राज्य युद्ध स्मारक, धर्मशाला (हि.प्र.)

State War Memorial, Dharamshala (H.P)

राज्य युद्ध स्मारक, धर्मशाला (हि.प्र.)

State War Memorial, Dharamshala (H.P)

ABOUT US

It was a great thought that inspired some people who mooted the idea of immortalising the soldierly deeds of those who did not return home by inscribing their names in golden letters. Thus came in existence the War Memorial (Yudh Samark) at Dharamshala to which the emotions, feelings, philosophy and music was lent by Prof. Chander Varker, the then MLA of Dharamshala constituency. Its foundation stone was laid on 24th Feb. 1972 by the builder of Himachal Pradesh and former Chief Minister late Dr. Y.S. Parmar. The ideas of Prof. Chander Varker were translated into stone and lime by an Architect of CPWD Delhi. Smt. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India had consented to inaugurate the monument. However, due to change in the political scene, Sh. Shanta Kumar, the then Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh had the unique honour to dedicate this State Monument to the people of Himachal Pradesh on 28 Sep 1977.

This Memorial honours the Himachal War Heroes who fell defending the Honour of Bharat Mata (India), our mother, during aggressions by Pakistan in 1947-48, by China in 1962, and by Pakistan in 1965, 1971, 1999, peace keeping operations in Sri Lanka, and during some peace operations under United Nations auspices.

Till the year 2001, the War memorial was managed by the Civil Administration. The general public, especially the military veterans, were dissatisfied with the condition of the Memorial. This was brought to the notice of the then Chief Minister, Shri P K Dhumal by the then Vice President, Sainik Welfare, Col S C Parmar (Retired). The Chief Minister directed that an NGO, primarily composed of Ex-Servicemen, be formed and the management of the Memorial be handed over to them. This decision was finally implemented vide H.P. Government letter No GAI-E (F)4-15/2000 dated 01 Aug 2001.

Patrons

Patron in Chief    Hon’ble Governor of Himachal Pradesh
Chief Patrons
  • Hon’ble Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh
  • General Officer Commanding of Local Army Formation

 

Founding Members

The founding members of the NGO are:-

  1. Col S C Parmar (Veteran). Convenor.
  2. Lt Col SNS Gurung (Veteran).
  3. Sh P N Sharma.
  4. Prof Chanderverkar.
  5. Sh Tek Chand Rana, Advocate.
  6. Capt D R Sharma (Veteran).
  7. Lt Col M G Sharma (Veteran).
  8. Captain H B Thapa (Veteran).
  9. Lt Col G B Thapa (Veteran).
  10. Lt Col Amar Singh (Veteran).
  11. JWO K C Thakur (Veteran), Advocate.
  12. Lt Col Naresh Sanghoee (Veteran).
  13. Capt S M Abrol (Veteran).
  14. Lt Col Multan Singh (Veteran).
  15. Sh S K Aggarwal.
  16. Lt Col Kashmir Singh (Veteran).
  17. Sh G S Chambial.

 

First Managing Committee

  1. Lt Col M G Sharma (Veteran) – Chairman.
  2. Sh P N Sharma – Vice Chairman.
  3. Capt D R Sharma (Veteran) – Secretary.
  4. Lt Col G B Thapa (Veteran) – Treasurer.

 

Members

  1. Prof Chander Verkar, Ex MLA.
  2. Col S C Parmar (Veteran). Also convenor.
  3. Sh Tek Chand Rana, Advocate.
  4. JWO K C Thakur (Veteran), Advocate.
  5. Lt Col Naresh Sanghoee (Veteran).
  6. Lt Col Multan Singh Rana (Veteran).
  7. Lt Col S N S Gurung (Veteran).

 

Special Invitees

 

  1. Sh S K Aggarwal.
  2. Lt Col Kashmir Singh (Veteran).
  3. Capt S K Abrol (Veteran).
  4. Sh K C Sharma.
  5. Sh G S Chambial.

 

The society has been renamed as HP State War Memorial Service and Development Society (War Memorial Society in short).

The society has 130 members at present. It is administered by a Governing Council of 17 members, which has a President who is elected by the members for a period of three years. The President then selects his team, which forms the Governing Council. This includes a Vice President, General Secretary, Treasurer, and committees are formed for maintenance, purchase and so on.The council meets once a month at the minimum, though the administration of the Memorial is a duty that needs constant attention, and more often than not, the council meets more often.

The present President is Col K K S Dadwal (Veteran), the Vice President is Lt Col Jai Ganesh Singh (Veteran), Advocate, the General Secretary is Dr Sanjay Bhardwaj, the Assistant Secretary is JWO K C Takur (Veteran), Advocate, and the Treasurer is Col Puneet Tewari (Veteran).