Upping the ante Dogra identity crisis
By
Colonel Satish Singh Lalotra
“A dream with no action may be great for happiness in sleep, but a torture in wake”-Dale Roberts.
Hope, faith, aspirations are words which move mountains when imbued in the true spirit by human beings. The world is replete with examples when out of nothingness sprouted excellence, andraison d’ etre for a man on this earth.
As per world famous psychologist – cum -management specialist Abraham Maslow, a human being has his needs stacked up in a hierarchy which when fulfilled leads not only to his satisfaction but also whets up his appetite for higher needs. In his master piece treatise ‘Hierarchy of needs” he has pitched up these needs in a pyramidal form with the largest and most fundamental need at the bottom and the “need for self-actualization” at the top.
In other words, the idea is that individual’s most basic need must be fulfilled first before he/she becomes motivated to achieve higher level needs. The problem in the Indian society as opposed to the western world is that majority of our population is still mired in the lowest rung of needs i.e. the basic needs of food, water, shelter and warmth. With very few people graduating to higher level of human needs i.e “esteem needs”and self actualization encompassing feelings like prestige, sense of accomplishment etc. the society is often open to unscrupulous elements to block their way to the higher need levels for a human being.
The above actions lead to a yawning gap of aspirations in the society at large. The Dogra land is no exception to this thumb rule as enunciated by Abraham Maslow. Moreover evident and clearly given to understand are certain prerequisites for bridging these aspirational crevasses which have to be undertaken willy nilly by only those sections of the society which have been unencumbered or already crossed the lowest rung of human need i.e. the need for survival.
In fact these prerequisites have to be the sole preserve of those people who are buffeted between the needs of self esteem and that of self actualization. Shall list out these prerequisites one by one so as to make them fit into the overall mosaic of Dogra identity. First and foremost requirement to have a common firmament of Dogra unity is that of adherence to symbols of identity which in army parlance are known as “Naam,Namak and Nishan. “Though loosely used colloquially off and on in military circles,the same template of identity is equally incumbent upon general masses to adopt and can be extrapolated to define the relations between a nation state and its inhabitants.
“Naam” signifies reputation of your country, clan, lineage etc from which you draw sustenance, “Namak’ fidelity to the salt you have partaken of a particular family, place or area etc and “Nishan” could be the standard/ flag /fort /fortress around which rallies its subjects. Though majority of Dogras have been in the armed forces and well aware of these matters but sadly it is missing from the general populace as such.
Has the general populace given due regards to the great ” Naam” of Dogras. ? It’s a debatable question. Cross section of the society in the UT of J&K are so busy eking out a living for themselves that this facet of understanding has gone out of their radar. Same with “Namak” and “Nishan”. “Nishan”over here has different connotations i.e. the physical entities in the form of flags/standards, forts, temples heritage sites etcwhich remind people of their connect with the Dogra lineage.
Herein comes the role of section of Dogra society which as per Abraham Maslow is placed highest in the hierarchy of needs viz the self-actuated or self esteem category. These people having surmounted the basic needs of safety /security should become the ‘Standard bearers” for the general population and act as an interface between the people at the lowest rung of society and uplift their senses to embrace the principles of “Naam, Namak and Nishan which lie buried under the daily drudgery of their existence. Next prerequisite for the Dogras in general would be to save their language and dress from being obliterated into oblivion.
Though the 8th schedule of our constitution had recognized Dogri language as one of the official languages alongside 22 other national /regional languages via a 92nd amendment little has been done to propagate its reach in terms of inclusion in the text books of school curriculum by the UT board of school education.A very concerted drive at local school board level should be kick started to take maximum students into the fold of Dogri language programme.
Where is the increased coverage of Dogri language programmes from Radio Jammu? Are we able to beam across the borders with good signal /frequency strength and please the listening palate of Dogra Muslims. Has Radio Jammu ever given the feedback of quality of our Dogri language programmes from their point of view? Because therein lies the real worth of our winning the hearts and minds of Dogra community across the international border rendering the physical separation as redundant.
Next in line of prerequisite for bridging the identity crisis is that of Dogra dress traditionally worn only now by a miniscule people, but urgently requiring resuscitation by way of its mass spread and appeal amongst the rank and file of the UT of J&K. Unfortunately the traditional dress of Dogras has been under the onslaught of western influence which rules the roost. It has to be understood that unless and until the locals do promote their art, culture and language the outsiders will be the first to form an impression of a race which is on a “self destruction mode”. A very recent example of the rebuff which Dogra dress got was during the convocation of IIT,Jammu,wherein the graduating students were told to don the “Pakol cap” and a pheran.Nothing could be more preposterous than this.
In heart of Dograland, the Dogra dress has been short changed for an alien dress could be the “rallying point” for the locals to generate a Tsunami of unity. But did the Dogras rise in unison, as one man? There are numerous examples in our country where leaders used age old Hindu iconic figures like Lord Ganesha to invoke a sense of unity, purpose, zeal, pride etc in the general public to throw out the yoke of British oppression from India and Maharashtra in particular. Ganesha Chaturthi was one such festival used by Bal Gangadhar Tilak in the late 19th century to act as a glue on the disparate Hindu community and galvanise them into action.
Have the Dogras used the iconic Goddess figure of Mata Vaishno Devi to instill a feeling of commonality of purpose ? In fact almost all regions in our country to include Bengal, Assam, Orissa, Gujarat, Tamilnadu etc have a rallying point in the form of common festival, dress code, language and culture signifying their affinity and ethnicity to a particular geographical area. But when it comes to propagation and spread of Dograculture, language the picture turns dismal.
Even in areas wherever the Dogra community in a sizeable strength has settled, for example the northern districts of Punjab the community has taken the regional hue i.e Punjabi at in its stride putting its own identity on the backburner. In case of our immediate neighbour Punjab, there are numerous literary bodies both official and quasi official which act as a bridge to span the gulf between the people separated by the Radcliffe line. Contrary to the above the Dogra muslims in areas like Shakargarh, Nainakot, Zafarwal etc of Pakistan are an island in themselves.
These are some of the points which our regional leaders should lay stress upon.With the spread of digital technology across the world, efforts should be made to digitize our forgotten heritage data sites, the old treaties etc as a repository for posterity lest they succumb to the vagaries of time and tide. Though a start has been made by few entities like the DSS (Dogra sadar sabha) to highlight the plight of Dogra culture being subsumed by extraneous forces, it is like a drop in the ocean. Need is to gather a groundswell of support from all and sundry to make the Dogra identity a crescendo to be heard all around.
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