Tribute: Remembering Shri Jagan Nath Dhar
By Tribhuwan N. Bhan
In early forties, Europe in particular and the whole world
in general was engulfed by the
fearful flames of World War II.
At that time a young ambitious man
Jagan Nath Dhar, son of Pt. Raghunath
Dhar of Vecharnag, Srinagar had just
graduated from the Punjab University.
That time his age was about twenty six
years. He then joined J&K
Police in administrative
department. The dull and
sedentary desk job at the
office did not suit his
temperament. He wanted to
be active mentally and
physically. It was with this
over-vaulting ambition, he
joined the Royal Indian Air
Force sometime in 1942. He
was commissioned and
stationed at Kohat, now in
Pakistan. At Kohat, he and Mr.
Aspee Engineer developed an
inexplicable rapport between
themselves. Mr. Engineer was
his guide, and friend. Aspee
later on rose to the rank of Air
Marshall. As a Flt. Lt. of the
Royal Indian Air force, Mr.
Dhar saw action during the
second world war, but his
heart belonged to Kashmir
valley. He would miss his ancestral
hometown Vecharnag. He would visit
Kashmir during a sabbatical.
Whenever he was in Kashmir, he
would visit my home at Karan Nagar
and spend sometime with my father
Late Shri Gobindji Bhan
who happened to be his
cousin. Whenever he
came in Airforce
uniform, he looked more
handsome and smarter
than a war hero of a
Hollywood movie. Many
years later when I saw the movie
'Farewell to Arms' starring
Rock Hudson, I thought of my
uncle in his young days of
early forties who was more
impressive than Rock Hudson!
Later on World War came
to an end and India got
independence in August 1947.
Officers of Royal Indian Air
Force were given option by the
government that they could
continue in the Airforce or join
the department of Civil
Aviation of India. Mr. Dhar
opted for the Civil Aviation.
During his tenure in this
department, he held many
important and strategic
assignments.
In October 1947, Kashmir
valley was invaded by
Pakistani tribals called
Kabailis. They unleashed
havoc wherever they set their
foot. In Srinagar there was absolute
chaos. Maharaja Hari Singh, was
holding his annual Dassera Darbar on
24th October which turned out to bethe 'Last Darbar' as the Maharaja left
Srinagar for Jammu at the midnight
of 24th-25th October, never to return.He settled in Bombay where he expired
in Feb./March, 1961. The entire valley
plunged into darkness as the raiders
had reached Mohra and damaged the
power station, which supplied
electricity to Kashmir valley. It was at
that time Indian government came to
the rescue of the people of Kashmir
by sending troops to fight back the
Pakistani raiders. Srinagar Aerodrome
assumed a lot of importance at such a
moment of crisis, as it was the only
airport where Indian planes could land
carrying soldiers and supplies. Mr.
J.N.Dhar was designated by
Government of India to supervise the
operations at Srinagar Aerodrome. His
first-hand knowledge of the
surroundings of the Aerodrome was an
added advantage to his functioning at
such a crucial stage in the history of
the country.
While he was posted at Srinagar
Aerodrome, he managed to visit us at
Karan Nagar. My father was very fond
of his cousin. He held him in high
esteem for being a self-made man.
That evening my father and Mr. Dhar
kept on talking for a long time. He was
describing to him the experiences he
had during the war. As it was quite
late in the evening, my father asked
him to stay on for dinner. He agreed
to do so. After dinner my old aunt
Kakni asked him how he would go back
to the Aerodrome where he was on
duty. He replied, "I came by a car and
I shall go back by the same car." She
then said, "You had dinner. What about
your driver? Did he have something to
eat?" "But my dear Kakni, I do not have
a driver", he said. "But you say you
have come by car. Every car has a
driver. How come you do not have a
driver for your car? I am utterly
confused", She said with surprise and
confusion reflected from her visage. "I
have been driving here myself", Mr.
