My fellow BootanMandian Behari Lal of Delhi – an Obituary

 

My fellow BootanMandian Behari Lal of Delhi – an Obituary

I feel saddened that it is the second time in this month that I am writing an obituary of people who made some difference in my life. I wrote about a known public figure Chaudhary Santokh Singh last week and today I thought of writing about one of my fellow BootanMandians, Behari Lal ji who passed away on January 19 at 85 (January 1938 – January 2023) in Delhi. I did not know Behari Lal ji before my migration to Delhi for a job in the Ministry of External

Affairs in March, 1970. He was already in Delhi working as an Engineer in the P&T Department and was living in Moti Bagh where I also landed to enjoy the kind hospitality and care of Mama Shiv Ram, a cousin of my mother Pretto in my initial days of my first job. Mama Shiv Ram, an Under Secretary at that time in the Ministry of Agriculture, in the process of making me comfortable and know some more people in the circle, took me to Behari Lal ji. He with his gracious and caring wife, the name sake of my mother, received us warmly and welcomed to Delhi. He spoke high of my family back home and reminiscenced about the general living in Bootan Mandi. I was over whelmed by their sense of belonging and quick adoption of a young lad away from home. It was a love at first sight. I started calling them Chacha ji and Chachi ji. Their children Baboo (Devender) and Baby (I am sorry my memory has failed to recollect her name) were equally good and loveable. They started calling me Bha ji. The rest is history the memories of which we cherish till today in spite of the fact that we had almost lost formal touch with each other in the later years of our lives due to some uncalled for and trivial  reasons which I tend to forget as a bad dream. Devender, who retired recently from a coveted position of a highly placed professional in the ONGC, was kind enough to remember us on the sad day of the demise of Chacha Behari Lal ji and informed me about the sad news. We were shocked and saddened. I thought of writing these lines as a tribute to respected Chacha Behari Lal ji and stand with the family in their hour of grief.

Chacha Behari Lal, like me, belonged to an ordinary family of Bootan Mandi in Jalandhar, said to be the nerve center of dalit consciousness. I think he did his F.Sc. (Fellow of Science) from one of the colleges in Jalandhar in financial constraints and joined government service in the P&T. With sheer grit and steadfastness, he climbed the ladder and retired as a highly placed Executive Engineer,

At the Guru Ravidass Gurpurab at Bootan Mandi in 2011

with the BSNL/Delhi Mahanagar Telephone in 1998.  After 1991, I met him and Chachi ji in 1999 after his retirement at the marriage of one of our common connections in Gobindpuri in New Delhi. We again went incognito till my retirement in December, 2010. We bumped into each other at Bootan Mandi on the auspicious occasion of the Gurpurab of Guru Ravidass in 2011-12. We both were happy to revive our vibes of intense emotions. Later, Devender was also thoughtful enough to pick up the threads and restarted connection on social media. The fact remained that, it seems, both the sides were keen to revive the connection and rightly so.

Chacha Behari Lal was a well involved in community affairs in and around Moti Bagh and was highly respected. During my early days in Delhi when Vidya, my wife, was still to join me, Chacha ji’s home was almost my second home. With or without any invitation or notice, I will often drop in for a meal cooked by Chachi ji, an accomplished housewife. I still relish the taste of mouth-watering Rajmah and Kala Chana curries with piping hot chapattis served with love. When Vidya joined me with a toddler Naresh, our son, the family bonds were furthers strengthened. I cannot forget a couple of

