Being the Founder of I am still human, how do you see “7th Shaurya Blood connect with Indian army” campaign bringing a change?
For me it’s just a start, this campaign allows every Indian to come forward and do something concrete for our forces. We all know there is no replacement for blood and we feel that it is time we support not only serving soldiers but also start valuing our veterans too. This campaign is a stage where people can express their love in a better way. Also, planting more trees in the memory of our martyrs gives our future generations a stage to know our heroes better.
How close is the cause to you?
There is nothing else is important but doing something for the forces is a proud feeling. For me, serving the forces was the only plan of my life and after getting rejected four times, I wanted to find out a way, by which I could do something for my brothers in uniform.
What in URI Mission 2016 triggered you to start this initiative?
I come from a defense background, not only my father served Indian Air Force but my grandfather and his father also served the forces. So when the attack happened, I was traveling and when I checked my phone, all I could see was people posting things and even asked about what we should be doing now, they had no clue. Most of them even said, “Kar bhi kya sakte hai.”
So, I thought why not donate blood to Military Hospitals. This small step turned out to be a big initiative now. We have done seven camps so far and more than 50 seminars to inspire people to join the Indian Armed Forces. Not only this, but we also made them aware of different entries in the Armed Forces like doctors, lawyers, and teachers.
How does this campaign ensures the propagation of the message “remember, rejoice, renew” of Kargil Vijay Diwas 2019?
Our nation has 21 Param Vir Chakra (PVC) awardees. These are the men of steel who have given their everything to keep our country safe and in this campaign, A Mega Tree Drive will be taking place in memories of our heroes. We are planting 21 trees in Ramjas College and each tree will be given a name of a PVC and not only this they will also be having a board of their own, which will aware the coming generation about the supreme sacrifice of our heroes.
This campaign in itself is a celebration of the heroism of our Indian Armed Forces and the primary agenda of the campaign is not only to provide the forces with more blood supply but also inspire the current generation to join the forces and serve with the best Army in the world.
How far do you expect this initiative to affect the people and society at large?
I see it as a mass movement, I feel the country wants to do something for the forces and they genuinely love them. By this way, we create a virtual blood bank for our forces which can be of their help at any time of need.
What are your expectations from the youth?
My expectation, to be honest, is to see more real tigers than social media tigers. I want people to stand for each other and support their fellow country mates. Our youth is the only hope we have and this is the right time we start working towards progress and improvement.
