It was most probably in 1965. I was working as Research Assistant at the Agricultural Research Station, Dhaulakuan, a place 17 miles from Nahan on Nahan Paonta Highway. It was the largest agricultural research station of the state. Research in all areas of agriculture used to be the responsibility of the State Department of Agriculture during those days. Therefore there were teams of researchers from all fields of agriculture. Dhaulakuan was one of the most prestigious and ambitious projects of the Department of Agriculture, H.P. Kinnow orange, the most popular orange of today, was tried first at this research station and its commercial cultivation had begun from here only.
Agricultural Research Station, Dhaulakuan, as
it is today.
This research
station was started in around 1958. By 1965, the station had become quite
famous for its activities. By that year it had started serving as centre for many
agricultural extension activities too.
One day, as
a part of one of extension activities, a training camp for farmers was held at
Dhaulakuan. The camp was being organized by District Agriculture Officer. Sardar Iqbal Singh, who is a highly revered
person today as founder and head of the Eternal University and all its sister organizations at Baroo Sahib,
Rajgarh, was the District Agriculture Officer. Sardar Iqbal Singh, popularly known as Gyani
ji, was a very dedicated officer of his time. He was unmarried and very
hospitable. His residence at Nahan was open as night shelter to all officials
in the District. Sardar Iqbal Singh had risen to the position of Director
Agriculture, Himachal Pradesh.
The farmers
training camp was to be inaugurated at 3.00 PM. Inauguration was to be
performed by Mr. B.C. Negi, Deputy Commissioner. Mr. Negi was a very dynamic young IAS officer
and he had later retired as Chief Secretary, Himachal Pradesh.
All the
arrangements for inauguration had been made. Officials from Nahan as well as
nearby Paonta had also come to attend the ceremony. Refreshments for the
function were also already made. Deputy Commissioner had started from Nahan and
was expected to arrive within half hour.
Deputy Commissioner Late Mr. B.C. Negi, who was
the chief guest
However,
one thing was missing. No farmer had arrived by that time.
Sardar
Iqbal Singh asked me to get some persons from the group of labourers working
nearby to act as farmers. I obeyed asked ten labourers to come there and act as
trainee farmers. A shamiana had also been pitched for the occasion. The
“farmers”came and sat under the
shamiana.
Deputy
Commissioner arrived after some time. He was formally received and welcome by
Sardar Iqbal Singh and his team. The farmers were introduced to DC. He shook
hand with them one by one saying, “What is your name?” The farmer told his
name. Fortunately, that was all. He did not ask from where he had come. I was feeling worried because if he had he
asked this question the poor labourer would certainly have told that he was doing
hoeing of nursery plants and Parmar sahib(me, his supervisor) had asked him to
come and stand there. But fortunately that did not happen as the Deputy
Commissioner did not ask the second question.
Sardar Iqbal Singh, as he is today.
The
inauguration of the training camp was thus successfully over. There were
speeches by the DC as well as the organizers followed by refreshments. The function thus ended successfully and the
DC left.
It was my
first experience of such event. I had never thought that there could ever be a
farmers’ training camp without any trainee. In the evening while talking about
this function, I told a senior experienced colleague, Chaudhary Kabul Singh,
about my worry. I said had the DC asked the labourers from where they had come;
these simple guys would certainly have divulged the truth.
At this
Chaudhary Kabul Sigh, who posted at Paonta as Agriculture Inspector, laughed
and said that DC would have never asked that. He is inaugurating such camps
quite often and is very well aware of the realities.
