Jammu through sculptures

One of many attributes of a historical city is its sculptural wealth that accumulates with the passage of time. A sculptor is an artist who freezes history in his art. Most of the ancient countries of the world have a long and glorious history of sculptures adoring their cities and towns. Actually, it was ancient Greece wherefrom the origin of sculptural art began and developed in due course of time. The Roman Empire embellished and perfected the art and from there it spread out to entire Europe. France and Italy produced incredible and immortal pieces of sculpture that have popularized famous cities like Paris, Milan, and Naples etc. Russia and Great Britain have frozen their history in exquisite statues of great personalities. These manifestations have also become proud chapter of the history of art. Some of the sculptures have become synonymous with the country and its history like the Statue of Liberty in the US.
Our country is among ancient countries of the world with very ancient civilization. Our ancestors have given full attention to the preservation of our history through monuments, statues, sculptures, rock engravings, minarets, forts and synagogues. Many of these structures have been consumed by harsh tropical climate of our country and only their ruins remain. But historians and archaeologists have painstakingly rebuilt the history of the country through these visible ruins.
Nearer home, Jammu, the winter capital, has the distinction of being the origin of the modern State of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a mistake to speak about Jammu merely as the winter capital; it is much more than that. Unfortunately, historians have not highlighted the role of Jammu in the making of the State and have not gone beyond the flip-flop of winter capital prattle. Essentially, one needs to study and highlight the history and culture of the Duggar land in all its specificities, more particularly in the realms of martial qualities and military adventures of its heroic people of long tradition. The country owes its gratitude to the rank and file of Dogra warriors of formative period who adventured to forbidden frozen Himalayan regions and welded these into one geographical entity and administrative unit. This justifies raising statues in memory of great sons of the soil, Raja Jambulochan, from whom the city derives its present name, Maharaja Gulab Singh, the founder of the modern state, Maharaja Ranbir Singh, the builder of the State, Maharaja Pratap Singh, the philosopher-saint king and Maharaja Hari Singh, the last of the rulers of his House who was caught in the crossfire of historical and ideological contradictions of his times that spilled over to following six and a half decades of our history are all most deserving to be immortalized in frozen statues.
As has been said, the Dogra culture has always given highest respect to such heroes as have demonstrated great warrior qualities and made their mark in military adventures or in defending the State against intruders. The mere sight of the statue of Brigadier Rajendra Singh, the Savour of Kashmir, fills every Dogra with a sense of pride on this bravest of the brave soldiers who laid down his life defending the motherland to the last man and the last bullet. In fact a life size statue of him should have adorned the main entrance to the city from the south and the north. In similar pride, stands the statue of General Bikram Singh at Bikram Chowk to remind one and all that national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country is guaranteed not by rhetoric but by making the sacrifice of life as did this gallant soldier make. In the same strain, who among the Dogras does not feel proud of General Zorawar Singh, the like of whom, a nation rarely comes across?
The Duggar land has more to be proud of. Public servants who made distinctive contribution to political, social, cultural and economic life of society are also honoured and rewarded with respect and dignity by raising their statues in different parts of the city of Jammu. Pandit Premnath Dogra, who stood up against prejudice and parochialism, and who led a movement of nationalist awakening among the youth, has an imposing statue attributed to him at Dogra Chowk. Likewise, the eminent nationalist leader Girdhari Lal Dogra is also honoured with a statue for his enviable services to the State. These veterans have left behind legacies that will stay long and continue to inspire the people of the region. Jammuites are nationalists to the core. That is understandable from the statues raised in memory of leading national personalities like Gandhiji and Indira Gandhi. Anybody halting for a moment in front of these statues will bring back to his memory the great saga of nation’s freedom struggle and the intrepidity with which foreign aggressions were faced and repulsed. These statues and monuments like Dogra Heritage Point, Mubarak Mandi Complex, Bahu Fort, Amar Mahal and other relics give tongue to our history and culture.
With the passage of time more statues will be added to the ones that are existent today in Jammu city. A nation’s history is never static. But we shall need to draw the attention of Jammu civil society to an important requirement in the context of these historical statues and monuments. They are located at strategic points but they are not well maintained in a manner that the environment would lend the glory to the states as desired. The culture of landscaping the sites of statues is what the Jammu Municipal Corporation shall have to undertake without loss of time. More importantly, it is the civil society of Jammu that has to move in this direction. The space around the statues has to be landscaped and bedecked with plants and flowers. If possible adjacent to the statues, small reading rooms should be built with literature and visuals depicting the life and contribution of the person. If more space is available, it should be converted into a mini park where occasionally documentaries can be screened for the benefit of the children and the youth. They must know from early life about outstanding personalities and their life. This is closely related to the person whose statue stands like a sentinel in the city.

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