Dhar told her. "My God, while going
back please be very careful. The roads
are deserted. There are stray dogs
around, who keep on barking all the
night. Please drive slowly. I hope the
lights of your car are working so that
you can see the road clearly etc. etc. "Mr. Dhar kept on listening to her
with rapt attention. Not even once during
their conversation did he give her the
feeling that he was not taking her
advice seriously. Instead he gave her
the impression that he was taking her
advice seriously, and he made her feel
that she was giving him valuable
advice, which was good for him.
Out of love and affection my aunt
had so much genuine concern for a
young man. To a young man who had
piloted planes during the World War
II, driving a car would be a child’s play. But he accepted an elder’s advice
with all the humility. That was the care and
concern felt by elders for young people
those days and the younger generation
reciprocated by giving due respect to
their elders. Those days, the elders were
considered the wise men and
women of the society.
Whether they had been to any
school or college or not. Whatever they
said was accepted as the gospel truth.
Their advice was followed word by
word-nay letter by letter.
Later on Mr. J.N.Dhar was posted
in the Civil Aviation department at
Delhi. In this department he held
significant posts at Mumbai,
Ahmedabad, Calcutta etc. etc. Due to
the Kabaili raid on J and K state,
numbers of Kashmiri youth were
displaced, and faced a bleak future,
but Mr. Dhar guided and helped them
in every possible manner. Almost all
of them reached the zenith of
professional success in their
respective careers. Some of them
remember him till today with
gratitude. Some often talk about him.
Yet, some seem to have forgotten him
and the timely assistance he rendered
to them when they needed it the most.
For me I would greet him over the
telephone on his birthday, he said,
"You call me on my birthday. It makes
me very happy. I wish you would call
me more often.” I did call him lateron. But then I could not do so more
often as he was too unwell to talk over
the phone.
In Civil Aviation Department the
young ambitious man from Vecharnag,
an insignificant suburb of Srinagar,
rose to hold the office of the Chief of
the Operations, International Airports
Authority of India. His
rise was no cakewalk
for him. He had to face
opposition from various
quarters. He had to
struggle and strive to
survive in the mess of
political labyrinth. At
one of the meetings of the Department
of Civil Aviation, the minister chairing
the meeting had remarked
sarcastically, “ Oh, there is another Dhar! A Kashmiri Pandit is here too!!"
The minister did not take very Kindly to Kashmiri Pandit community. God
had showered on him many a
benediction, due to which he stood out
even in a crowd. His impeccable
diction in English language was
appreciated by all who heard him.
There were sad moments in his life.
His greatest tragedy was when his
only son Dr. Ajay Dhar succumbed to
leukaemia at a very young age of 37,
in Sept. 1995. This is another example
of how powerless God is who watches
from the side lines while destiny
catches us by the sleeve and does not
leave its hold till it sees that we suffer
endlessly.
In the first week of May 1971, my
family and I were taking a flight from
Delhi to Srinagar. I met Mr. Dhar at
Palam airport when we were about to
board the plane. He came to me and
hugged me, "So, you have finally made it." He said. Probably he was
thinking of the days in 1960 when I, an
N Sweet & Sour - T.N. Bhan unemployed person, stayed with him
for over three months, looking for a
job. I introduced him to my wife
Krishna saying, “He is Jagannath Dhar!.” That was typical informal and crude Kashmiri manner of talking, not
prefixing Mr. or Shri before his name.
Hearing me thus, he did not take any
offence but took it sportingly and had
a hearty laugh, at my coarse diction
and said smilingly, “ Your style is sameas your father’s. Now go and
identify your baggage. Bye, and have a nice
time back home!” After that I met himfor the last time on January 29th,1977at my niece’s wedding at
Delhi. Sunday 8th Oct. 2006 was a dark Sunday for all who knew Mr.
JAGANNATH DHAR, affectionately
called LALA SAHEB by his near and
dear ones. On this day LALA SAHEB,
was recalled by his Maker to the
ultimate abode. This is the cycle of life.
Everyone has to depart from this
planet, but there are some who leave
a void behind which no mortal can fill.
LALA SAHEB was one such person and
I salute him for whatever he achieved
in life, through discipline, dedication
and dexterity, though he started from
very humble beginnings.
Source: Milchar
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