REMBEMBERING J N ZUTSHI , A FREEDOM FIGHTER , A BUREAUCRAT AND A A MAN WHO NEVER COMPROMISED WITH PRINCIPLES

                                                                                        

Sheikh Mohd Abdullah and J N Zutshi at New Delhi Air Port..Proceeding to New York in December 1949 .

J N Zutshi ..

His friends included poet Dina Nath Naadim , Sh . D P. Dhar , Shri G M Sadiq, Prof Apurab Som Nath and many more.. Post 1947, he was the first Director-General of Radio Kashmir, who also held the post of the Secretary, State Information . He was instrumental in getting the state Emblem designed and also starting Radio Station from Jammu ( Started  functioning from   1-12-1947 ).

 Along with K N Bamzai , Sh J N Zutshi is reported to have met BPL Bedi several times in Srinagar prior to drafting of "Naya kashmir Manifesto " . He was a prominent figure among the Pro Russia Group of intellectuals in kashmir. He was upright, down to earth and a lover of books.He was a freedom fighter and  very close to Sheikh Mohd Abdullah . For his proximity to Sheikh , he faced  imprisonment for some months in 1953. He was a gifted writer who wrote all  the speeches of  Sheikh Mohd Abdullah and  later Bakshi Ghulam Mohd .

Along with R C Raina , another bureaucrat , he was the key architect of  implementing the radical land Reforms in the state ( Land to the Tiller ) as envisaged in "Naya kashmir Document  of 1944 ".

                                                                

 (In March  1952, a top delegation of Turkish Journalists  that included Mr. Refii Cevat Ulunay, Dogan Nadi, Madam Adviye Fenik, Dr. Ahmet Sukru Esmer and Mr. Ahmet Yemin Ualman visited kashmir and  Shri J N Zutshi played chief Host to this V V I P Team. In the above photograph , Shri  Zutshi is taking Refii Cevat Ulunay on a Boat Trip of  downtown Srinagar)

 

Adds Shri Mohammad Sayeed Malik:

“J N Zutshi has been my guru in profession. A hard task master. His power of understanding an issue was remarkable. His terrific sense of humor was his sharpest weapon to cut his way through any situation. He was imprisoned in 1953 for some time along with Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. When I happened to take his over-sized seat ( as Director Information in 1976) he personally greeted me and offered valuable tips. We remained good friends till he quit this world. It was Shamim Ahmed Shamim had introduced us to each other in 1960s.”

 

Shri Ram Krishen Sadhu adds :

“ The late J N Zutshi was not just an outstanding writer, he was a master of humour and repartee and an excellent human being. From 1947 to 1953 all important political documents were drafted by him and he enjoyed Sheikh Sahib's full confidence. When Radio Kasmiri was started it was a State Govt organisation. Also the  Field Publicity Organisation was started by him  which was equipped with mobile vans and equipment. These vans were  moving in different parts of the State presenting to the common man entertainment as well as political awareness. Zutshi Sahib till 1953,  was the Director General Information & Broadcasting as also the Secretary. He was closely connected with BPL Bedi who had been   putting the political and economic content into the programmes of the N C Government. I have had the good luck of sharing some evenings with him (he was almost my father's contemporary) ànd it used to be a thrilling and informative experience to discuss any subject with him. A very well read and an intellectual of a high order, he   never compromised on his dignity. Such exceptional people are rerely  found now. He headed a number of Organisations like Field Survey Organisation, Stationery & Printing, Census etc. He was not restored to his status that he enjoyed in the  past glorious period because he could not become a yes man.”

( Autar Mota )

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