JAMMU, OCT 21: Dr Karan Singh, Chairman Trustee, Dharmarth Trust, visited Sri Raghunath Mandir this morning and paid homage at temples in the complex. He also performed the Puranahuti of the yagya being held in the memory of Maharaja Gulab Singh ji on his birth anniversary. Before leaving the temple he announced that, as goodwill gesture, the Trustees have decided to give a 20% Diwali bonus to Dharmarth Trust employees.
In the evening a function was held at Amar Mahal where the Annual Maharaja Gulab Singh Award was presented by Dr Karan Singh to the renowned Sculptor Shri Ravinder Jamwal who has made numerous statues in Jammu of historic Dogra personalities, including Maharaja Hari Singh. He is now working on a sculpture of Maharaja Gulab Singh. The Award carries a sum of Rs. 2 lakhs and a plaque. Dr. Karan Singh released a book of articles on Maharaja Hari Singh to which he has written the foreword based on the proceedings of a seminar held by the Maharaja Gulab Singh Research Institute, Jammu, which has published the book. He also released a book by Retd. Gen. G.S Jamwal for which he has also written the Foreword which recounts the important role played by the J&K State Forces to the crucial months after Accession and before the arrival of the Indian Army.
Speaking on the occasion Dr. Karan Singh said that the Dogras in general and the rulers in particular have not received their due place in history. Recalling that it was Maharaja Gulab Singh and his Dogra troops, from Jammu and Himachal Pradesh, who conquered Gilgit and Ladakh at great cost sacrificing thousands of lives thus founding the State of Jammu and Kashmir which at 84,000 Sq miles was the largest Indian State during the British period. He lamented that it lost huge areas such as Gilgit-Baltistan and POJK in 1949, Aksai Chin in 1952 and now in 2019 is reduced to a small union territory of a few thousand square miles. Despite this the Dogras will continue to make their contribution towards defending the nation in various army formations, such as the JAK Reg, Dogra Reg and other formations. He stressed the necessity of maintaining the long tradition of Interfaith Harmony in the entire Jammu region.
