Chandigarh, April 6, 2009: A letter in the days of E- mails may be an obsolete idea. For a Jawan, guarding borders of our country, braving inhospitable weather and enemy, receiving a letter is the most delightful experience. A lot of children from city based schools wrote letters to our jawans under Project V-Care, launched in the city on Tuesday by Yuvsatta and Indian Oil Corporation.
Giving informing about the campaign, Parmod Sharama, coordinator, Yuvsatta said, in entertainment oriented society, the jawan who guards our borders to make our lives secure, is easily forgotten. Beyond jingoism and patriotic songs- played on independence and republic day, passion for patriotism is receding. Recognizing the valour of Indian Armed Forces we have launched this month long campaign under which school children will be motivated to write personal letters of their love and appreciation for soldiers. A social activist Hira Lal Yadav and Air Marshal Randhir Singh, Rtd., inaugurated the project at a programme organized by Peace Club of New Public School, Sector 18 in the morning.
Air Marshal Randhir Singh said that sacrifices of our brave soldiers often remain unknown to the very people they die for. People soon came out of mass sympathy once the conflict in Kargil or Mumbai mayhem became a few days old, the sacrifices and crucial role played by armed forces to check the same is also forgotten soon. He recommended that it was a dire need today to insulate our country and young minds with feeling of ‘PATRIOTISM’ and love for ‘INDIA’. He appreciated the role of educational institutions of the city that come forward to highlight the cause.
After New Public School, next stop for these patriots was another porgamme by Peace Club of Govt. Model Sr. Sec. School, Sector 10, where Col. Jaswant Singh, Rtd., Director, Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre of Indian Army at Mohali was the Chief Guest.
Later in the day, the campaign was carried forward with inauguration of an exhibition by Maj Gen. Sudesh Kumar, Rtd, on POW’s (Prisoners of Wars), organized by Peace Club of Dev Samaj College of Education. This three day exhibition, 99th of its kind, at College campus is a compilation by Hira Lal Yadav of beautiful paintings and posters from all over the country, showcasing the plight of Prisoners of Wars, who are still languishing in Jails in Pakistan.
Addressing the students at Dev Samaj College of Education, Mr. Hira Lal Yadav, who is touring all over the country to raise awareness about sacrifices of Indian soldiers said that a country that refuses to respect its armed forces will eventually end up getting forces that will not respect the nations’ aspirations. Showing last letters of martyr’s and citing numerous instances of their acts of heroism, he asked students to stand up for and with brave Indian soldiers, who, for the last six decades are defending our mother land with unparalleled supreme sacrifices.