When Jawahar Lal Nehru prepared tea for USA based Engineer Slokam at construction site of Bhakhra dam temple of modern India.
Gustakhi maaf Haryana-Pawan Kumar Bansal.
Bhakra Dam’s Forgotten Hero – The great creator of India’s first modern temple (Bhakra Dam), USA based ,Engineer Slokam. A Slokam Memorial should be built in his honor at the dam, even though his picture is displayed at the Nehru Center. In his book “Dynamic Story of the Bhakra,” C.B. Shoeran rightly pays tribute to the American engineer Slokam, who was appointed by the Government of India on his terms to oversee the construction of the Bhakra Dam. “Gustakhi maaf Haryana” supports this demand, as it would inspire today’s engineers, who, with a few exceptions, have become somewhat greedy. The then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru held Slokam in such high regard that once, during a site visit, he personally made tea for him. And surprisingly, BJP leaders often claim that Nehru and Congress did nothing for the country’s development.
Living a luxurious life in the United States, Slokam stayed on-site for almost a decade. His emotional attachment to the site was so deep that, despite suffering two heart attacks, he refused to have heart specialists flown in from Delhi or the USA by the Indian and Punjab governments, and instead, he was satisfied with whatever medical treatment was available at Nangal hospital. Perhaps he wanted to die in the lap of Bhakra, so he deliberately did not leave. If he had wanted, he could have received the best treatment anywhere in the world. Sheoran writes that Slokam’s wife arrived in Nangal from the US at 8 am on November 11, 1961, and Slokam took his last breath at 11:50 am, while sipping orange juice and lying in her lap. The great creator of India’s first modern temple is no more, and a somber atmosphere filled the colony. All the residents came to pay their tribute to the great creator, who now lives on in stories. His body was sent to the United States, and in October 1962, just a year before the dam reached its full height and a few months before the completion of his ten-year contract, he passed away at the age of 74. Sheoran further writes that the Indian nation can never repay its debt. Generations will remember him as the pioneer of a developmental and revolutionary era in India’s dam-building history, an era created by the engineers of the department.
Slokam, a short-statured man with brilliant, keen, and shining eyes, was a colorful personality in the world of dam construction. He was an avid reader of technical books and construction magazines. He was curious about everything around him. He often told Indian engineers, “Education alone will not lead to success. Look at the problem, understand it, and then take swift action with firm determination, which will take you to the top.” He found the Bhakra connection the toughest in his career, but with courage and determination, he faced every problem, inspired hundreds of engineers, and was the only person to successfully eliminate red tape in India. Though he lived alone in Nangal, he never went to clubs or other social events. Despite the fact that his stomach was highly sensitive to Indian food, he only ate canned food from the American Embassy in New Delhi and preferred to chew some white tablets, instead of drinking water, to quench his thirst at the worksite. But when his suggestion to blast the mountain to close the diversion tunnel after the Laharak room collapse was not accepted, he was shocked. He felt that the Indian engineers were no longer giving him the attention they once did. He felt that his suggestions were not being respected, and his indispensability at work had become doubtful. Surprisingly, this discouraged and disheartened him, which perhaps led to his death.
Retired Haryana Engineer in chief irrigation,R.K. Garg shared an interesting incident about Slokam’s working style: “Once, he sent a telegram to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, requesting camels for the site. Nehru couldn’t understand what camels would do at the site. In fact, he was upset because the railway was not arranging for wagons to transport construction material to the site. Slokam told him he would prefer to carry the material by camel. Needless to say, the railway officers were instructed, and the required number of wagons were arranged according to Slokam’s request.” It is not too late, and the governments of India, Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh can still pay tribute to him.
Modi should ensure that a stamp is issued in Slokam’s memory. While the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya is welcome, the true hero of the country’s modern temple should also be honored. I hope my advice is taken in the right spirit, and Modi will not hold any grudges against me.
7th January, 2024. “Tips for Investigative Journalism” author of three best-selling books on Haryana’s politics, culture, and governance, Pawan Bansal can be contacted at [email protected].
— Nehru making tea for engineer Slokam at the dam site.