'People Like Us'- The People's Army
Concern for soldiers elicits a deluge of public, corporate support
SINCE last week they have been a routine feature on platform number 8 of the New Delhi Railway Station. Amidst the cacophony of rushing commuters and continual hooters from locomotives stand a bunch of volunteers distributing food packets provided by Maurya Sheraton. Accompanying them is a group of young PepsiCo officials. They are all here to serve hundreds of Indian soldiers leaving for Jammu en route to Kargil aboard the Shalimar Express. A tinge of humanity, of the nation coming together in times of crisis. A glimpse of corporate India's response to the valiant deeds of the defence forces.
"It was just a gesture...the idea was to contribute in whatever little way one can," remarks Deepak Jolly, vice president, PepsiCo. A majority of the company's employees have been donating a day's salary to the cause—this is in addition to giving the jawans free access to the fountain stalls on the platforms. "And this will continue till the fighting is over," says Jolly. "It's all for a cause," agrees Jagdish Khattar, joint managing director of Maruti, where employees contributed Rs 50 lakh to the Army Central Welfare Fund. Maruti is also telecasting appeals for such contributions across all major channels.
A vibrancy of patriotism—one of the many ‘fallouts' of the Kargil conflict—is being felt by people across the length and breadth of the country. A spontaneous upsurge of feeling to help the soldiers on the front in whatever way they can—donations have ranged from cash, foodgrains, cloth and even blood. Take the case of Shefali Gupta, who works for a trade magazine and has been sending regular messages on the Net to her friends, exhorting them to donate whatever they can. "All this while I was edgy about the government not being quick enough in relief work, so I started this." Her concerns are shared by Mumbai-based Dr Rajan, who has offered his mobile medical unit to treat those wounded in Kargil. Says Kavita Shah, executive director, Concern, an ngo in Delhi: "The soldiers are there for us. We can't be present there but we can do something for them. Every patriotic Indian wants to do something."
Images of soldiers fighting it out in harsh, almost inhuman conditions has brought on an urge to contribute. Besides donations, people have volunteered to help in other ways—ranging from free courier services to admissions and scholarships and even cars. Artists, filmstars, cricketers and even fashion designers have come forward to help raise funds or even visit the injured in the hospitals. A group of individuals have formed an association called People Like Us with the intention of meeting and helping the wounded by spending time with them as well as offering their personal cellphones to call their families. A group of 40 school children are meeting the army chief to express their solidarity and offer their services for any relief work. Readings, plays and even pop concerts are being planned.
Says adman Suhel Seth, who participated in one such cultural evening in the capital: "My being a part of something like this is my personal salutation and tribute." Adds Rahul Dhawan, director, Coca Cola India: "Scores of our employees have been donating money to the army fund." And there are pledges as well. Take the example of the Confederation of Indian Industries (cii), which has got commitments from a whole lot of companies—ranging from Bajaj Auto, Mukand Steel, Kirloskar Oil Engines to Sundaram Clayton—to raise Rs 1 crore. "More companies are coming to us and the total amount we plan to raise could be more than Rs 3 crore," said a cii spokesperson, adding that the confederation plans to set up an advisory panel which will identify how the funds could be used most effectively.
The State Bank of India has donated Rs 11 crore to the army welfare fund while the K.K. Birla group donated Rs 5 lakh. Cigarette major ITC is said to have agreed to contribute a huge sum. Telecom giant Bharti Cellular has introduced a dedicated number (525) where Airtel subscribers can leave messages for the soldiers and indicate how much they plan to donate. Bharti plans to record the message and replay the same at the base camps and donate the funds generated through this effort. Hutchison Max employees have agreed to work on a weekend and donate the salary towards the cause. Besides, the telecom major has also agreed to contribute one rupee of airtime used by each of its subscribers on June 20. Some corporates plan to offer financial help to families of dead or lost soldiers.
The army, however, while appreciating the gestures, feels that more long-term measures are needed in order to help martyrs' families. Says an army spokesperson: "The Indian Army is a well-oiled, well-equipped force and does not require this kind of effort. The army lacks nothing. In fact, blood is the least of the army's requirements." There are other minor rumblings like a certain political party forcing people to give huge amounts to show up rival parties' efforts. But these remain minor irritants in an effort that has otherwise shown that India is alive to its debt to the soldiers.
=====================
(Archana Jahagirdar-Outlook India Magazine)
outlookindia.com |
