SRINAGAR: Gujjar leader and former Member of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council Choudhary Gulzar Ahmed Khatana passed away at his native Dhanor village. He was 90.
Family sources said the erstwhile writer was suffering from a heart ailment for the last few years and breathed his last Thursday afternoon. He is being laid to rest at Danhur on Friday at 11 am.
Born in 1931, at Akhnor Jammu, his father Choudhary Dewan Ali was a Zaildar and founder member of Gujjar Jat Conference, a primer organization of Gujjars founded in 1932.
Choudhary Gulzar was the author of 12 books in Gojri and Urdu. He was a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council during 1961-66. A well-travelled person, he was well versed with Persian, Urdu, Arabic, and Sanskrit besides regional languages Gojri, Dogri, and Punjabi. He had travelled to UAE, Iraq, Iran, and Turkey. He was the eye witness of happenings of 1947.
For most of his life, people who know him said, Choudhary was too much into spirituality and faith. He would normally have speeches in the Jamia Masjid Rajouri.
Pir Panchal historian, Khush Dev Mani has said that Gujjars have lost a prominent and graceful person and Pir Panchal region a great writer. “He was most respected intellectual personality, very soft by nature and supporter communal harmony,” Mani wrote on Facebook. “He was heaving command on Hindu religion and thoughts of Vedas. Gulzar sahib properly guided me when l was writing History of Rajouri when I was working as Chief Planning Officer Rajouri during 1999-2000. He used to come to my office and share his valuable knowledge of history culture and religions.”
