By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Dehradun, 26 Nov: The book, ‘Garhwal and the First World War’, by author and educationist Devesh Joshi was launched in the auditorium of the Doon Library and Research Centre on Monday.
Chief Secretary Radha Raturi was the Chief Guest at the launch ceremony. She said that this book, written on the basis of six years of tireless hard work and in-depth research, certainly presents a historical perspective of the rich military tradition of this region.
Special guest, former Director General of Police Anil Raturi said that before the First World War, the Garhwalis had no distinct identity, not only in India but also within the British Army. This war gave the Garhwalis a worldwide identity for the first time. The state of Uttarakhand was formed after a separate state movement here for a distinct cultural identity. The seeds of a distinct identity were first seen in the form of the desire to form a Garhwal regiment in the British Indian Army. It is worth noting that the preface of the book has been written by Raturi.
Presiding over the function, Garh Gaurav Narendra Singh Negi said that the authenticity of the book has been further enhanced by the analysis of the mention of the World War available in Garhwali folk songs. Similarly, 9 rare censored letters written by Garhwali soldiers are also an important document.
Vice Chancellor of Doon University Prof Surekha Dangwal said that this book contains an authentic description of the valiant participation of Garhwali soldiers in the First World War from 1914 to 1918, there are separate chapters on major warriors and an interesting description of the landscape of Garhwal at the time of the First World War. The information given in the chapter on the contribution of Tehri Riyasat and the participation of Kumaon is coming in the public domain for the first time. The authentic list of martyred Garhwali soldiers of the First World War is also important, with the help of which historical information about the martyrs of any village or area can be obtained.
The author of the book, Devesh Joshi, said that this book contains the history of the people and not of the king. It was a very challenging task to find out and understand the contribution of simple soldiers from poor families of the then Garhwal, which was very poor in terms of education and development. Author Devesh Joshi, who wrote a popular book on World War I hero Captain Dhoom Singh Chauhan two years ago, also said that this is in a way the first book published in Hindi on this subject.
On this occasion, folk poet Narendra Singh Negi also recited the iconic Garhwali song of World War I – ‘Saat samodar paar ch jaan bwe…’
The programme was conducted by Ganesh Khugshaal ‘Gani’. Chandrashekhar Tewari and Nicholas, Programme Associates of Doon Library and Research Centre, welcomed and thanked the guests and the audience. The book is also available on Amazon.
On this occasion, Lalit Mohan Rayal, Additional Secretary, Uttarakhand Government, Dr Nandkishore Hatwal, SS Rautela, Kalyan Singh Rawat, Shoorveer Singh Rawat, Ghananand Ghansala, Chandan Singh Negi, Devendra Kandpal, Dolly Dabral, Shiv Joshi, Kanta Dangwal, Chandrashekhar Semwal, Surendra Sajwan, Kirti Navani, Sundar Singh Bisht, Pushpalata Mamgain, Vivek Tiwari, Shailendra Nautiyal, VK Dobhal, writers, litterateurs, history lovers and other dignitaries were also present.
