On February 14, a CRPF paramilitary convoy of about 2,500 troopers was returning to its base in Srinagar after a brief vacation. Just then, an SUV loaded with explosives rammed into one of the vehicles.
One of the deadliest terror attacks throughout the turbulent history of insurgency in Kashmir, the dastardly attack left behind a casualty of 40 soldiers. About 20 severely wounded personnel continue to battle for their lives.
While the incident has left the nation reeling in shock and anger, the lives of affected families and dependents will never be the same again.
Unlike the support and aid lent to families of martyred officers, rehabilitative measures for those from non-gazetted ranks rarely go beyond monetary support. Financial support certainly serves as a short-term solution, but what it fails to address is the trauma and grief of the families of the soldiers.
VeerNari Shakti Resettlement Foundation is a non-profit organisation, working to address this disparity in the defence forces—not just the tri-forces but also central armed police and paramilitary forces like the CRPF, BSF, NSG, and ITBP—for over a decade.
Started by a group of folks from military backgrounds, it includes war veterans, senior retired officials and children of former military officers. The VeerNari Shakti Foundation focused on supporting the resettlement of war widows (Veer Naris) as well as the dependents of war-disabled and martyred soldiers in a sustainable and holistic manner.
If you wish to help the widows and orphaned children of Pulwama martyrs to rebuild their lives, join VeerNari Shakti Foundation in its rehabilitation endeavours by donating here.
“Initial allocation of funds to martyr widows by the state does anything but help the affected families to stand on their feet again, especially those from junior ranks. Since most of us were from the defence background, our knowledge over the existence of the grey areas in rehabilitation was through direct observation. We wanted a sustainable model of structured support, primarily for war and martyr widows as well as dependents, to help them rebuild their lives,” says one of founding and managing trustees who wished to remain unnamed as they wanted the focus to be on their work on not on themselves.
Registered in 2016, the Foundation is perhaps the only Centre-recognised organisation in the country working to alleviate the lives of martyr widows and families through holistic rehabilitative programs funded crowdsourcing campaigns.
Alongside, they lend a special focus on orphaned girl children and destitute women through rehabilitation initiatives, in collaboration with the Ministry of Woman and Child Development.
With a wide-ranging expert advisory board that includes doctors, surgeons, clinical psychologists, and legal experts alongside war veterans and senior retired defence personnel, VeerNari Shakti has reached out to over 2,000 martyr widows and over 2,500 war-disabled soldier families. It has given them all a second shot at life.
The Foundation’s rehabilitation program has been comprehensively assembled to meet the needs and circumstances of the affected beneficiaries. Under this, one of the major aspects includes psychological counselling by clinical consultants for a minimum period of six months.
“This time is crucial for not just the martyr widows but also us as the functionaries. While these women slowly get back on their lives mentally, we understand them. Then we try to find job opportunities in areas that interest them and facilitate tie-ups with organisations like Jamia Millia Islamia University,” they add.
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As most of the women they have worked with do not have very high educational qualifications, offering them jobs in the corporate sector is not helpful, owing to its competitive work culture.
“Instead, we try to tie up with universities and organisations that can set up canteens. This way, there is income flowing in with relatively less pressure, which would amount more than the paltry widow pension provided by the state,” they add.
Through their painstaking efforts, the Foundation is covering the grey areas that even the forces are struggling to conquer.
“Contrary to the idea that civilians have about ex gratia, the amount provided by the state to widows and families of low-ranking soldiers is barely enough to make ends meet. For instance, how can you expect a widow with two children to survive on a monthly sum of Rs 7,000-8,000? But that is how it is. This makes our work of long-term and sustainable rehabilitation of the affected families all the more crucial,” they add.
VeerNari Shakti Foundation is now on a mission to raise funds for the families of the Pulwama martyrs through the online crowdfunding portal, LetzChange.
“The CRPF soldiers who succumbed in the attack and the ones who are battling for their lives—they were all from the lowest ranks in the force, namely head constables and constables. And almost 95 per cent of them were married. More than CSR initiatives, we want common people to show solidarity and make donations for the families of our fallen soldiers. We believe that Indians are quite capable of helping our martyrs,” they conclude.
If you wish to help the widows and orphaned children of Pulwama martyrs to rebuild their lives, join VeerNari Shakti Foundation in its rehabilitation endeavours by donating here.
(Edited by Shruti Singhal)