Prof. Vidya Sagar Verma
Born in undivided India in small and historic township of Akhnoor in 1926, Satya Pal Saraf has an inherent instinct of helping the deprived, underprivileged and destitute sections of the society. His stint as Chairman of the erstwhile Town Area Committee (TAC) of Akhnoor in early sixties in the previous century brought him laurels due to overall development of the town from the meager resources of TAC from the revenue collected as octroi.
Due to having sufficient knowledge of law and revenue records and a very good command over Urdu language, he adopted petition writing as profession to bring up his family comprising of two sons and three daughters. As a devoted father, Saraf persuaded and encouraged his polio-afflicted elder son for his education up to college level. He graduated in Science and later obtained Shiromai degree in Dogri language from Jammu University. His son, Joginder Pal Saraf was later appointed as Dogri News Reader in All India Radio and due to his inherent writing skills, he became famous Dogri and Hindi writer, popular with the pen name of Chhatrapal, earning many national and State awards. The obsessive philanthropic qualities of Satya Pal Saraf were also inherited by his son. The resonance of philanthropic nature of twin personalities and their joint humanitarian obsession led to the foundation of Viklang Chhatra Trust on the wedding day of Chhatrapal on 9th May, 1980 when his father, Satya Pal Saraf, family members, friends and relatives happily agreed to noble idea conceived by the duo for upliftment of divyangjan. The devout idea was translated into reality and Viklang Chhatra Trust, Akhnoor (a voluntary, non-political and non-profiting Society) was founded as a registered body. The monetary gifts received from relatives and friends as shagun, the traditional pecuniary wedding gifts, received during the marriage ceremony comprised foundation buffer to serve as financial cushioning of the Trust.
With a view to realizing the envisaged philanthropic dream, a team of dedicated, sincere and high profile persons from among the relatives and the social fabric of Akhnoor town were chosen to carry forward the envisioned objectives of the Trust and they constantly offered their voluntary services for the noble cause of the society right from inception of the Trust. The unflinching determination of Satya Pal Saraf has explored all possible ways to help resourceless physically challenged and visually impaired persons of the area with the determination to make Akhnoor cataract-free area. For the purpose of realizing this dream, he organized more than one hundred free eye camps, not only in Akhnoor area, but in others districts of Jammu and Kashmir like Nowshera, Rajouri, Poonch, Ramban, R.S.Pura and other areas of the region absolutely free of all charges, besides providing boarding and lodging facilities to the patients and their attendants and provided free post-operative medicines and spectacles to patients. With the able direction of Mr. Saraf, the Trust has started implanting ocular lens to the cataract patients at its own expense.
Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971 brought endless sufferings to the people of border areas of Jammu and Kashmir wherein a large number of people of border districts of Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch lost their precious limbs due to landmine blasts and shelling from across the border. Satya Pal Saraf organized twelve free limb camps for the fitment of world famous excellent quality artificial limbs and calipers to the amputees and polio victims of Jammu, Poonch, Rajpouri, Samba and Kathua districts for facilitating the poor victims with the kind cooperation of Bhagwan Mahavir Viklang Sahayata Samiti, Jaipur (Rajasthan). Though himself being frail in his eighties, he escorted more than four hundred amputees/polio victims to the world famous Jaipur Limb Centre for the fitment of high quality limbs/calipers in different batches at the expense of the Trust.
Discontinuation of already sanctioned disability allowance to the handicapped children of the State by the government increased miseries of most deprived section of the society, which hurt the pious soul of Saraf. With his active efforts, the Trust filed a PIL in J&K High Court wherein the court directed the government to pay the sanctioned disability allowance to handicapped children with the direction for regular payment of the allowance in future compelling the government to allot a hefty amount of ninety lakh rupees for disbursement to the physically challenged children as arrears. In another PIL by Saraf challenging the payment of a meager amount of five rupees to the inmates of Old age Home at Amphalla, Jammu for food and medicines, the Division Bench of J&K High Court instructed Director, Health services, Jammu for regularly sending a team of doctors to the Home and directed the Social welfare Department to release five lakh rupees annual grant to the Home with the direction to the government to establish old age homes for destitute persons in each district of the State.
Satya Pal Saraf, though delicate himself and in poor health, is still striving to work for those in distress. He donated one lakh rupees in Prime Minister Relief Fund, besides donating twenty five thousand rupees from his own pocket to Sub District Hospital, Akhnoor for providing sanitizers and others petty items for doctors and para-medical staff, the Covid warriors of the hospital risking their lives while saving Covid patients during the widespread Corona pandemic. He is very much eager to give awards to the doctors with assisting staff and other officers of Akhnoor for working hard for saving patients from being engulfed by Covid-19.
Recognizing the outstanding contribution in the field of community ophthalmology, Satya Pal Saraf has been honoured with National Award by National Society for the Prevention of Blindness at All India Conference of Ophthalmologists held at Moti Lal Nehru Memorial University, Allahabad (U.P.). His Excellency, the then Governor of J&K State, N. N. Vohra honoured Viklang Chhatra Trust with Gold Medal and a Citation, the coveted State Award for excellent services of the Trust in the State. Smt. Sonia Gandhi, the then UPA Chairperson and Congress President presented the Award of Excellence for spreading the Message of Peace and Harmony in the State. Saraf was conferred Man of the Decade award by Young Blood Association of J&K, Akhil Bharat Rachnatmak Samaj Award by the noted Indian activist, Late Nirmala Deshpande (Padam Vibhushan) for excellent social work in the State and also honoured by J&K Red Cross Society in 2018 for excellent service to humanity.
Satya Pal Saraf is a real karamyogi working tirelessly and with impeccable and flawless devotion and zeal for the welfare of all deprived sections of the society without any discrimination whatsoever. Viklang Chhatra Trust celebrated his 94th birthday in February this year. Being nonagenarian, age has not quelled his incomparable zeal. He had earlier donated his eyes for transplant to any deserving person, but in his recent will he has voluntarily donated all organs for the deserving. The public of the region prays to God for his good health and a long life helping the deficient for parity with the sufficient.
(The author is a retired Professor)
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