At the Shobha Yatra on Gurpurab

magnanimous gestures made towards us by the family as our benefactors around – at the birth of my daughter Vaishali in May, 1975; it was Chachi ji who accompanied Vidya to the maternity center at Sarojini Nagar for delivery in the early hours of the day. It was a great help to a novice like me – Chacha ji showed concern and did everything possible to help my younger sister, Kamla in getting her a job in the Delhi Mahanagar Telephone and extended both social and financial help at the time of her marriage in April, 1977 – extended appreciable hospitality at their residence in 1981 on our return from Beijing (China) on transfer to Delhi and made us comfortable till we moved to our regular accommodation – Devender, a young University student at that time, helped Vidya and children to in moving to Sanaa (Yemen) in March, 1982 as I had joined their alone a few months earlier and the family joined me later after completing the school year. We remained in good contact and touch, in thick and thin, during our home-leaves in India during my diplomatic sojourns till 1990 till our return from Kandy (Sri Lanka) to Delhi. With a view to cut the story short, both Chacha Behari Lal ji and Chachaji and the family always remained good to us. Vidya and I and also my children often talked about them and felt like meeting them. But that could not be. Life goes on. With the departure of Chacha Behari Lal, I felt like losing a dear one, a fatherly figure. May God grant peace to the departed soul? Our thoughts go to Chachi ji, Devender, Baby and her husband, Bakshi, too an old friend. Bootan Mandi also lost a son of the soil, Behari Lal, a self made man.

न हाथ थाम सके न पकड़ सके दामन ,

बहुत करीब से उठ कर चला गया कोई.

 

 

Chaudhary Santokh Singh – An Obituary

 

Chaudhary Santokh Singh – An Obituary                        

I have been writing in my blogs about some of the known personalities who had contributed to the society and the polity in one way or the other. With some of them, I have had opportunity to meet and interact and there may be some with whom I did not have personal relationship at all. I do this as a voluntary activity to pay my respect and regard to the concerned person and for information and knowledge of my readers, if of any interest, without any instigation.

Today I will write about Chaudhary Santokh Singh, 76 years (June, 1946- January, 2023), a social and political personality of Punjab, particularly of the Doaba region, who passed away on January 14,

during the call of his duty as a politician in the early morning of cold Saturday, in the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra of Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi at Phillaur in Jalandhar.  Chaudhary Santokh Singh was a suave and gentleman politician with whom I interacted many a times informally mostly on social events particularly on returning to my roots in Jalandhar after my long diplomatic career.  I found him a polite but well informed politician particularly with regard to the matters of concern and interest to the community. He was an educated and well groomed face of the politics of have-nots and weaker sections of the society. Chaudhary Sahib, as popularly addressed by people, was one of the leading and established public figure belonging to Congress Party – MLA and Minister in Punjab in the Governments of CM Beant Singh and CM Amrinder Singh, two times Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) representing a prestigious Jalandhar parliamentary constituency besides adorning the coveted positions in the  hierarchy of his Party.  The sudden demise of Chaudhary Santokh Singh has definitely left a wide void in the dalit leadership which would take long time to fill.

Chaudhary Santokh Singh, a fellow alumnus of Jalandhar DAV College, a couple of years senior to me, was the scion of one of the premier political and social families of Punjab – his father Master Gurbanta Singh was himself a politician and community leaders of standing right from the 1920s having joined hands with  Ghadrite Baba Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia in launching Ad-dharam Mandal and espousing the causes of depressed and oppressed segments of the society as a member of the Congress Party. He was a prominent dalit face in the Governments of Partap Singh Kairon and others and left a strong legacy which was successfully upheld by his sons, Chaudhary Jagjit Singh who also remained MLA, Minister and Leader of the Opposition in Punjab and Chaudhary Santokh Singh who is the subject matter of this write up as a tribute on his demise. The sons of Jagjit and Santokh, Surinder Singh former MLA and current MLA Vikramjit Singh respectively are also budding politicians holding the rich family legacy. Chaudhary Santokh Singh was the leading light of the socio-cultural and educational endeavors of the family with his gracious wife Karamjit Kaur, an educationist and academic of repute herself in running the reputed institutions in Jalandhar namely; Guru Ravidass High School Kishanpura which also remained Hdqs. Of Ad-dharam Mandal for long years, Master Gurbanta Singh Higher Secondary School at Lambra, Master Gurbanta Singh Janta College Kartarpur and Guru Ravidass Bhawan Trust tt Link Road. As I said, I tended to write on eminent personalities of the community, I wrote several times about Master Gurbanta Singh, Chaudhary Jagjit Singh and his son Surinder Singh in these columns which may be accessed at: https://diplomatictitbits.blogspot.com/2015/08/chaudhary-jagjit-singh-tribute.html and https://diplomatictitbits.blogspot.com/2017/12/bits-and-pieces-as-i-please-10.html

