Prof D R Chaudhry: Haryana's eminent social scientist
- Raj Bahadur Yadav
When
I did not see Prof D R Chaudhry's articles in The Tribune for a long
time, I contacted a close friend from Rohtak and made a query about his
health. I felt really sad to know that Prof Chaudhry nowadays remains
confined to his bed because of old age and poor health. I heard his name
for the first time in early eighties when I happened to be a student of
Dr R S Singh, Dr O P Grewal and Dr Bhim S. Dahiya, the renowned
professors of English Literature in those days at the Kurukshetra
University. I used to hear a very popular [invented or real, I don't
know] quote of famous educationist and politician,late Hardwari
Lal[1910-1997] ,"There are only one and half educated individuals in
Haryana . One is myself and the other half is -Dr Sarup Singh." This old
cliche or reported remark ascribed to Hardwari Lal is still fondly
recalled by countless educated people of Haryana and Punjab both. It
has become an integral part of their collective memory We all know that
Chaudhary Hardwari Lal had razor-like sharpness in his brilliant
articles published in The Tribune and other national English dailies,
based on the politics,politicians of Haryana and the parliamentary form
of government. He had read almost all the major works of British and
American poets,novelists and political thinkers. It is believed in the
academic circles of Haryana that he was very fond of Italian thinker and
diplomat, Niccolo Machiavelli[1469-1527] and quoted him frequently to
elaborate his core arguments. But Dr Sarup Singh[1917-2003] was equally
respectable and widely acknowledged as a great scholar of English
Literature. He was really an academic titan of Haryana who authored
several research papers and books on the plays of William Shakespeare. I
was fortunate enough to hear his extempore speeches at the Government
College, Hisar in late seventies and at Kurukshetra University in early
eighties as a keen student of English literature. Dr Sarup Singh's
fluency in English impressed me the most. I am of the view that after
the death of Sant Hardwari Lal and Dr Sarup Singh, it was only Prof D R
Chaudhry, who symbolized the academic vigour and the middle class
educated people's urge for social change in Haryana. I guess Prof
Chaudhry has contributed his thought-provoking articles to The Tribune
for more than forty years on regular basis concerning different burning
issues of Haryana. My worthy teachers, Dr O P Grewal and Dr Bhim S.
Dahiya, also kept aloft the democratic tradition of raising the voice of
the peasants, Dalits and women besides raising the vital issues of
distribution of river water and the territorial disputes between Punjab
and Haryana. Dr Dahiya has authored several books on English
literature and the rise of Haryana as a separate state besides writing
an authentic biography of Dr Sarup Singh. But in contributing articles
to The Tribunbe, Prof Chaudhry is next only to Sant Hardwari Lal.
Prof D R[ Daulat Ram] Chaudhry retired as a Reader in English from
Dayal Singh College of Delhi University almost two decades ago. He was
the Chairman of the Public Service Commission of Haryana decades ago, a
Member of the Board of School Education, Haryana and a Member of the
Administrative Reforms Committee. He once guided the Haryana Planning
Board also. His scholarly articles written in a lucid manner and
published in The Tribune raised the political,social, and cultural
consciousness of the educated people of Punjab and Haryana both. He
became very popular among the social workers and the rising middle class
in the semi-urban areas when he launched his Hindi weekly magazine
,"Peeng" from Rohtak in mid eighties. The ordinary people in small
villages and towns of Haryana waited impatiently for its arrival at the
newspaper-stalls located at the bus-stands and they read it very keenly
as it published the exclusive articles on the socio-economic and
cultural aspects of Haryana. It had promptly struck a close rapport with
the common people. Prof Chaudhry encouraged the academics of Haryana to
debate and discuss the vital issues of Haryanavi society and their
possible solutions. The common people came to view this weekly magazine
as their own as it seemed to actually project their hopes and
aspirations.
