Throughout Dr Dhani Ram Saggar’s life he committed himself to serving the community. In his pamphlet ‘Religion according to Gandhi’ he wrote: “Gandhi believed that we can find God through labour for the service of our fellow beings.” This attitude is highlighted through participation at peace rallies, advocation for recognition of animal rights, campaigns for relief for the Bengal Famine and his role as founding secretary of Dundee’s branch of the Friends of India Association.
In the lead up to the Nazis invading Poland in 1939 reports of tensions between the European powers were widely discussed. Dhani was a strong advocate for peace, attending rallies and giving numerous talks and speeches. At a large-scale peace procession in Dundee in June 1936, Dhani gave a six-minute speech along with representatives from organisations such as the Workers Union, League of Nations Union and Dundee's Women's Organisations. The following year, he gave a speech at the Arbroath Peace Meeting in Webster Memorial Hall. Unfortunately, such events could not prevent Nazi Germany’s determination for conflict.
In 1942, a devastating famine was reported in Bengal, which was exacerbated by a destructive cyclone and the events of the Second World War, preventing rice imports from neighbouring Burma. In Dundee the local papers spread awareness of the catastrophe and in 1943 an Indian Famine Relief Fund was established with Dhani as Secretary. From 1943-45 Dhani and fellow committee members set up a gift shop at the War Charities Centre, 46 High Street, as well as going house-to-house with collecting tins and organising many public events. Dhani wrote in the Evening Telegraph: “A small gift from you will mean a great gift to the famine-stricken people of India. Dundee has had a long association with India, and we are confident that this hour of need the Citizens of Dundee will be anxious to lend a helping hand.” As the war came to an end, the committee wrote to the Courier that over three and a half million people had died in the famine and funds and support were still greatly needed. In 1947, Dhani was honoured for his work as Secretary of the Relief Fund with a special presentation at a meeting of some 80 members of the Dundee Branch of the Friends of India Association.
Dhani was not only concerned with the welfare of his fellow human beings. He was also a dedicated vegetarian and argued through the teachings of his faith that animals were “brethren” and should not be harmed. There had been various attempts to establish a Vegetarian Society in Dundee but all had petered out due to lack of members. Dhani seems to played an important role in either forming a new society or resurrecting an older one, and spoke out publicly in support of his beliefs. In September 1937, Dhani was invited to give a talk at Logie Hall on Scott Street for an event called ‘Religion from the Layman’s Point of View’, attended by around 500 people. The Courier reported that he caused a stir by asking “how anyone who professed a faith in Jesus can sit down at a table and eat a lamb chop?” He drew attention to “a popular picture of Jesus carrying a lamb on His shoulder, which conveyed His mercy towards the animal kingdom. Hindus did not take any meat. Mohammedans wouldn’t eat pigs. But Christians could eat everything.” In the discussion afterwards one woman pointed out “that they were taught that bodies required animal protein to build up the cells. Dr Saggar said he was 31 and his “cells had never needed animal protein.”
At many of these events and appearances, Dhani spoke not just on his own behalf but also as a representative from the Dundee Branch of the Friends of India Association. This was formed in 1934 with Dhani as Secretary. For 32 years he arranged many notable events promoting positive links with and awareness of India. For example, after Gandhi was assassinated in 1948, a city tribute was staged by the Friends and the Lord Provost. Some 250 people assembled at Morison Evangelical Union Church including Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, many of whom were local students. And in September 1953, Dhani invited the High Commissioner for India, Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher, to visit the city. He gave a talk to students at Dundee Technical College and then an address on Gandhi at a commemoration service held by the Friends of India.
Overall, Dhani contributed much to Indian-Scottish relations, raising awareness of the suffering of his fellow humans and animals, and placing the philosophy of Gandhi at the heart of his actions. His social and spiritual actions would not be forgotten.
