Mr. Janki Nath Ganju - A Tribute
By Autar K. Mattoo
Excerpts from: Kashmir Today
"This will be a major loss to India
and the United States. We are all very
sad. He was a lovely man. We will certainly miss him.
We lose a great Indian
friend and the United States also loses
a major force for American-Indian
friendship."
- John Kenneth Galbraith,
former US Ambassador to India and a
Harvard University scholar.
"Shri Ganju served India as public relations consultant with dedication
and unsurpassed knowledge of the political landscape in Washington, D.C.
and had easy access to people who matter in the Administration, the Congress and the media."
- India's Vice President K.R. Narayanan.
"Janki Ganju dreamt of India, he
thought of India and he worked for India. He will be sorely missed."
- Ambassador S.S. Ray.
"An era has ended with the passing of Janki Nath Ganju."
- R.S., Express India.
"Ganju, who was affectionately
known as ''Mr. India," perhaps
single-handedly did more than anyone
else to deepen bilateral understanding
between the world's largest democracies,
India and USA, first as a diplomat and
then as a lobbyist, was close to several
Indian prime ministers, witnessed the
administration of eight American Presidents and helped smooth the way for 10 Indian ambassadors here."
- Aziz Hanifa, India Abroad.
"Ganju was a life member of the
National Press Club, from where he had
the rare distinction of introducing three
generations of Indian prime ministers - Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and
Rajiv Gandhi to press gathering in USA."
- Vasantha Arora, India West.
Ganju Sahib had the zest for life reminiscent of mysticism expressed by Kashmiri poets like Swami Govind jee Kaul of Wanpoh, Kashmir.
Not only was Ganju Sahib a proud and loyal Indian, he, having been born and raised in Kashmir, stayed loyal to his birthplace and country till the very end. He spoke Kashmiri, cooked Kashmiri meal, followed Kashmiri calendar and culture, regularly visited Kashmir and interacted with Kashmiris world over. It pained him very much to see his birthplace, once called "Paradise on Earth", fall prey in the last six years to extremists who have turned Kashmir into a virtual hell. The pain must have been deeply hurting because, due to his close association with India's politics and the privilege to know the inside story, he must have found himself helpless in seeing Kashmir deteriorate and become a terrorist's haven. He very likely knew more than he could tell much before the situation in Kashmir actually deteriorated because several years ago he advised a delegation of resident Kashmiri Hindus to do whatever they could to get their families and relatives out of Kashmir and rehabilitate them into the rest of India. Those present did not take Ganju Sahib seriously until many years later when it was too late to do much.
The great chef that Ganju Sahib was he uniquely, properly and effectively utilized his culinary and social skills in merging pleasure with business. He would arrange an informal press conference or a meeting important to the interests of India at his place on the Linnean Avenue. He would spend days cooking delicious Kashmiri cuisine for the invited dignitories. Following the dinner, he would spark the discussion with a simple question and request the parties concerned to deliberate. Not only were such parties enjoyable and well attended, a lot of important connections would be made, certain mistakes rectified, and India's position seen in a positive delight.
Ganju Sahib contributed enormously to India and lived a full though short life. He is gone but his memories will stay as near and dear as yesterday. May God rest his soul in peace! I feel he enriched my life and I thank him for his friendship. If I were to see him tomorrow, I would recount to him the following Rubaiya't of Omar Khayya'm: