Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 23: 95-year old Rup Lal Rohmetra, veteran RSS Pracharak and an associate of Praja Parishad founder Pt Prem Nath Dogra as well as Prof Balraj Madhok of Jang Sangh, was honoured by Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Smriti Irani for his services to the organization.
The felicitation was held during release of special edition of RSS mouthpiece `Organizer’ and `Panchajnya’ on turning 70, at Teen Murti Bhawan, New Delhi on Monday. While Smriti Irani was chief guest, Dr Manmohan Vaidya, Akhil Bhartiya Prachar Pramukh, RSS, delivered special address on the occasion.
Rup Lal Rohmetra, son of Late Sukh Ram Dass Rohmetra was born on 14.11.1922 at village Mula Chakh in tehsil R S Pura of Jammu district. He completed his graduation from Prince of Wales Colleges Jammu. During college days, around 1940, he joined RSS and became Pracharak. He was looking after the affairs of RSS in Reasi and after 1947, was shifted to Udhampur to look after whole Jammu region. During that period, Prof Balraj Madhok, Pandit Prem Nath Dogra and Madho Rao were his associates. During Praja Parishad movement in 1949, Pandit Prem Nath Dogra along with Rup Lal Rohmetra and 300 others were arrested. Rup Lal also led a student agitation in Jammu on 15.1.1952 against hoisting of State Flag alongside Indian National Flag. He was again arrested along with many other students.
During civil disobedience campaign by Praja Parishad in 1952 against the permit system at Lakhanpur, Rup Lal was given charge at Pathankot to guide people coming from other parts of India to participate in the agitation. On 11.5.1953, Dr Shyama Prasad Mukharjee along with Rup Lal Rohmetra, Pt Prem Nath Dogra and others, was arrested for entering into J&K without permit. They were kept in Srinagar Central Jail where Dr Mukharjee died under mysterious circumstances. In order to avoid further agitation, then Sheikh Abdullah Government released Rup Lal and other leaders.
Rup Lal got married on 30th September, 1952 and in 1959, he shifted to Delhi where he joined `Organiser’. He was instrumental in helping Jan Sangh to bring its own daily newspaper ‘Mother Land’, which was, however, closed down during emergency in 1975 after the Government snapped its electricity and water supply.
Even during emergency, he kept actively helping the party in promoting its agenda. His association with Jammu continued and he regularly visited here in every election to help the local BJP till the year 2002. Though, he is 95 years old now, Rup Lal is still continuing his back stage support to BJP.
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