This is the story of one of the old
sons of Sikkim, namely, that of Shri
Atal Singh Dewan who held a humble
post of a Forest Ranger in the
Department but rose on to become
one of the ablest administrators in
the then regime of the Chogyal.
Shri A.S. Dewan, like many of
the then appointees in the Forest
Department, hailed from Railing
Estate, Darjeeling District.
Born in September 1894, he passed
his matriculation in 1918 from
Calcutta University and joined the
Sikkim Darbar Service as a school
teacher in 1918. Mr. Dewan seems
to be an ambitious and career
conscious personality as he kept on
looking for appropriate channels to
prove his mantle. In this pursuit, he
joined the Forest Department as a
Cashier. Not satisfied, he requested
the Darbar for Ranger’s training
which the Darbar acceded. He
underwent training in 1921-22 and
joined as Range Officer at Namchi
where he served for 15 years
with occasional transfers to other
Ranges.
Recognizing his talent and ability
he was called upon by the Darbar
to handle higher responsibilities
and in the year 1943 joined the
Rationing Department as Assistant
Rationing Officer subsequently to
be promoted as Rationing Officer
and then as Textile Commissioner.
During those politically turbulent
years Mr. Dewan had once again
to change his garb and became
a Tahsildar in West District, a job
which he did for a very short stint.
In 1943-44, he was taken back again
in the Forest Department as Officer
on Special Duty (OSD) and assigned
the important task of recovering
the forests from Landlord Estates
which he completed successfully. In
1951 he was appointed Panchayat
Officer. His career got a further
fillip in the year 1952 when he was appointed as Executive Officer holding the Department
of Education, Excise, Bazaar and Press and Publicity.
He held these departments till 1957, the year of his
formal retirement. However he was given two years’
extension on account of as much to his extremely
satisfactory service record as to the recognition of his
great dynamism and resourcefulness.
Recognizing his talent and long and meritorious service
the Sikkim Darbar in 1956 awarded him ‘PEMA DORJEE’,
the Kingdom’s highest honour.
Mr. Atal Singh Dewan
after retirement was nominated as a Councillor in the
Sikkim Council which was equivalent to the present day
Legislative Assembly.
The career profile of Mr. Atal Singh Dewan is a
classic example of what administrative qualities and
excellence even a humble forester can profess. His
immense versatility and caliber to handle with ease and
confidence many other Government departments apart
from contributing immensely to the cause of forestry
particularly ‘Operation resumption’ of forests from
Landlord Estates in the then regime earned him the
title of ‘Pema Dorjee and subsequently on retirement
becoming a member of the Sikkim Legislative Council.
These are great honours bestowed not only on a
Government functionary but also on a Forest Officer.
Life like that of Shri Atal Singh Dewan will always inspire
us to achieve great heights of glory not only in chosen
fields but for a genuinely dedicated person the scope to
career promotion is vast and unlimited.
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