In the Valedictory address, Prof Nirmal Singh, former Deputy Chief Minister and the Speaker, Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, who was Chief Guest on the occasion extended his views regarding the contributions of Maharaja Ranbir Singh and how the Dogra History needs to be revisited. He also extended his congratulations to Prof. Suman Jamwal and Prof. Shyam Narayan Lal for the successful conduction of the seminar. The Valedictory Address was presented by Prof. Kuldeep Chand Agnihotri, former Vice-Chancellor, H.P Central University, Himachal Pradesh. The concluding remarks were presented by Sh. Rajendra S. Pawar, Director, NIIT again emphasized the need for the young scholars to come forward and reconstruct the history of the region. Dr. Versha Gupta extended a formal vote of thanks.

Earlier, the session was opened by Prof. Suman Jamwal who welcomed all the dignitaries and extended thanks to them for sparing their valuable time for the seminar. Prof. Shyam Narayan Lal gave an overview of the presentations that were made during the seminar.

Earlier, the first session commences under the Chairperson K.N. Pandita at the Brig. Rajendra Singh Auditorium and was enriched by speakers Maj. Gen. Goverdhan Singh Jamwal, Brig. (Dr.) Vijay Sagar Dhiman, Dr. Jitender Kumar, Ms. Twinkle Siwach and Dr. Anu Kotwal. The session was an interesting insight into the past of the erstwhile state of J&K. Maj. Gen. Goverdhan Singh explained how the Dogra generals were responsible for both extending the frontiers of the state and protecting it by highlighting the events from the campaigns of Gen. Zorawar Singh, Gen. Baj Singh and the role of Brig. Rajendra Singh during the 1947 crisis.

Brig. Dhiman then dwelled on the reign of Maharaja Ranbir Singh and how he was trained under the able guidance of his father Maharaja Gulab Singh. This training shaped his rule and he emerged as an enlightened ruler. The session was then enriched by the paper of Dr. Jitender Kumar who presented his views regarding the establishment of learning centres in the reign of Maharaja Ranbir Singh. Ms. Twinkle Siwach then dispensed information regarding the legal order during the Maharaja’s reign and how it shaped the administration. The session was concluded by Dr. Annu Bala Kotwal who presented a holistic view of the Maharaja’s reign and his struggle against the Residency. The Thirds academic session was chaired by Shri Harbans Singh. The session was started by Dr. Lalit Gupta who presented a study of the Dogra Architecture. Dr. Mahesh Kaul then explained the frontier policy of the Dogra Maharajas and their contribution to securing the frontier of the erstwhile state. Mr. Abhimanyu Kumar reflected on the nature of the Himalayan state and explained the idea of a centralized bureaucracy during Maharaja’s time. The session was then enriched by the papers presented by the scholars of the History Department Ms. Rakhi Sharma, Ms. Deepika Bali, Ms. Bhawana Sharma and Mr. Shubham Singh Sambyal who spoke on the varying aspects of the Maharaja’s reign.  It is pertinent to mention here that three parallel sessions were run in the Brig. Rajendra Singh Auditorium, Political Science Seminar Hall and History Seminar hall respectively.

In the Session was chaired by Dr. Rakesh Batabyal, Prof. Yashpal gave a presentation about the making of religious centres in Jammu region. Further, Dr. Hina Abrol also gave an insight into the religious edifices and centres of learning during the Maharaja’s reign. Dr. Batabyal then went on to introduce the scholars who presented their views on the various facets of the Maharaja’s period.

 The parallel session held at Political Science Seminar hall was chaired by Dr. Lalit Gupta. The session was special as it particularly included the papers from the young regional scholars who drew the attention of the audience towards the economic, social, cultural and political contributions of Maharaja Ranbir Singh

The last and third parallel Session held at the Department of History Seminar Hall was chaired by Ms. Twinkle Siwach. The session was an enriching one as it again contained papers from the local scholars who highlighted the welfare activities undertaken by the Maharaja and presented varying insights about the Dogra rule.