We have lost a leader of standing in the passing away of Chaudhary Santokh Singh. Obviously, everyone was socked to get the sad news. PM Narendra Modi, Speaker of Lok Sabha Om Birla, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann, Governor Banwari Lal Purohit, President of Congress Party, Malikarjun Kharge in their condolence messages to the bereaved family deeply mourned the death of a worthy son of the soil. Rahul Gandhi in who’s Bharat Jodo Yatra Chaudhary Sahib died in harness not only joined at the funeral on January 15, done in his

ancestral village Dhaliwal Qadian in the outskirts of Jalandhar to join his father Master Gurbanta Singh and elder brother Jagjit Singh where they were put to eternal rest, paid a befitting tribute in his heartfelt condolence message and said "Shocked by the sudden demise of Shri Santokh Singh Chaudhary. He was a down-to-earth hardworking leader, a pious person and a strong pillar of the Congress family, who dedicated his life to public service from Youth Congress to Member of Parliament. I express my condolences to the bereaved family,"

Chaudhary family at the Langar

Let me add a bit more on a personal note. Gurpurab of Guru Ravidass is coming on February 5. In the connection, my extended family arranges a Langar on the day of Shobha Yatra for almost 30 years on a designated spot on the route of the Yatra in Jalandhar. The Chaudhary family generally led the Yatra, starting from Guru Ravidass Bhawan at Link Road, Chaudhary Santokh Singh, these days, as head of the family usually led the Yatra. He would invariably be invited to the Podium/Stage of the Langar for a message to the community. We would him miss badly and sadly this year. May Guru Ravidass grant peace to the departed soul of Chaudhry Sahib – The Yatra would go on.

जिस धज से कोई मकतल में गया; वह शान सलामत रहती है,

यह जान तो आनी जानी है; इस जान की कोई बात नहीं।

 

Renaming of schools in Punjab – a welcome decision

 

Renaming of schools in Punjab – a welcome decision

The great philosopher, Plato had said, “There are three classes of men; lovers of wisdom, lovers of honour and lovers of gain.” The lovers of wisdom and honour should get, and rightly so, due recognition and felicitation by the establishment and the society at large. We in India have had the tradition of honoring our eminent personalities from different walks of life right from our
independence. Apart from honours of head and heart and professional excellence to our soldiers, police personnel, scientists, among others, we established civilian awards like Bharat Ratna and various Padma Awards. Obviously, it is a much appreciable activity.

Gurdass Ram Alam

I have come to know from a media report that Punjab Government has recently renamed 12 government schools in order to give due honour to freedom fighters, martyrs and eminent writers to create awareness among youth about these personalities. It is a welcome decision. This news has given me an opportunity to recall that in
October, 2021, I wrote to the then Minister of Education of Punjab, Pargat Singh to honor two of the sons of the soil; Ghadrite Baba and Founder of Ad-dharam Movment, Babu Manguram Muggowalia of Hoshiarpur and Peoples Poet, Gurdass Ram Alam of Jalandhar by naming schools after the name of these two personalities belonging o the weaker sections of the society for their immense contribution to the cause of social justice and empowerment. My letter of October 18, 2021 in this regard is appended below for quick reference.  I thought of revisiting my humble suggestion and writing to the current Education Minister of Punjab, Harjot Singh Bains, a young and dynamic Minister who is alive to the public-centric issues of concern and interest. Again my

Babu Manguram Muggowalia

letter of January 5, 2023 is also appended below for perusal. Since birthday of both Babu Manguram Muggowalia an falls in the month of January itself, this refreshed submission to honour the eminent personalities may be treated as a tribute and naman to them. Let us join hands in requesting and urging the Government of Punjab to honour Babu Manguram and Gurdass Ram Alam. Jigar Muradabadi wrote:-

apnā zamāna aap banāte haiñ ahl-e-dil  

                   ham vo nahīñ ki jin ko zamāna banā gayā       

          Text of the letter dated October 18, 2021:-

October 18, 2021

Dear Minister Sardar Pargat Singh ji,

I am writing this on a matter of public interest and importance pertaining to Departments of Education under your charge.

