Destiny is the strongest magnet. To some fate grants fame and recognition for their achievementsin their lifetime and yet there are many who earn such acclaim only posthumously. And yet there are many who deserve such recognition but fate denies them both fame and recognition during their lifetimeand also when gone. They indeed are unlucky! The irony, however, becomes tragic if one is a genius and still forgotten and unrecognized by his or her own creedbut decorated by those among whom he or she is an alien. One such name is Ramesh Chander Dogra of Jammu.
If one were to count among the natives of Jammu Kashmir in the post-independent India who have met the fate of having been forgotten or unrecognized in their respective homes but celebrated abroad, only two names stand out. Both have been decorated by the British Queen by including them in her List of Birthday Honours. One is Mohinder Nath Kaul conferred with OBE (Order of the British Empire) in the year 1975. Kaul was a Kashmiri, known though, but never actually celebrated for his achievements in his homeland. And the other and the only Dogra to have earned a similarBritish honourconferred on him by the Queenhas been Ramesh Chander Dogra of Jammu. Completely forgotten and unknown in Jammu, Dogra was conferred with the honour of MBE (Member of the British Empire) in 2002.
Born in 1942, Ramesh Chander Dogra after his preliminary education in Jammu in Information and Library Sciences, arrived in London in 1975. There he joined the School of Library Archive and Information Studies at the University College, London. It was during this period (1976-1978), he there undertook a pioneering study on the entire corpus of Jammu & Kashmir literature under the title: Jammu and Kashmir; A Select and Annotated Bibliography of Manuscripts, Books and Articles together with A Survey of its History, Language and Literature from Rajatarangini to 1977-78.
Dogra submitted the study to the University College, London for the award of the degree of Master in Philosophy which he earned in 1982 under the competent guidance of eminent Information Science scientist Prof. J.H. St. J. McLlwaine. The study had critical support and advice of renowned scholars of the age at London like Profs. Rupert Snell, David Hall and William Harris.
Subsequently Dogra’swork was published in London under the same title that earned him a distinguished recognition among the academic circles in England and as a result he soon found himself appointed to the coveted position of Librarian at the prestigious School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He held the position for next two decades until his formal retirement from the School in 2002. In the intervening years, Dogra naturalized as a British citizen and acquired British nationality. He was married to Urmila Dogra, a well-known British Civil Servant and an author in her own right.
During his brilliant academic career,Dogra produced a huge corpus of published works that included eleven books and more than twenty-five articles. Dogra published many books jointly with his wife Urmila as the co-author. Among these include a Handlist of the Manuscripts in South-Asian Languages in the Library of the School of Oriental and African Studies and Catalogue of the Early Printed books on South Asia from 1586 to 1864 held in the Library of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
The former was published in 1978 and the latter in 1988. His other famous books include the Encyclopedia of Sikh Religion and Culture,Thought Provoking Hindu Names with Meanings and Explanations. Dogra together with his wife Urmila also published the book on Sikhism under the title: The Sikh World,Thought Provoking Sikh Names (English- Punjabi) with Meanings and Explanation and Sikh Cultural Traditions, Customs, Manners and Ceremonies.
The couple also published a popular book on Hindu themes titled: A Dictionary of Hindu Names, Hindu Fasts, Festivals and Ceremonies, Hindu Rituals: Rites, Customs & Manners- A Journey from Creation to Cremation, Let‘s Know Hinduism the Oldest Religion of Infinite Adaptability and DiversityandHindu and Sikh Wedding Ceremonies with Salient features of Hindu and Sikh Rituals.
All these books by Dogra and his wife Urmila were initially published from London and later several of them appeared from Indian publishing houses as well.
In recognition of his singular contribution to his specialized field of studies, Ramesh Chander Dogra was included in the Birthday Honour List of the British Queen in 2003 and conferred with thetitle: MBE, the Member of the British Empire. It is irony of the fate that this outstanding Dogra academic is unknown and even forgotten in his native place Jammu.
Now that these brief details about this genius of Jammu have become known to us, any further delay in recognizing his achievements and distinguished life will tantamount todeliberateeclipse. It is high time that due recognition is accorded to Ramesh Chander Dogra by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir and other academic bodies of the Union Territory.
Perhaps, the fact, that Ramesh Chander Dogra remains the only native Dogra in the post-independent India to have ever been conferred with the royalBritish title is enough qualification for him to deserve honour and recognition from his own creed. Delay will be a public sin. Jammu cannot afford to forgetits MBE; Rt. Hon’ble Ramesh Chander Dogra!
Dr. S.N. Pandita
Ph.D. (D. Phil)
The Bodleian Reader, Oxford.
E-mail – surindar.n.pandita@gmail.com
Ph No: 9868209005
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