Pyare Lal Kaul passes away
Mr. Pyare Lal Kaul, an eminent advocate, author, journalist and socialist veteran passed away here on Tuesday 21st July at 9 PM. Mr.. Kaul suffered a. massive stroke on Saturday and was soon admitted to Apollo Hospital where he breathed his last, despite many attempts by a team of senior doctors to save his life.
He was 72 and is survived by his wife and two sons.
His cremation was attended by a large number of people representing different shades including advocates, politicians and journalists. Besides attending cases in Supreme Court of India, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir High Courts Mr. Kaul was regularly devoting time to writing books. Presently he was in the middle of completing his would be soon released books titled “Twenty Years of Exile” and “Fire and Fury”..
The Bar Association of Jammu, The Bar Association of Kashmir, Writers Guild, Kashmiri Pandits United Forum (Regd), Kashmiri Pandit Welfare Association - Dilshad Garden, Delhi were among many organizations that condoled the untimely, sudden and sad demise of Mr. Pyare Lal Kaul.
Brief Resume of Shri Pyare Lal Kaul
Shri Pyare Lal Kaul was a Srinagar born Advocate, Journalist and Public man. From his School age he was in politics and was considered a good Urdu speaker. It earned him name of “Lecturer” as many other School mates started calling him so in view of his speaking ability. In or around 1947, he joined Socialist Students camp as a junior student worker when the two student leaders from Delhi (Shri Joshi and another) heard Shri Kaul’s forcible speech in Urdu in the lawns of the School. Accompanied by Kashmiri Socialist Student Leader, Com. Someshwar Nath Kaul and others, the student leaders were so much impressed by Shri Kaul’s speech that they invited him to Delhi for delivering speeches at some places.
Shri Pyare Lal Kaul was for long associated with Socialist Parties particularly with Praja Socialist Party and was one of their Election Campaigner outside the State. When Shri Kaul was in Delhi in early Sixties and doing his law, he was the Joint Secretary of SYS, their youth wing in Delhi. He was also running English Weekly Vakil from Delhi during that period, the publication of which (Urdu weekly Vakil, an ancestral Paper) was stopped by the Kashmir Government. Shri Kaul had lost his father in an Air Crash already when he was too young. After his father’s tragic death, Kaul’s elder brother Shri Poshkar Nath Kaul Vakil sought the Govt. permission to run the paper Vakil which was then also banned by the State Government. After running the paper for some time, he relinquished the Declaration of the Vakil and Shri Kaul
stepped in, in early fifties. He was the youngest Printer, Publisher and Editor of a Newspaper in Kashmir.
The “Vakil” Delhi, however, could not last long, though the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Late Mr. Bakshi Ghulam Mohd. Wanted him to come back to Srinagar and join National Conference which Shri Kaul had refused to. The Vakil Delhi had taken a strong line of criticism against Kashmir Government. Regarding marriage by a Muslim boy whose father was connected with National Conference, to a Hindu girl of Rainawari, Srinagar (later on reconversion became known as Shakti Bharti case) the “Vakil”, Delhi daringly exposed the whole matter. This Issue of the Vakil was banned in Srinagar, but some of the Hindu hawkers of Raina’s News Agency Srinagar secretly sold many of these copies at a very high price of Rs 5/ a copy.
During this period, Mr. Brahma Prakash, a former Chief Minister of Delhi also tried to intervene and arrive at a compromise with Kashmir Government, and change the policy towards Kashmir Govt. But Shri Kaul did not respond favourably.
After qualifying in LLB from Delhi University, Shri Pyare Lal Kaul enrolled himself as an Advocate and started practice in Delhi. But on the request of his Senior Socialist Leaders he went back to Srinagar to practice and to revive the Party there.
Shri Kaul has been one of the earlier and valiant fighters for Civil Liberties in Kashmir. In 1957, his Nomination form to contest the J&K Assembly Election as a PSP candidate from Amira Kadal Constituency against the then Industries and Commerce Minister, Late Shri Shyam Lal Saraf, Shri Kaul’s proposer was kidnapped and Nomination paper rejected. His struggle, however, continued unabated. His Urdu book “Kashmir ke Shab-w-Roz” published in early seventies also bears it out.
Shri Kaul was General Secretary of State Janata Party and also of Janata Dal. Many a time, he differed openly and strongly with the Kashmir policy of Central High Command. He has not bothered for his suspension from the Party on this account along- with some other colleagues by the Central Leaderships like President Shri Chandra Shekhar. In 1983, Prime Minister of India, Smt. Indira Gandhi sent him messages to join Congress Party which he avoided though his colleagues were prepared to join the Congress.
After displacement from Srinagar also in 1990 in the wake of terrorism and victimization, Shri Pyare Lal Kaul continued his politics of realism and other activities, least bothering for being the State General Secretary of the Ruling Party.. He has argued many important cases in different courts including “genocide of Kashmiri Pandits” before the national Human Rights Commission, New Delhi. The Commission observed that their conditions in Kashmir were “akin to genocide”.
Shri Kaul’s reputed books include “Crisis in Kashmir”, “Kashmir Trail and Travail,” “Kashmir War or Peace” (all in English) and “Kashmir Ke Shabe Roz”in Urdu . His books are reflecting the Kashmir political trends, currents and cross currents and narration of important facts and events which hardly find mention in other books. For his bold exposure of truth about Kashmir, it was acknowledged on public level also. Shri Kaul was presented with Prem Nath Bhat Memorial Trust Award in 1994 at Abhinav Theatre, Jammu. He was honoured by a Committee of the Citizens of Jammu specially formed for this purpose, in a function held at Dak Banglow Jammu in 1996. It was presided over by late Mr. Justice Janki Nath Bhat and Chief Guest was Late Mr. P.L.Handoo, the then Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, J&K
Government. It was stated in the citation that Mr Kaul is the Jonaraja of Kashmir. Mr Pyare Lal Handoo had said that there are three types of writers one who don’t get recognition for their writing, others who get recognition for their work after death and those who get recognition and fame during their lifetime and Mr Kaul belonged to that category. Shri Kaul was given Award by All India Newspaper Owners Conference in Constitution Club, Delhi in 1997 and the award was presented to him by Shri Sahib Singh Verma, the then Chief Minister of Delhi. Shri Kaul was awarded by NARO, a reputed NGO of India in 2000. The Award was also presented by Shri Sahib Singh Verma. He was honoured by Kashmiri Samiti, Delhi in its Kashmiri Pandits International Delegates Conference, held in New Delhi on December 26, 2005. Shri Kaul was a man of various interests. He was also a short story writer.
