Meet ‘rebel chaser’ Gurdaspur native who penned lives of Dulla Bhatti, Jagga Daku

Monday, 27/07/2015

http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

MARYLAND (WASHINGTON): Punjabis settled million of miles away still yearn to maintain a connection with their land.

Dharam Singh Goraya at his house in Waldorf area of Maryland in Washington.

For Gurdaspur native Dharam Singh Goraya (63), who is now settled in the Waldorf area of Maryland, ‘chasing Punjabi rebels’ and writing books on them has been a way to reinforce his connect with the border district.

Goraya migrated to the US in the early 1970s and has written four books. Two of these are based on important characters from Punjabi folklore — Jagga Dakku and Dulla Bhatti.

Goraya, who completed his masters in Economics from Punjabi University, Patiala, has written ‘Jagga Dakku – A Noble Rebel’ and ‘Dulla Bhatti — A Legendary Warrior of Punjab’.

“I was inspired to write about these characters as I belong to the border area of Punjab,” said Goraya. “I think they (Jagga Dakku and Dulla Bhatti) have not been done justice by writers, so I tracked them to their native places,” Goraya told HT, adding he visited Ransinghwala village near Kasur in Pakistan, the native place of Jagga Dakku, and Pindi Bhatian village of district Hafizabad, the native place of Dulla Bhatti.

“When I lived in the border area of Punjab, it was a struggle for survival due to under-development. To save self-respect, people tended to be violent. However, this did not make anybody a criminal. My contention is that Jagga and Dulla were also forced to take to the gun by circumstances,” adds Goraya.

In the 1960s, due to long association with CPI (M), it was difficult for Goraya to live in Punjab so he left for Germany and subsequently sneaked into Toronto to finally come to the US.

“To write about the people who walk against the current during different times in history is now my passion,” said Goraya who remains in touch with the family of Jagga’s daughter Resham Kaur (96), who lives in Vannwala village, part of Lambi constituency.

NEXT PROJECT ON CUBAN REVOLUTIONARY

With the opening of the Cuban Embassy in the US (at Washington) after 54 years, Goraya has decided to record the historic event by writing a book on Che Guevara, who played a vital role in Cuban Revolution (1959). “I want to put things in the right perspective. I want to track the journey of another rebel.” Goraya told HT.