WAR WIDOWS

पूर्व सैनिकों का देश निर्माण  मन्च

All India Ex Soldiers League

INDIAN MILITARY VETERANS
Platform for fraternal and nation building missions

सत्य मेव जयते

“ बुन्देलों  हरबोलों से हमनेसुनी कहानी थी खूब लड़ी मर्दानी वहतो झाँसी वाली रानी थी “

Background. Op Vijaya brought to fore our concern for war widows children’s education as not hitherto fore. For simple reason that post 62 this operation saw highest casualties and there was no uniform and comprehensive financial backup for war widows children’s education. The only facility which could ensure financial security for widows specially in context of rural l widows who bear the main brunt in numbers. Though government had admitted provision for reimbursement of expenditure on war widow’s wards but this was not only selective for a few field areas but also incomprehensive. This needed rationalization of procedures and uniform application with guaranteed funding for which we took up the issue with the then RM (refer to Presidents Page in this site ). Our goal was to obtain sanction covering education expenditure in full so that even a rural ward could get access to best education which is largely privatized thus  out of reach of our widows. To compound this was the problem of identifying such schools that would be prepared to spare seats for our category (Central Schools and Army Public Schools already being oversubscribed ) Luckily Sainiksangh had  lien on prestigious Manava Bharati International School Panchsheel Marg New Delhi  with a girls branch in Mussoorie UK its Chairman being Veteran member of SainikSangh itself which proved a great boon for for our sponsored  wards. To date 44 children of OR and JCOs have gone through the course from class V to high school acquiring grounding for taking on competitive challengers I higher studies. Some have become engineers and even medical student Majority are from  Jat Regiment since their Regimental Centre unlike any other took special interest in disseminating the scheme with Brig HS Chaudhary a Jat Regt veteran member of Sainiksangh taking personal interest. Procedurally we compile the data on a student as per norms laid down by AHQ, prepare a contingent bill in name of the war widow and submit to AHQ for monthly reimbursement of amount already paid to the institution and credit this direct to widows account. We especially encouraged learning of science and girls education.

Case Study Aarti daughter of late Nk Arvind Singh AD Arty, of Village Silaiyata in Yamuna Ravines (refer to Swasti I check dam site in Environment Fact Sheet on  this site) a battle casualty in J&K. After great effort we could finally persuade tradition bound mother and veteran grandfather to permit Aarti to join  school and benefit from seat being  offered to her or overall good and set example for villages of that region. She joined and reported to school branch at Mussoorie where she studied with great diligence  and completed class 12 in 2016. We wanted her to carry on with education (or would have been married off). Since she was  still entitled for financial support till graduation. We also wanted her to take up science a subject much neglected in our education and hardly any at formative stage of secondary school level. Where  not so today students can walk away with a BSc degree from private colleges without even seeing a laboratory a policy deficiency. Locating a suitable institution in a highly competing environment to provide goodness of fit thus became an arduous exercise specially since universities do not give any dispensation for such deserving category not to speak of reserving seats for it. Fighting against time we finally traced Graphic Era University Dist Dehradun and approached it for a seat in B Sc course but failed On goading and direct communication with the Vice Chancellor (see Presidents Page entry 3) we were offered a seat in B Sc (Info tech) which we readily accepted and Aarti moved to the university for three year coarse which was completed successfully and today she is a qualified specialist picking up a  well paying job on line. She still has ambition to become an officer in army! Truly this became an example of all round capacity building of marginalized rural communities with sight set on achieving standards, gender equality and self reliance in youth. Which she could not have achieved without shepherding hand from our fraternity.

Above At meeting on War Widows. Left back lt gen GS Grewal PVSM Centre Left Mrs M Grewal, School teacher, Col VPSChauhan front Maj Gen APS Chauhan,  Maj Gen SP Aul.  Above right  Some WWs and their children.

vf[ky Hkkjrh; iwoZ lSfud la?k