The visit of 24 girl students from Jammu & Kashmir to Nagpur gives us glimpses of the unique initiatives taken by the RSS swayamsevaks to integrate the nation. At the same time it presents a story of vision and hope that is changing the lives of these formative minds
This Vijayadashami, on the occasion of RSS Sarsanghachalak’s address in Nagpur, there were many special guests, but a group of students from Jammu & Kashmir was the unique one. The journey of 24 students from Janak Madan Drishti Kanya Chhatravas, a girls hostel, which they prefer to call it as their second home, was an interesting story of vision and hope.
In this self-managed hostel run by the Sewa Bharati, you will find students like Tsewang Dolma from Ladakh, Ruchi Sharma from Akhnoor of Jammu region and Shazia from Kupwara of Kashmir region studying together. The project is fully supported by the society and even the close by school provides them with free education. Most of these students are from the bordering villages or the children of terrorism-affected families. For them Shri Jaidev Ji, inspiration behind this unique project, is ‘Dada’ and Usha, an M.Sc student herself associated with the project and virtually the manager, is ‘Didi’. From cleanliness to home work, they follow the self-discipline and help-each other, even the monthly list of requirements are prepared by them and managed by them. Besides studies, sports, learning new activities and nurturing their natural talent is part of the routine.
On November 14, 2016, RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat visited this unique project. During this visit, the students presented some patriotic songs. In response, the Sarsanghachalak had given them a task to prepare 10 songs in different Bharatiya languages, but with similar meaning and sentiments. They happily took the challenge and conveyed him through a letter, which they got a chance to present during his next visit to Jammu. As a reward, they got the invite to attend the Vijayadashami function in Nagpur.
It was certainly a joyous moment for these young minds who were exploring the other parts of Bharat for the first time in life. In fact, for 10 of them it was the first ever experience of train journey.
After reaching Nagpur on September 29, they reached Reshim Bagh, where they got to meet the students from Arunachal Pradesh, who were there as part of ‘Mera Ghar Bharat’ (My Home India) programme. They not only got the chance to attend the main function, but also experienced the unique celebration of Vijayadashami in Maharashtra. They also visited one of the most revered places of Deeksha Bhoomi, where Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar adopted the path of Buddha along with his followers. Another chance was to meet the Sarsanghachalak at RSS headquearters and adjacent Mohite Vada, where the first RSS shakha was started. It was an unforgettable experience for these young minds. This time they got another challenge of preparing five songs in different Bharatiya languages. The visit to RSS Museum and the birth place of RSS founder Dr Hedgewar gave them the complete picture of evolution of the nationalist movement.
Another important destination they visited was the Devi Ahalya Mandir, the headquarters of the Rashtra Sevika Samiti, where they got to interact with Seethakka, Sarkaryavahika of the Samiti and students of another hostel exclusively run for the girls from North-East. While the girls from two corners of Bharat presented the flair of own culture, they realised the inherent unity, while presenting the dance forms and stories of great national figures. ‘Desh Hame Deta Hai Sab Kuch’ was the song they could sing together, again reflecting the same values nurtured in the two different hostels.
These students not only got the exposure of meeting the people from different regions, they got the confidence of presenting themselves, their activities and the ground situation of Jammu & Kashmir to different audience, including the national level office bearers of Sewa Bharati.
After returning to Jammu on October 6, they narrated their unforgettable experience to the audience gathered at Aryabhatta Hall of Sewa Bharati Karyalaya. This is certainly a reward they will cherish throughout their life. —Organiser Bureau
