A FAUJ of kids fight for a memorial

The 72nd Independence Day marks quite a huge landmark for us. But that one place dedicated to those people who worked so hard to give us the freedom that we are enjoying has been left incomplete. The National Military Memorial at Vasanth Nagar is the first of its kind memorial that was erected by the Government of Karnataka.This memorial was built to honour the men and families of martyrs who have died in the service of the nation.

 FaujiKids is a group of army kids, who have organised an event to create awareness about the sacrifices of martyrs. From a memorial walk, live band performance to a story telling session with a war veterans, they want this day to be more of a celebration.

Surabhi Tomar, daughter of Wing Commander SS Tomar feels that this first of its kind memorial being left unfinished is a disrespect to our martyrs. As part of the group organising this event she explains, “We are doing this event to create awareness among the general public about the sacrifices the people from the Army, Air-Force and Navy gave. This event is far from being a serious one as there will activities for children, a memorial walk and also small musical session.”

A youngster who feels that this day should ideally be a celebration of martyrs, Chandan Singh recently applied to join the Army. He says, “This is a really good initiative to celebrate those people and also make people aware of things happening around, while focusing on the sacrifices of the armed forces. As a person who is going to join the Army, I can really relate to this. On Independence day, we should honour the sacrifices these martyrs gave.”

Nirupama Ganesh, a student and daughter of Lt. Colonel Ganesh says, “It is a really pity that the memorial is left unfinished as I feel that its very important to value the sacrifices of martyrs. They sacrificed their life to make the country a better place to live in, and it would be a real shame to spend the day sadly. Rather, I feel that it’s better to spend the day honouring their sacrifice. I think these celebrations are also a great way to bring people together.”

Awareness about what the martyrs did is something even civilians must acknowledge. Diana Daisy, a student and daughter of a Junior Commission Officer adds, “It’s a great initiative that they decided to organise such an event to raise awareness for the sacrifices made by our martyrs. As far as I know, some people don’t really understand the foundation and strong set of ideal that the Army upholds. I feel that this gathering of army kids is a great way to start awareness among everyone. In Delhi from what I have heard, each Jawan is represented by a ring everyday when they lose a soldier. Having said this, it’s sad that nothing is being done to complete the Memorial.”