You may be knowing about two important and renowned personalities of Punjab – i) Babu Manguram Mugowalia (1886-1980) of Village Mugowal in Garhshankar in the district of Hoshiarpur, a Ghadrite Baba and Founder of Ad-Dharam Movement in the mid-1920s and ii) Gurdas Ram Alam (1912-1989) of Village Bundala (near Gorayan) in district of Jalandhar, a literary personality and a poet of standing and also a social activist. Both these personalities are the icons of dalit communities on not only Punjab but also India and beyond. There is a lingering feeling in the community that these sons of the soil have not been given their due by the ruling dispensations so far. May be the time has come to consider and honour Babu Manguram Mugowalia and Gurdasram Alam Sahib. My proposal in this regard is that schools/colleges in and around their respective villages may be named after them to recognize their contribution to the society. It will be a befitting gesture which would also send a right and positive message to the younger generations of their respective areas under your guidance and stewardship as the Hon’ble Minister of Education of Punjab. More information on these great sons of Punjab, if required, may be provided for your kind perusal.

I am confident, Sir, my humble submissions in this regard will find due and fair consideration.

With personal regards,

Yours truly,

(Ramesh Chander)

Sardar Pargat Singh,

Minister of Education, Sports and NRI Affairs,

Chandigarh

Copy to: Shri Krishan Kumar, Secretary, Departments of Higher Education, Sports and NRI Affairs, Chandigarh

 

Text of the letter dated January 5, 2023:-            

 

January 5, 2023

Hon’ble Minister Sardar Harjot Singh Bains,

I read in the media that 12 schools have been renamed to give due honour to martyrs, freedom fighters and eminent writers with a view to generate awareness among the youth about these prominent personalities.  It is an appreciative gesture extended by the Government of Punjab.

Whereas, I don’t have the details of the schools which have been renamed, I thought of sharing with you my letter dated October ,2021 which I wrote to he then Minister of Education MLA Pargat Singh which exactly caught the imagination of the AAP Government in Punjab.  I wrote to honour and recognize Babu Mangu Ram Mggowalia, Founder of Ad-dharam Movement and a Gharite Baba of Garshankar (Hoshiarpur) and Gurdass Ram Alam, a peoples poet  of Bundala in Jalandhar. I attach that letter for your kind perusal and consideration.

I will be grateful, Sir, if you kindly consider and honour these two personalities, if not already done.  Both these sons of the soil belonged to the weaker sections of the society.  I am confident that decision of the APP Government to give them due honour would send a correct signal to the people of Punjab and would be highly appreciated.

I am, to introduce myself, a retired career diploma of the IFS (1984 batch) now settled in Jalandhar. I briefly joined active public life under the banner of AAP in 2016-17 but left it on my own volition as I felt that active politics was not my cup of tea. Nevertheless, I continue to engage myself in social work in my humble way with a view to pay back to the society my debt of gratitude. I would be happy if I could do something to serve the people of Punjab with the AAP Government at the helm.

With personal regards.

Yours truly,

(Ramesh Chander)

Sardar Harjot Singh Bains,

Minister of Education,

Chandigarh

 

 

 

My Short Visit to Ahmedabad

 

My Short Visit to Ahmedabad

I visited Ahmedabad to participate in International Conference on the Role of Saints in the Empowerment of Scheduled Castes organized and hosted by BAPS Swaminarayan Research Institute in cooperation with Gujarat University and Guru Ghasidas  Vishwavidyalaya Bilaspur on December 21. I wrote a separate blog

