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| 'Champions' of Jammu cause forget great son of soil | | On Girdari Lal Dogra's 31st death anniversary | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Nov 27: Once again those who claim to be the champions of Jammu's cause have forgotten to commemorate one of the iconic heroes of the region- Girdari Lal Dogra on his 31st death anniversary.
The leadership in unison seem to have forgotten this great leader who spent his entire life for the upliftment of the Jammu region and fought against the discrimination with it going on unabated for decades.
A lawyer by profession, Dogra died on November 27, 1987 at the age of 72. November 27 was his 31st death anniversary. However, the leadership in Jammu, which claims to represent the region's aspirations, seem to have forgotten the day, with not even a singe statement issued by anyone at the helm on Tuesday.
It was at the official level that the tributes were paid to him. Governor Satya Pal Malik offered floral tributes to Dogra at Dogra Chowk, in a function organized by Late Girdhari Lal Dogra Memorial Trust in Jammu. Paying homage to Dogra, Governor described him as a visionary leader who fought relentlessly for the rights of underprivileged. He observed that Dogra was instrumental in strengthening the economic backbone of the state as a Finance Minister and initiated many reforms meant for ameliorating the lot of weaker sections of the society.
This great son of the soil returned to Jammu after completing law and joined as a junior advocate to Lala Dina Nath Mahajan, a renowned Lawyer. He also became an editor of a weekly newspaper "Kidasn" which was published from Jammu. In 1942 he joined National Conference and started taking active part in J&K politics. He along with Moti Ram Baigra of Udhampur started the movement against Begari system being perpetuated by the Raja of Chenani which forced him to abolish it. This was his first pro-poor political accomplishment which motivated him towards enduring social service. Following his successful stint as Finance minister, he was also offered the post of Lok Sabha Speaker by Indira Gandhi. He reportedly declined it saying, "I would not be able to serve my people by sitting on a chair."
As per historical records, in 1952 he was nominated to J&K Constituent Assembly from Hiranagar Constituency. He was elected from Hiranagar as MLA in 1957, 1962, 1967, 1972 and 1975. He was a member of 7th and 8th Lok Sabha from Jammu. and Udhampur respectively. He was known to be a staunch Nehruvian.
Dogra never lost an election and presented 26 budgets as the then Finance minister. He also won the parliamentary elections twice, first from Jammu-Poonch Constituency in 1980 and later from Udhampur- Kathua Constituency in 1984. Dogra was a freedom fighter who later became a prominent political figure in the state. |
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