Girl students to tie rakhis to 10K jawans guarding border

Scores of girl students of the Seva Bharti Ashram are working overtime to prepare thousands of rakhis for jawans guarding the Indo-Pak border in Jammu and Kashmir.

They have already prepared over 8,000 rakhis for soldiers and for organising sale counters at various places in Jammu. Their mission is to weave more than 10,000 rakhis as a symbol of gratitude for the policemen, Army personnel and BSF officers safeguarding the region.

Janvi, a student from Kishtwar district currently studying in Class 8 at a school run by Janak Madan Seva Bharti Ashram in the Ponichak border belt on the outskirts of Jammu city, is among the many girls preparing rakhis for the soldiers.

“I am part of the group of girl students from various Seva Bharti Ashrams across Jammu and Kashmir preparing rakhis for soldiers guarding our motherland. Our primary task is to prepare rakhis and tie them on the wrists of soldiers at the border on Raksha Bandhan,” Janvi said.

On the auspicious day, hundreds of girl students from various Seva Bharti Ashrams carry rakhis and sweets to the border areas along the International Border and the Line of Control. They tie rakhis to BSF jawans, Army personnel and even police officers so that they do not feel the absence of their sisters.

“This year, it is being done on a large scale across all areas. We are happy to make new brothers in uniform. This is the true tradition and culture of Bharat,” she said.

Mukhti, another student from the Poonch border district studying at the Ashram in Jammu, said that their focus and affection on Raksha Bandhan is always directed towards the valiant soldiers.

“Apart from the armed forces, another priority is to make girls self-sufficient by teaching them various arts and skills so that they can earn while learning and support the ashrams. This is a novel concept inspired by the prime minister’s vision of self-dependence for the younger generation,” she said.

Jigmit, who supervises the affairs of the Seva Bharti Ashram in the Ponichak border area, said that scores of girls sit for a few hours every day in circles to weave rakhis of various types with their own hands. “Each girl contributes to weaving each rakhi — from choosing the thread to adding decorative items until it is finished,” she said.

The target this year is 10,000 rakhis, and preparations are underway with the girls working full throttle to achieve it.

While most rakhis in the market today are made using Chinese threads and materials, the girls here are preparing rakhis from Indian thread and beads sourced from worn-out clothes and other household waste. “We do not use Chinese products. The thread we use is made in India. We also repurpose household waste — extracting beads and other usable items instead of discarding them,” she said.

These young girls are eagerly looking forward to celebrating Raksha Bandhan with soldiers on the borders.