Dr Dhani Ram Saggar died on 7 May 1973 at the age of 66. The Courier reported that he was “apparently in good health on Sunday when he spoke for an hour at a meeting of the Friends of Gandhi”, as the Dundee Friends of India was now known. He had collapsed shortly afterwards and was rushed to Dundee Royal Infirmary but died the next day of a brain haemorrhage.
He was remembered not only for his work as a General Practitioner and an active charity campaigner, but he also left a strong impression on the religious community of Dundee. Dhani was born into a Hindu family in India and “the atmosphere and upbringing of the early years of my life [laid] the foundation of my attitude of having equal respect for all the faiths of the world”. Writing in his pamphlet ‘The Essence of Religion’, he continued: “There is oneness running through all faiths. There is a difference in ritual, in garb, in words and in customs but if one tears down these non-essential things, one finds at rock bottom there is one Truth.” He therefore “adopted a spirit of friendliness and equal respect towards all religions” and this influenced how he interacted with the community of Dundee and the wider world.
Dhani was inclusive in his attitude, giving talks and lectures about Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Kabir and Guru Nanak. These were hosted in many different venues, including the Mathers Hotel, the Williamson Memorial Unitarian Church, the University of Dundee and the Dundee Art Society rooms. Such was his desire to find common ground in different religions that years after he died, he was recalled by a writer to the St Andrews Citizen in 1986 as “what one would think of as a truly practising Christian, but he was a Hindu.”
In October 1974, Dhani and his brother Jainti, who died in 1954, were honoured by the Dundee Education Committee and the Friends of Gandhi Association. A library specialising in Indian history and philosophy was opened at Jainti’s former home, 26 Byron Street, by their nephew Dr Karam Dev Saggar (also a GP), to commemorate them by making accessible their collection of books and pamphlets. Bailie J L Stewart presided over the opening and “spoke of the work of both brothers for the city of Dundee and of the debt owed to them by so many.” Dr T E Faulkner, Convener of Dundee Education Committee, read from selected passages and Mr S K Mazunder, Secretary of the Friends of Gandhi said “he hoped the library would provide a focal point for the Friends and help bring together people of different race and creed.” Unfortunately, the library at 26 Byron Street has since closed and the building demolished, but some of Dhani’s pamphlets can be found at Dundee Central Library.
As a Hindu, Dhani’s funeral and cremation service would traditionally have been held 24 hours after his death, but other commitments at Dundee Crematorium meant that it took place three days after, on 10 May 1973. The Indian Funeral Company notes that the Hindu funeral process is a “key event that symbolises the soul's return to its origin. It acts as a link between our world and the spiritual one.” A small service was held for Dhani at the home of his nephew, 27 Albany Terrace, and instead of flowers, donations to Oxfam were requested.
Dhani’s niece Kamala summed him up as “Medical Practitioner. Family Historian. Avid Traveller. Writer. Philosopher”. However, the life and career of Dr Dhani Ram Saggar can best be judged by his actions and in his channelling of Gandhi’s words: “Be the change that you wish to see in the world,” Dhani lived to change the world for the better.
By Johanna Steele
Sources
Arbroath Guide 30 January 1937
Dundee Courier 26 June 1936, 16 September 1937, 11 December 1943, 16 October 1945, 24 October 1945, 9 February 1948, 30 September 1953, 8 May 1973, 28 October 1974
Dundee Evening Telegraph 11 September 1937, 5 January 1944
The Scotsman 9 May 1973
St Andrews Citizen 28 March 1986
‘Bengal Famine: Tracking down the last survivors of WW2's forgotten tragedy’, 23 February 2024 at bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-68311520
‘Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher’ at www.constitutionofindia.net/members/b-g-kher
D R Saggar, ‘Religion according to Gandhi’, 25 October 1964 (Local History Centre, Dundee Central Library, Lamb Collection 346 (8))
Janice Murray and David Stockdale, The Miles Tae Dundee: Stories of a City and its People, Dundee Art Galleries & Museums, 1990
plus see sources to Part One
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