PM mentions ‘Bal Sainiks’ of Nowshera
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 24: Twenty nine children including a girl from village Chinta in Doda district and a teen-ager who displayed bravery during terror attach in February 2018 at Sunjuwan Military camp in Jammu were today awarded with Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi later had online interaction with some of the awardees.
Kumari Arushi Kotwal, aged 17 and hailing from village Chinta in Doda district was awarded Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar for the year 2022 for her exceptional achievements in the field of Sports.
Union Minister Smriti Irani tweeted: “Arushi Kotwal is the only Woman Master title player of Jammu and Kashmir. She has already won several medals at national and inte-rnational levels. After having represented India at Commonwealth Chess Champion-ship, she wants to become a Grand Master”.
The Govern-ment also awar-ded 12-year-old Gurugu Himapriya, hailing from Andhra Pradesh, for her immense bravery. During a terrorist attack in February 2018 at Sunjuwan Military Camp in Jammu, she kept one of the terrorists engaged in a conversation for four to five hours despite being heavily hit by grenades. She also negotiated with the terrorist and thereby prevented families from becoming targets.
During interaction with recipients of the awards, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also referred to his visit to Nowshera sector on the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district on the occasion of Diwali festival last year.
“In Nowshera, I met Baldev Singh and Basant Singh, who fought as ‘Bal Sainiks’ in the war after independence of the country,” he said.
The Prime Minister said they didn’t care for their lives at such a young age and helped the Army.
Meanwhile, 29 children, including 14 girls, were awarded in six fields – innovation, scholastic achievements, sports, arts and culture, social service and bravery. The Bal Puraskar recipients were awarded certificates digitally using blockchain technology. Each child was also given a medal and a cash prize of Rs 1,00,000.
Modi also urged youngsters to support the ‘Vocal for Local’ campaign just as they had taken forward the cleanliness campaign in the country and asserted that the youth are at the centre of all policies being framed by his government.
Modi also talked about the unveiling of the hologram statue of freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose at the India Gate and said the “biggest inspiration we get from Netaji is – duty and nation first”.
“Taking inspiration from Netaji, you have to proceed on your path of duty for the country,” the Prime Minister said.
The youth are at the centre of all policies being framed by his Government, the Prime Minister said and added that the country feels proud to see that CEOs of all the big companies of the world are young Indians.
Calling for support to the ‘Vocal for Local’ campaign, Modi said children had played a major role in the success of the Swachh Bharat campaign and asked them to encourage people around them to use Indian goods.
“Just like you came forward for the cleanliness campaign, you should also come forward for the Vocal for Local campaign. You count at home, make a list of the products that are not made in India, and urge the people of the house that when a similar product is bought in the future, it should be made in India” the prime minister said.
Noting that women are doing wonders in areas where they were not even allowed earlier, he said this is the new India that does not hold back from innovating and is known for courage and resilience.
“Today we feel proud when we see that the youth of India are innovating and taking the country forward.”
“Today we feel proud when we see that the CEOs of all the big companies of the world are young Indians and when we see the youth of India achieve laurels in the world of startups,” Modi said.
Speaking to many of the children who received the awards, the prime minister praised their grit, determination and passion to make a difference in their chosen fields.
He also lauded the children for their participation in the COVID-19 vaccination programme, saying they have shown their modern and scientific thinking.
“More than 40 million children got coronavirus vaccine till now since January 3,” he said.
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