Muslims send letters in Sanskrit to PM Modi demanding AIIMS

Lucknow: Muslims in Bundelkhand have hit upon a new idea to draw Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attention towards the urgent need for a branch of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in the region.

Muslims in Mahoba district are writing a letter to the Prime Minister in Sanskrit urging him to sanction an AIIMS branch in Bundelkhand.

According social activist Tara Patkar, “Over 50,000 postcards have already been sent to the Prime Minister, seeking an AIIMS branch in Bundelkhand and now Muslim youth and children are writing to him in Sanskrit with the same demand. We will be sending 10,000 post cards in Sanskrit now”.

Mr Patkar, who is the coordinator of Bundeli Samaj which spearheads the campaign, said that another 10,000 postcards will be sent to Mr Modi  in other languages including Urdu, Bundeli, Sindhi, Punjabi and even Malayalam . “The idea is to convey to the Prime Minister that the setting up of AIIMS will benefit people of all religion and communities. We have set up camps at all prominent places like railway stations, bus stops and hospitals to invite more people to join the campaign. We are posting around 1,000 post cards every day from Mahoba,” he said.

Mr Patkar, a former journalist, said that Mahoba which is located at the centre of the Bundelkhand region does not have modern medical facilities  and patients have to be referred to places outside Bundelkhand like Kanpur, Lucknow and Agra or even Madhya Pradesh.

“If a branch of AIIMS is set up here, it will cater to the entire Bundelkhand region comprising seven districts in Uttar Pradesh and five in Madhya Pradesh,” he said.

He further said that even people from Bundelkhand, who are living in the US, England, Australia and Saudi Arabia, are also helping the campaign by writing similar letters to the Prime Minister. “The affluent people are donating postcards for the campaign,” he informed.