At Bliss Serviced Apartments

on the Conference which may be read at:  http://diplomatictitbits.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-role-of-saints-in-empowerment-of.html It was my maiden visit to Ahmedabad. With a view to see around a bit, I requested my hosts to book my travel schedule in such way that I could get some time in Ahmedabad. They were kind enough to accommodate me to have December 20 for sightseeing etc. But that was not to be as fog in Chandigarh delayed my flight for almost 6 hours. Nevertheless, Ajay Bhai and Kanu Bhai, my duty bound and courteous escorts deputed by my hosts, took me around for a quick city tour of Gandhi Nagar and Ahmedabad in the evening including  Sabarmati over-bridge and the locality where the mother of PM Modi was residing in the heart of Ahmedabad. The gratifying aspect of the day was a tour of the Pramukh Swami Maharaj Nagar in the outskirts of Ahmedabad; specially erected and constructed village or township in 600 acres which was also the venue of the Conference I was to attend the next day, one out of the 8 planned such events. The village was formally inaugurated on December 14 by PM Narendra Modi in connection with centennial celebrations of

At Mahotsav in front of statues of Guru Ravidass abbd Guru Nanak

Pramukh Swami Maharaj.  Pramukh Swami Maharaj Shatabdi Mahotsav is being celebrated for a month starting from December 15. The month-long centenary celebrations of Pramukh Swami Maharaja, who lived by his motto of "in the joy of others lies our own", is being celebrated from December 15-January 15 in Ahmedabad. The festival is being hosted on a gigantic 600-acre site, named 'Pramukh Swami Nagar'. As many as seven large decorative gateways are made to welcome and guide visitors to the various zones in the campus. Pramukh Swami Maharaj's Maha-Murti is perched, with depictions of his great life and works. Five immersive shows - 'Sahajanand', 'Muktanand', 'Nityanand', 'Bharatanand' and 'Paramanand'  comprising of films and live performances - themed on relevant topics taught and promoted by Pramukh Swami Maharaj, such anti-addiction, family, harmony pride

At Mahostav - Replica of Akshardham New Delhi

for India and community service, is aired. Thousands of volunteers serving at the Pramukh Swami Nagar have been engaged full-time by admirably balancing their personal, family, social professional and volunteer duties. They have been engaged in planning, management and implementation at the Pramukh Swami Nagar, some of whom have been serving for the past six months to one year.  It was a thoughtfully created site presenting the ‘Sarv Dharma’ philosophy of India. On the main entrance gate, there were huge images of Guru Ravidass, Guru Nanak and Satguru Kabir along with other revered Saints.

I was accommodated at a clean and green complex of flats, Bliss Serviced Apartments in the Green City Avenue of Gandhi Nagar, the capital city of Gujarat, a modern city said to be free of pollution. I found Ahemdabad an old and historical city and Gandhi Nagar a planned city, still under development.  Ahmedabad was the capital of Gujarat from 1960 to 1970. Later on, the capital was shifted to Gandhinagar. Ahmedabad is the largest city in Gujarat. The tourist spots of Gaandhinagar - Gandhinagar are -The Akshardham is a massive Hindu temple with ornate carvings and sculpted pillars, Dandi Kutir museum traces the life of Mahatma Gandhi, the Indroda Nature Park has a zoo and botanical gardens, and an adjacent dinosaur and fossil park.  Ahmedabad - The Sabarmati River runs through its center. On the western bank of Sabarmati river is the Gandhi Ashram, a site of Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy.

I relished a variety of Gujarati food (pure vegetarian) in the tastefully created dining halls at the Pramukh Swami Maharaj Nagar, the venue of the December 21 Conference – Dhokla, Thepla, Kakria, Chevda, Khakhra and also Gathiya. It was a sheer delight. Just to carry the memories of the visit, I purchased Khadi wear from the Gandhi Ashram for my own use.

I may add to conclude that during my long diplomatic career, I could not avail of opportunities of “Bharat Darshan’ which were available to me. I could see a bit of Bharat only after my retirement – Dharamshala with my family during the visit of my son Naresh from

At Pune - Babasaheb Ambedkar Museum and Memorial

Sweden, Amritsar along with one of my colleagues from the IFS fraternity, Nagpur on the invitation of RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat as the Guest Honour at one of the RSS’s annual events, Pure to participate in a Seminar hosted by Social Studies Foundation and now Ahmedabad/Gandhinagar. I look forward to more such opportunities in the year 2023.

With all the best wishes and Happy New Year to my readers.