Omkar Dattatray
The death anniversary of Sh. R.K. Bharati was observed on 12th January 2025 by RK Bharati Foundation as usual and tributes were paid to the literary genius and journalist of repute. Born on 19th January 1937 in a small village Kakran (Kulgam) in the then district Anantnag, Bharati had his early schooling at High School Kulgam. His parents Nath Ram Pandit and Rajrani Pandit wanted him to take up the family business but the inquisitive, very sensitive son who was fond of reading, reluctant to do family business and much against the wishes of the family got appointed in education department as a teacher.
Bharti’s love and intense interest in education grew further. He passed BA, BT and later Post Graduation in Hindi and English while in service as a school teacher. He pursued M Ed in 1972 as a regular student from the Government College of Education, Srinagar, where he came in contact with the principal of that college Syed Agha Ashraf, who was a renowned educationist of the time. Agha Ashraf was his teacher, but later close friendship grew between the two. In the education department, much afterwards, Bharti was promoted as Master, Headmaster, and then senior High School Headmaster. From his school days, he had an interest in writing letters and other writing ups in local newspapers in Urdu, Hindi, English, and even Gogri. He served for many years as the headmaster of the Teachers Training School Shopian.
He played a pivotal role in protecting the landed property rights of the petty landowners. Bharti canvassed against the draconian, discriminatory and unjust land reform act passed by Congress government headed by Syed Mir Qasim. He vehemently opposed and criticized the Congress government and Mir Qasim for snatching the landed properties of petty landowners who mostly were Kashmiri Pandits and conferring it to the Muslim tenants without any compensation. He filed two writ petitions against the Land Reform Act of the Jammu Kashmir Government in the Supreme Court of India, where he hired the services of Nani Palkiwala, an advocate of repute and expert in revenue matters. A stay was imposed on the operation of the Land Reform Act. But later, the stay was vacated. Being a fearless man, while leading a delegation of landlords, he had a heated verbal exchange with the Chief Minister Syed Mir Qusim in the secretariat and Abdul Gani Lone, who was a Congress Minister prevailed on the chief minister, and so there were talks between the delegation of aggrieved landowners and the chief minister. Shri Bharati also called on the then Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi and apprised her of the discriminatory land reform act of the Jammu and Kashmir government. He also called on almost all the big opposition leaders of the then Jansung, such as Shri A.B. Vajpayee and L.K. Advani and other leaders, and put his views about the discriminatory land reform act before them. He also called on communists’ leader Sardar Surjit Singh Sukrala , and he inquired from this leader if in the Soviet Union the land reform laws on the same pattern were made, which denied land rights to some and conferred the land to some others that too without compensation. In his write-ups he wrote extensively against the draconian Land Reform Act not once but a number of times in different newspapers and in radio talks he also put forth his views about the Land Reform law. Shri R.K. Bharati wrote much on the plight of Kashmiri Pandits and Dogri-speaking Kashmiri Rajputs, who also were made paupers overnight by one stroke of his pen by Chief Minister Mir Quasim. He was a farsighted person and had forecast the adverse days for Kashmiri Pundits. Bharati had drawn a cartoon in some newspaper showing KP’s as being Na Ghar Ke Na Ghat Ke and had also written in the same cartoon, an Udru satire, which reads – Na Khuda He Mila Na Vasale Sanam Na Idhr Ke Rahe Na Udhar Ke Rahe. He, along with his family, left Kashmir and settled in Jammu.
In Jammu he worked as a District Project Officer Adult Education for some years and also worked as District Planning Officer (DPO) Rajouri for some time, and then he was again posted as Sr. Head Master in Pragawal from where he retired after rendering 34 years of service. It is often said of him that he was transferred almost the same number of years as his service. The reason was that he was honest, straightforward, called a spade a spade, and was bold and fearless, so was an eyesore of the administration.
Bharati, besides writing articles, satires, etc, also worked with several newspaper organizations. He worked with Excelsior for a few years, where he started a column, ‘All Your Answers in Sunday Magazine & had good relations with the founder editor. He later worked with English daily State Times, Northlines and Bi-lingual Dehat Sandesh for a few years. He also worked in the Gujjar Desh Charitable Trust for a brief period. Before these publications, Bharati worked with Hind Samachar, a regional Urdu Daily in Jallandar for some time.
He also worked in the Urdu department for a few years after his retirement from state government, and there he taught Professional Urdu Journalism to graduate and postgraduate students. He possessed profound knowledge of Urdu and had great command of the Urdu language although he had studied Urdu only up to 10th class. His teaching graduate and post-graduate students was no less than a miracle. He never became a professor but his dream to teach higher classes came true while teaching professional Urdu Journalism in Jammu University, where he came in contact with the VC Amitabh Mattoo and the friendship grew between the two. Bharati also taught for some time in the Bhartya Vidhya Bhawan (Institute of Journalism & Mass Communication) Jammu Centre headed by the veteran journalist Balraj Puri. He had intimate friendship with Dr. Farooq Abdullah and latter used to pay visit to his Talab Tillo residence. Farooq used to come to the Kakran residence of Bharati too. In Jammu, he had wide friendship and interaction circle of journalists, writers, poets and literary persons. He often took part in the literary and cultural functions in the Cultural Academy, Abhinav Theatre, Press Club Jammu, Jammu University etc.
Throughout his life he was a busy man, reading, writing articles, and doing all the chores at home. He was very punctual during his service career and after his retirement while serving in newspaper organizations and while working in the Urdu Department of Jammu University. He attended many conferences in Delhi, Patiala, and other places. In Jammu University friendship grew between Bharati and Jagan Nath Azad, Prof. Zahoor Ahamed, Prof. Shoib Inayet Mallik. He was popular aIn literary circle and had close association with Amin Banjara, Aseer Kishtwari, who was the DGAT J&K and Shyam Talib, the founder of Adbi Kunj Jammu, who passed away recently in Jammu.
Bharati was a multifaceted personality. He was an academician, educationist, doyen of journalism, picture designer, cartoonist, palmist, future teller, always ahead of his time and still a simple and honest man. He was a leading light of journalistic field, and he had to his credit thousands of articles and write-ups published in national, regional, and local papers on socio-economic, cultural, and Kashmiri Pandit issues boldly. His write-ups were published in RSS mouthpiece – Organizer and national Urdu newspaper. He was a critic, analyst and a good translator and had translated many books of noted authors, including Prof. Jagarnath Azad’s book ‘Alien in a Native Land’ and Dr. Karan Singh’s book ‘Heir Apparent’ to mention a few.
His death was mourned by the then chief minister Gh Nabi Azad, Cultural Academy, People from different walks of life condoled his death and participated in his cremation, and still many visited his residence, and among them were Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Amitab Matoo, VC of Jammu University, DGP Kuldeep Khoda, M.Y. Teng, Prof. Zahoor Ahamad, and many other prominent personalities and members of the journalistic fraternity. By his passing away, a great void was created in literary and journalistic circles. The best tribute to the multifaceted personality is to imbibe his qualities of simplicity, honesty, hard work, and punctuality.
(The author is a columnist, social activist, and freelance writer)
