Durga Prasad Dhar: Difference between revisions

'''Durga Prasad Dhar''' (1918–1975) was a [[Kashmiris|Kashmiri]] politician and an Indian diplomat, who is a considered a chief architect of the Indian intervention in the 1971 [[Bangladesh Liberation War]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Events of 23 June 1975 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,913198,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206124415/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,913198,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 December 2008 |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=23 June 1975 |accessdate=31 July 2012}}</ref> Dhar was a close adviser and confidant of [[Indira Gandhi]]. He served as the [[Ambassador of India to the Soviet Union]], and as a minister in the [[Government of Jammu and Kashmir]] as well as the [[Government of India]]. However, he was the one also responsible for degradation of the Constitutional status of State of Jammu and Kashmir, when Sheikh Abdullah was the Prime Minister of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, which the latter also confirms to in his autobiography, due to which the latter(Abdullah) was also deposed as PM of Jammu and Kashmir. Abdullah  accused him of working as an agent of the Indian intelligence agency and creating misunderstanding between him and the Government of India as well as leading and directing the army contingent that indiscriminately fired upon Kashmiri Muslims in 1953. Later, he exhibited this feat in 1965 also when Batamaloo and some other villages in the valley were torched and thousands of people rendered homeless.

D. P. Dhar studied at [[Tyndale Biscoe School|Tyandale Biscoe School]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hyderi|first=M.|date=14 March 2015|title=Schooling excellence, Biscoe since 1880|url=https://www.greaterkashmir.com/more/schooling-excellence-biscoe-since-1880|url-status=live|access-date=2021-12-29|website=Greater Kashmir|language=en}}</ref> He earned his bachelor's degree from the [[University of Punjab]] and went on to complete his LLB from the [[University of Lucknow]].<ref name=LA>{{cite web |title=Proceedings of the Emergent session of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly |url=http://www.megassembly.gov.in/proceedings/1975/28-07-1975.htm |first=W.A. Sangma |last=Chief Minister |publisher=Meghalaya Legislative Assembly |location=Shillong |date=28 July 1975 |accessdate=31 July 2012}}</ref>

Dhar joined the Quit Kashmir movement in 1946, which was led by [[Sheikh Abdullah]] against Maharaja Hari Singh of Kashmir. Dhar played a key role in assisting the [[Indian Army]] during the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947]]. He helped the Indian officers interact with the population and collect porters, mules and other kinds of administrative help which facilitated the soldiers' job.<ref name="Slender">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lYHXmx4cOUsC|title=Slender Was the Thread: Kashmir Confrontation 1947-48|last=Sen|first=Maj Gen L. P.|publisher=Orient Longman|year=1969|isbn=0-86131-692-4|location=New Delhi|page=196|accessdate=4 August 2010}}</ref>

Dhar was subsequently appointed the Home Secretary and then the Deputy Home Minister of [[Government of Jammu and Kashmir|Kashmir]] in 1948, when Sheikh Abdullah was the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. He was a Member of the [[Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir|Jammu and Kashmir State Constituent Assembly]] from 1951 to 1957 which confirmed Kashmir's accession to India. He was also a Member of the [[Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly|State Assembly]] from 1957 to 1967, and was appointed Cabinet Minister, in-charge of various portfolios. He was later elected to the [[Rajya Sabha]] from Jammu and Kashmir in 1972. He was appointed as the [[Planning Commission (India)|Union Minister for Planning]] in July, 1972.<ref name="LA" />

Dhar was a close associate of [[Indira Gandhi]] and was instrumental in finalising the 1972 Indo-Bangladesh treaty of peace, friendship and co-operation.<ref>{{cite news |title=Greater common good |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110914/jsp/opinion/story_14501242.jsp |publisher=telegraphindia.com |first=K.C. |last=Nayar |date=14 September 2011 |accessdate=31 July 2012}}</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1975/06/13/archives/durga-prasad-dhar-57-dead-cemented-indian-ties-to-soviet.html "Durga Prasad Dhar, 57 Dead; Cemented Indian Ties to Soviet"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''. June 13, 1975.</ref> He became one of the closest confidants of the [[Nehru-Gandhi]] family and also played a significant role in the Shimla agreement between India and Pakistan.<ref>{{cite web |title=Durga Prasad Dhar |url=http://www.kashmirlife.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2419:durga-prasad-dhar&catid=20:personality&Itemid=167 |publisher=kashimrlife.net |first=Vol 02 |last=Issue 02 |date=19 March 2012 |accessdate=31 July 2012}}</ref>

===Diplomatic===