Send ‘Freedom Rakhi’ to Kargil soldiers

NEW DELHI - Even though Raksha Bandhan is over, you still have time to show your affection for and solidarity with the soldiers in Kargil by sending them a Freedom Rakhi that will send across a message to them that “You Care”.

Spearheaded by Susiieben Shah, member of the Maharashtra state Commission for Women, the idea of the online portal www.rakhis4jawans.com is to show appreciation and solidarity with the brave soldiers who keep a vigil on our borders every waking hour, battling loneliness and pain.

“It just happened one night that I woke up in the middle of my sleep and I thought that something should be done to show our love, affection and care to these brave soldiers who are miles away from us and without even knowing us but are protecting our lives,” Susiieben Shah told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

“This was the best way to show these soldiers that they are not alone. We might not be with them physically but we very much care for them. The whole idea was implemented within a week and we have got overwhelming response from everyone for this initiative.

“The idea is to tell them that the women of India are truly proud of them and pray for their well-being,” she added.

The portal was launched Aug 3 and people who are interested in sending rakhi to the soldiers just have to log in and post a message which is equal to sending one rakhi to these soldiers.

“This service is free of cost and people just have to send a message to show that they care for these soldiers. They don’t have to send a rakhi to us. We are taking around 5,000 rakhis to Kargil and would be tying some to the soldiers,” Shah explained.

Till Tuesday, the website has messages from around 11,999 women from across India.

“Our wishes are with you border soldiers,” reads one message from the Duggal family.

Another message from Bharti says, “You are the real heroes and we are proud of you.”

“Pranam to all my brave brothers. You all are really great who protect our country,” reads another message from Sanika.

A delegation of 10 people, including Shah, will be reaching Kargil Aug 14. On Vijay Divas (Aug 15), they will tie rakhis to some of the jawans. They will also go to the war memorial in Dras and place some rakhis on it.

Why did you choose Independence Day to tie rakhi on soldiers?

“These are not ordinary rakhis, they are freedom rakhis and celebrate the joy of independence with these brave men. It is just an effort to show that we (Indians) all care for them and our best wishes are with them always,” Shah