With Aim to instil the spirit of patriotism and generate awareness about martyrs , the 90 day long the ‘Shaheed Swabhimaan Yatra’ organised by Swabhimaan Desh Ka, a Non Government Organisation (NGO ) covering 29 states and total of 25,000 km culminated here today.
‘Shaeed Swabhiman Yatra’ was flagged off from India Gate , Delhi on March 23, 2018 by the Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat.
Yatra consisted of a group of 15 young men led by youth leader Surender Singh Bidhuri, who is also founder of NGO ‘Swabhiman Desh Ka’ .Yatra criss crossed 29 states including Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Jamu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Talengana, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
As part of the yatra a concluding function was organised here in Delhiher today where Major General G.D Bakshi (retired) was the chief guest and about 100 martyrs and their families were honoured.
“As citizens We should remember the contributions of those, who laid down their lives for the freedom struggle, and also for the ones, who are at the war footing to ensure we are safe, Martyrs have sacrificed their lives fighting for this country and we cannot let it disintegrate in front of our eyes,” Said Maj Gen (retd) G D Bakshi while speaking on te occasion.
“The mission of this yatra was not to just create consciousness but also to compile data regarding former-servicemen and martyrs at national level and to request the government for improvement of living conditions, status and employment opportunities for the family members of martyrs,” said Surender Singh Bidhuri convenor, of the yatra while speaking on the occasion.
” Our aim was also gather support for our demand of conferring ‘Son of the nation’ status for Shaheed Bhagart Singh It is unfortunate that Bhagat Singh has not been recognized as a ‘Martyr’ by the government.” Bidhuri said.
“We plan to to erect a 100-foot-tall statue of Bhagat Singh on the Delhi-Punjab road. For this purpose, we are collecting soil from all states, which will be used in the making the statue. Besides the statue, a museum and an institute will also be established in the memory of the brave freedom fighters and martyrs. The establishment will have experts to inform people about the brave hearts of the country and teach nationalism to the coming generations. Those from the army, paramilitary and police, who have laid down their lives for the country, should be honoured and given due respect. Further, facilities should be provided to the families and dependents of the martyrs,” Bidhuri said.
The organisation has put forward several demands like giving the title “Son of the nation” to Bhagat Singh, establishing statues of Bhagat Singh and other martyrs, providing “Shaheed Swabhiman” card to dependents and relatives of martyrs who can avail free admission and education in government and non- governmental schools, colleges and higher education institutions. The card will also enable the beneficiaries to avail free travel facility by public transport services, priority in government jobs, free housing and financial help during marriage of girls. Organising travel and awareness programmes on martyrs, mobilising economic resources for the dependents of martyrs in collaboration with government and social organisations and inclusion of biographies of martyrs in school curriculum.
