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Professor Chaman Lal Sapru

Padma Shri (Posthumous)

(22 January 1935 – 17 November 2020)

Early life

Born on January 22, 1935, in erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir, now Union Territory of Republic of India. Professor Sapru as he was affectionately known came from a rich lineage of educationists. His father Pandit Tarachand Sapru, a teacher and headmaster was a pioneer of women’s education and instrumental in starting the first high school for girls in the district of Doda, in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. As a youth Chaman Lal Sapru was inspired by the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda and great personalities and freedom fighters like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and other eminent personalities.

Education

	''Bachelor of Arts in Hindi from Jammu & Kashmir University - 1954

	Master’s in Hindi from Panjab University, Chandigarh

	Among the first graduates in Hindi from the erstwhile Kendriya Hindi Mahavidyalaya, Agra, now known as the Central Institute of Hindi (1955).''

Teaching career

All through his professional career, Professor Sapru taught and mentored students in institutions across Jammu & Kashmir. He taught at various capacities at Government Degree colleges both in the valley such as Sri Pratap College, Amar Singh College and at district level Degree Colleges namely, Sopore, Anantnag and Poonch, as well as the Girls Degree College in Nawa Kadal, Srinagar. He served as HOD and Principal of Government College of Baramulla and continued teaching as head-of-the department and Professor at Camp College in Jammu during exodus of Kashmiri Pandits due to militancy in Kashmir in 1990.

Significant achievements

	Foremost Professor of Hindi and journalist from Srinagar Kashmir, he popularized Hindi Language across the Jammu and Kashmir over 5 decades. Played an active role at his capacity in propagating Hindi as a language amongst non-Hindi students in aspiring the dream of national unity and integration.

	Professor Sapru was an eminent author, educationist, journalist, and social activist. An ardent believer in the power of education to transform lives of those who met him for guidance. Professor Sapru spent his lifetime in furthering Hindi language, education of women, social equity for the marginalized and spread the cultural ethos of India among generations of youths in Jammu & Kashmir.

	At the age of 21 being passionate in what he believed with conviction, along with few Hindi enthusiasts he presented the case for teaching Hindi as an independent subject in University of Jammu & Kashmir before the official language commission, constituted by Government of India in 1956. A few years later, the committee granted their proposal, and he was appointed as the first lecturer of Hindi in Jammu & Kashmir. Prior to that Hindi language was taught as an optional language under the faculty of Sanskrit. In 1959 he was elected as a member of the Senate of Jammu & Kashmir University, the youngest member to be selected for this coveted position.

	Deeply rooted in his mother tongue Kashmiri and being fluent in Hindi and Urdu languages he could easily communicate the ideas and bridge the unity among his cross-section of students coming from various socio economic backgrounds. An authority on cultural history & heritage of Kashmir he contributed ideas in the form of writing books, publishing articles in journals, magazines & delivering speeches at various forums.

	As a founding member of Jammu and Kashmir Rashtra Bhasha Prachar Samiti, from 1956 – 1990, he was instrument in establishing 40 language centers across the state where Hindi was taught to non-Hindi students under the auspices of Rashtra Bhasha Prachar Samiti (Non-Profit Organization) headquartered from Wardha, Nagpur founded & inspired by Mahatma Gandhi.

	With his relentless hard work and conviction that continuity of education is the only means to help displaced students from valley during turbulent and uncertain period of displaced families (1990), he pushed ahead with the idea to the authorities to start a camp college in Jammu where most of the migrant students had taken shelter in various camps to further their studies uninterrupted.

Awards

	Padma Shri Award 2021 – Literature and Education, Jammu and Kashmir (Posthumous) by President of India. 	Ganga Sharan Singh Award - 2009 -'Hindi Sevi Samman Yojna' by President of India. 	Sahitya Samman Hindi Academy – 2003 by Govt. of New Delhi 	Sauharda Samman – 1989 by Government of Uttar Pradesh 	Best Book Award by MoHRD – 1989 – 1990 by Government of India 	State Academy of Art, Culture and Languages -1989 by Government of Jammu & Kashmir 	State Academy of Art, Culture and Languages -1969 by Government of Jammu & Kashmir

Boards and memberships

•	Founding member and secretary (1975) of Jammu & Kashmir Rashtra Bhasha Prachar Samiti (Non-Profit Organization) headquartered from Wardha & founded by Mahatma Gandhi. •	Founder Member and Secretary General of the Kashmir Hindi Sahitya Sammelan (1955 - 1959). •	Trustee of Kashmir Women’s Welfare Trust and NGO established by Annie Basnet (1962). •	Editorial board of Hindi Kashmiri Sangam’s quarterly journal Kashmir Sandesh. •	Advisory member of the Hindi Shiksha Samiti. •	Member of Hindi Central Advisory Committee Ministry of Defence & Ministry of Health for Government of India. •	Advisory & Managing Committee member Ramakrishna Mission New Delhi. •	Advisory & Managing Committee member Ramakrishna Mission Jammu & Srinagar Kashmir.

Publications & Magazines

He has authored 18 books & served in editorial board of various magazines. Most prominent and much appreciated among them are: •	Santoor ke Swar published in 1968 (Hindi) •	Kesar aur Kamal published in (Hindi) •	Sarvabhasha Hindi Kosh Nidesalaya (Hindi Grammar) •	Hindi-Urdu Primary (Hindi-Urdu) •	Sri Ksheer Bhavani Darshan (Hindi) •	Sri Amarnath Darshan (Hindi) •	Translated Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna ‘Shri Ramakrishna Charitamrita’ in Kashmiri Language •	Founder Editor of the Hindi monthly magazine 'Kashyap', started from valley, 1959 •	Quarterly Hindi journal 'Satisar', started from Kashmir •	Served in the editorial board of 'Koshur Samachar', widely circulated monthly socio-cultural journal from New Delhi •	Served in the editorial board of 'Naad' a monthly magazine, started from Kashmir

References

· Padma Awards Ministry of Home Affairs (Gov. of India) · Shri Ramakrishna Charitamrita In Kashmiri Translation by Chaman Lal Sapru, Published by Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Srinagar, Kashmir Abhinavsapru (talk) 01:12, 14 December 2021 (UTC) Abhinavsapru (talk) 01:13, 14 December 2021 (UTC)

(Abhinavsapru (talk) 16:03, 15 January 2022 (UTC))