra was popularly known as Pandit ji. A legend and vintage personality. He was revered by all, so much so that his residence always hummed with activity throughout his life. Pt. Dogra was a man of the masses. He not only attended to the problems of his party men and followers but also quite often the persons of opposing parties. Many remember him for his administrative skill to sort out tedious issues in cordial manners. Pt. Dogra was conversant with the philosophy of many religious faiths also. His conviction was that no faith taught hatred but there are elements who abuse these to their petty needs.

 

 

According to Shri Gopal Sachar, a veteran journalist who had worked under the stewardship of Pt. Dogra from 1950 to 1972, in various capacities, Pt. Prem Nath Dogra was a great Dogra. A remarkable soul. Patriot to the core of his heart. He dedicated his entire life to serve the society in various spheres of life. He was noted sportsman, a social reformer, man with a vision who faced great hardships for unity and integrity of country.

 

 

Pandit Dogra had a great quality of taking up any public issue with arguments, however, he was opposed to any kind of division or differential treatment on basis of religion, creed, or colour. He termed the Two nations Theory of Mohd Ali Jinnah as obnoxious and dangerous as it divides people on communal lines and generates ill-will amongst people with different religious faiths. Pt. Dogra also used to assert that we the Indians had common culture. Our forefathers were one. We were living together. We are of the same blood. He felt that division of India was ill conceived with a design.

 

 

 

Born in a respectable Brahmin family at village Samailpur about 20 kms from Jammu. According to a booklet written by shri Sham Lal Sharma, who was a close associate of Pt. Ji, the birth of the great soul had taken place on Oct 24, 1884. His mother had expired when he was still a child and he was nourished by his maternal grandmother. After his basic schooling in the village, he was taken to Lahore for further education where his respected father Pt. Anant Ram was posted as Administrator to look after the state properties in Lahore and other places in undivided Punjab. The young child did his schooling from Pir Mitha School of Lahore and later on from the Model School. When he was admitted to the Foreman Christian College, Pt. Dogra came to be a noted figure as he excelled in various games especially the Football. He was popular not only in the students but also amongst the senior teachers at the college.

 

 

On completion of his graduation in 1908, he came back to Jammu with many distinctions and prizes. The then settlement commissioner of Jammu Mr. Talbert appointed the youth Dogra as Tehsildar Akhnoor for training purposes in 1909. In 1910, he was posted at Udhampur as Assistant Settlement Officer and then in 1912, he was deputed at Jammu with special powers of Munsif. In 1913, Pt. Dogra was appointed as secretary to the Governor Kashmir and later on the Wazir-wazarat (DC), Mirpur.

 

 

After the demise of Maharaja Pratap Singh, Pt. Dogra held important positions in the Revenue Dept. even when Maharaja Hari Singh assumed the reigns of power.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Far sighted Pt. Dogra was very clear in his perceptions. He was opposed to the Educational policy adopted by the National Conference/Congress Govt. of the State especially with regards to teaching of Urdu in Muslim majority areas and Urdu like Hindi in Devanagari script in Hindu dominated areas. He visualised that this would not only lead to communal divide but also in Hindu areas the younger generation would face of being ignorant of Urdu in Persian script and the learning of Urdu in Devanagari, would prove meaningless as Urdu being the State language. Similarly, Muslims would be ignorant of Hindi, which is the national language.

 

 

Pt. Dogra had clear cut views on various economic matters. In and outside the Assembly he had been airing his views with reasoning.

 

 

To overcome the growing unemployment, he had been emphasising for special attention to develop industrial and tourism sectors. He had been warning that the reliance on mere govt. services would not work to meet the challenges of unemployment.

 

 

About top heavy administration, Pt. Ji had been cautioning the Govt. leaders that this leads to increased chances of corruption and various other problems. He was of the opinion that the lesser the Govt. and more the governance could be ideal. For development in various sectors, he used to stress for exploiting the vast hydel power potential which was most needed for developmental activities.

 

 

Pt. Dogra was critical of the Govt. leaders for ignoring the development of places of tourist interest in Jammu region under narrow regional considerations.

 

  

Pt. Dogra did not budge from his path even when many others were giving in under coercions and different kinds of pressures including jails in difficult conditions. He struggled hard for a cause viz removal of barriers between J&K state and rest of India. Maharaja Hari Singh, impressed by Pt. Dogra’s approach that made tedious tasks easier, made it also a ground for his nomination as a member to the first Praja Sabha in 1934. The Sabha was in a way first Assembly of the State.

 

 

 

 

Pt. Dogra arranged helping hand to the security forces whenever they sought. The RSS activists under guidance of Pt. Dogra played important role in raising an Airstrip at Jammu for landing of planes in 1947, when Pakistan had launched massive invasion to grab this State by use of force. He readily made available any help that was sought by the forces.

 

At times of natural calamities Pt. Dogra was always eager to see the needy get the helping hand.

 

He used to term the abuse of drugs, above all the liquor as a big evil. In course of his speeches, especially in rural areas of Jammu, he had made a point to ask the people to refrain from taking liquor. Along with this advice, he used to explain the ill-effects of such narcotics.

 

Pt. Dogra cared for poor and aged. He used to take care of handicapped also. He managed the services of some retired officers and others to raise Vridh Ashram at Ved Mandir, Jammu. He was also trustee of some important Trusts including one that was known as Nard Muni Trust. Besides some places in Jammu, the Hanuman Mandir at Srinagar was also under this body

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The greatness of Pt. Dogra could be judged that he never hankered to amass any wealth or property despite holding several important positions in and outside the govt. His ancestral place known as “Pt. Ji the kothi” remained open for all throughout his lifetime, reminding of the greatness of the man who could be the Torch Bearer for those who want to serve the society and the nation in various capacities in a selfless manner.