For self-defence, schoolgirls to be taught gatka skills

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 15

The Gatka Federation of India (GFI) has come up with a plan to teach ‘gatka’ to schoolgirls in the state.

The federation members said learning gatka was the need of the hour and it was important for girls to learn this for self-defence.

Gatka makes one fearless and involves a lot of aggression. It will help girls in tackling any unwanted situation,” said a senior official of the federation.

“At first the camps will be organised in government schools and schools affiliated with the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB). Later, in all private schools,” the official added.

Short-duration camps will be organised in schools.

General secretary of the federation Baljinder Singh Toor said there was a plan to start camps from the next session in April. “We are going to discuss this proposal with the Education Minister and Sports Minister. Also, we have women teams, which will be roped in to train the girls,” he added.

Toor informed that already academies were being run in several districts and also “akharas” were functional. “We will also talk to principals of schools and encourage them to organise camps where our coaches along with trained women players can train girls. For short-term camps, we have enough staff to train girls, but we will be needing government’s support in the long run” he added.