Prof D R Chaudhary has had the first hand knowledge of the different
areas of Haryana.His articles were endowed with a deep awareness of
history, culture and tradition. It has been a great passion with Prof
Chaudhry since his childhood to observe the Haryanavi society in its
different shades from close quarters.In his creative and well-searched
essays, he underlined the geographical and cultural features of "Deswali
belt"[entire old Rohtak district],"Bagar"[Fatehabad and Sirsa
districts],"Baangar"[ comprising Jind and Kaithal] , the "Ahirwal"[with
Mahendragarh and Narnaul districts], "Khadar"[ parts of
Karnal,Kurukshetra and Panipat districts], and the "Braj Area"[ Palwal
district and its adjoining parts].The areas bordering Punjab have
Punjabi culture. But he very rationally disapproves of the growth of
"miniature sub-regionalism". Prof Chaudhry laments in his
article,"Missing Haryana Identity"[June 10, 2010] that every incumbent
Chief Minister seems to be very generous towards his home turf "which
can give him shelter in the worst of his times." He argues that the
Chief Ministers tend to develop their home districts as "rocky
citadels".
Only an erudite thinker and writer like Prof D
R Chaudhry keeps us reminding us that we have not been able to truly
respect girls and women in our day-to-day life so far because of our
age-old belief in "male hegemony". In an article,"The Oppressed
Women"[January 7,2013,], he argues,"Right from the womb to the tomb, a
woman has to traverse this long journey under male hegemony". It is
only perceptive Prof Chaudhry who has noted with great interest the rise
of women in Haryana's Legislative Assembly. In 1996, only four women
became MLAs, 11 women reached Assembly in 2005 and in 2014, their
strength rose to 13, an all time high. It is not possible to discuss
the contents of all of his articles and his popular book,"Haryana at
crossroads"[National Book Trust, 2007] in details here. But I must dwell
on some of his core beliefs and convictions. Prof Chaudhry says," After
the collapse of Maurya empire, a number of new ethnic groups like the
Greeks, the Scythians,Parthians,Kushans and Huns arrived in this region
and settled here. Haryana had to bear the burnt of frequent attacks of
invading armies of Afghns,Turks and Mongols etc. The famous "Three
Battles of Panipat" changed the course of Indian history and many people
from other parts of Asia made Haryana their homeland. So we have had a
mixed ethnic background for thousands of years. In fact, we are gifted
with a sort of "multi-culturalism". The Haryanavi society is passing
through a painful transition. Prof Chaudhry forcefully asserts,"
Tradition untouched by modernity is decadent while modernity unhinged
from tradition is shallow". He takes a close look at the role of khap
panchayats and tells us that once they resisted the invaders from
distant lands collectively in the medieval age but in the modern times,
"The exposure of the youth to the modern ways of living and the spread
of education has greatly weakened the khap structure and eroded its
appeal and legitimacy". He believes that the rising graph of
unemployment is fostering crime and criminals and the situation can turn
very grim if the rural poor are not helped and encouraged to take to
dairy-farming,agro-based and other small-scale industries. The people of
Haryana face many specific challenges because it is located in close
proximity to Delhi. Haryana's cities are merely" extended villages" with
all the modern amenities of life. The peasants of Haryana don't have
business in their blood. In his opinion," the global players in the
field of manufactured goods have pushed a large number of small-scale
industries out of business"[ Creating jobs in Haryana, December 12,
2003]. Even then, Haryana is economically a prosperous state if we
compare it with other states. Last but not the least, he rues the simple
fact that In Haryana "One comes across Jats, Brahmins, Ahirs and
Punjabis but it is difficult to meet a Haryanavi in Haryana". Prof D R
Chaudhry's message is loud and clear that having achieved the Green
Revolution in the field of agriculture, we must try to enrich our
cultural life also by respecting the rights of Dalits,women and other
weaker sections of the society. We must try to rise above the barriers
of caste and creed if we wish to strike a balance between tradition and
modernity. I wish the great academic and social scientist of Haryana,
Prof D R Chaudhry a constant good health.
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