Nation Building – Army Sponsors Thousand Children of Kargil Region

Sustained efforts by the Army five years ago motivated Mohammad Ali, a resident of Kaksar, a remote village in Kargil district, to send Nasreen banoo, his daughter, then a young girl of five years, to Pune to pursue her education. Nasreen was admitted in Sarhad English Medium School at Pune, as part of Army’s operation Sadbhavna. Nasreen left the village despite opposition by villagers including elderly clerics. She was one of the first girls from Kargil district to have moved out with the help of Army for quality education, five years back. Seeing her, 33 more children were motivated to study in schools outside the state, in Solan, Cannanore, Pune and Beas. There are presently 15 children in her school in Pune.

Today Nasreen is a class six student, who visits her village once a year, during the annual 15 days vacation. She wants to become an Army pilot and is the only girl in the village, who can read, write and speak English and Hindi fluently. Nasreen is well informed and forms her own opinions. She knows that being educated means abiding by certain standards of social behavior. In addition, Nasreen plays games and has learnt that sportsmanship is a quality that must be cherished in day to day life. Her teachers say that she is well mannered, sensitive, smart and not afraid to speak the truth. In her village, she is an idol for girls of her age.

Nasreens father, Mohammed Ali is a poor farmer who also works as a part time labourer. Kaksar is a remote village with a complete Muslim population. It is located close to LOC and has had its share of misery due to Pakistani firing as also Indo – Pak wars. The village is still to be linked to Kargil by a proper road.

The Indian Army not only educates her but also manages her travel arrangements, day to day requirements with respect to uniforms and books. Whenever the children travel between the school and their home in Kaksar, for the sake of security, one of the parents is sent along and all their expenses are paid by the Army. Besides these 33 children, Army is also sponsoring 1036 children of Kargil area, for studies in seven Army Goodwill schools, within the region.

S Om Singh/Rajendra