A Tribute to the One-Man Army: Shri Arjan Dass Aggarwal Ji (14.11.1922 – 01.01.2011)

By Adv. Prachi Kohli

A young man with a brave heart and zest to do something for his fellow countrymen, a devotee to his career of horticulture, a helping hand in times of need, a big brother to all, a uniting force, the one-man army- is how we remember this great legend, our Founder President, Late Shri Arjan Dass Aggarwal ji. Since his youth, he had a great will to help his fellow professionals and was actively involved in social welfare and charitable works.
He was born to a business family and was the youngest among three brothers and four sisters. He had to drop out of school early to support his family business. However, this was short-lived. He then went on to take care of his ancestral agricultural lands where he grew vegetables and flowers under his supervision. On his visit to Saharanpur and Agra, he came to know about the nursery business and developing plants and seeds. Initial years into this business were hard due to a number of problems such as lack of labour, climatic conditions, market availability and especially the fact that the distance of his livelihood was far from any railway or bus station that could ease transportation to market. He then purchased a minuscule piece of land of about 12acres near the railway station. By this time, his son, Sh. Madan Gopal finished his matriculation and joined him. They both started pursuing the nursery business in full swing.

Sh. Arjan ji began visiting various nurseries around his locality and state and began his study and lifelong research of nursery conditions. Owing to his innovative thinking, he diversified farming and earmarked 50% of the total area for the development of gardens with many fruit plants, 25% for nursery and floriculture, and the remaining 25% for routine crops. His great devotion to the field of nursery led him to visit the Netherlands twice to study their horticulture industry and techniques. From there he introduced the latest varieties of Gladioli back at home. He is also revered for introducing Rosa damascena for the first time in the Kaithal domain and processing rose flowers at his own farm. His expertise earned its name in Haryana as well as in other states in the field of horticulture. His passion for travelling took him to every corner of the country catering to nurseries and nurserymen across India.

He also nurtured a great hobby for reading and writing and often stayed in touch with the Universities to track updates about the latest technologies available and the new varieties that emerged. He owned a big library on horticulture. This hobby turned into a passion with the publishing of a monthly magazine that he started with his son on the kitchen garden and terrace planting, amongst other things.

Eventually, he started consolidating the details of various nurseries and nurserymen and publishing them in a directory for the benefit of all. This then led to the formation of an association of nurserymen to collectively deal with the problems that were commonly faced by them. This also helped them become aware of the commercial aspects of the nursery business such as the availability of various plants, bulbs, seeds and other horticultural products within the country in different states. By 1986, with great struggle and sometimes even by foot, he had toured nearly every state and spread the arms of the association from North to South and East to West and across the spectrum of the nation. This year also saw organization and structure in the association as a proper format of enrollment was released for INA membership. Then he developed the state-wise groups or chapters, as we call them today, to come up with their problems and issues and take them up with the governmental horticulture departments.

He nurtured the association along with his son Madan Gopal who was the founder secretary. They also published a monthly newspaper titled ‘Nursery News’ to enlighten about the association’s activities and a directory of the nurserymen periodically updating their details. The first All India Nurseryman association convention was held in Delhi where the then Agriculture Minister of India was the chief guest. From then onwards, nearly every year, this convention was held in M.P., Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra, Haryana and Punjab.

A great loss occurred when Sh. Madan Gopal after a short illness left for a heavenly abode in 2000. This did not stop INA activities and it continued under the wing of Sh. Arjan Dass like many volunteers joined the hands. The office-bearers of INA participated in the Melas and conventions of various State Horticulture Departments and other organizations like Pusa Institute of Delhi, Agriculture university of Hisar (Haryana) and Ludhiana (Punjab) and represented the nurserymen at all levels- Central, State and Union, like Chandigarh for the redressal of the nurserymen’s problems.

There are very few people who dedicate their entire life to the cause of others. Late Shri Arjan Dass Agarwal ji was undoubtedly one of them who played a legendary role in uniting the nurserymen for the holistic growth of the nursery sector and allied industries. His vision, dedication and untiring efforts paved the way for the formation of the Indian Nurserymen Association in 1987. He was always ahead of his time and used his awareness and knowledge in the development of horticulture and agriculture. The seeds sowed by him have grown into a beautiful plant as we see INA today. The Indian Nurserymen Association continues to be a platform for reciprocal thinking, innovations, problem-solving and making strategies for the progressive growth of the nursery industry in the country.

Tribute from INA President Sh. Y.P. Singh
We cherish the teachings that you have taught us and intend to take your vision to new heights. We are forever grateful to you for your untiring efforts and dedication. You are truly an inspiration to us all.