Mumbai: At the age of 15, an article Gauhrishi Narang read about Army widows moved her deeply. “It was disturbing to read how the wives of martyred soldiers, many of whom are not very literate, try to make ends meet,” says Ms. Narang. After completing her Class X in 2016, she decided to research the topic during her summer vacation. “My aim was to understand their plight and provide financial empowerment and if possible, work towards providing vocational training,” she says.
However, the task was not easy. To begin with, not many non-governmental organisations work in this field. Moreover, she had no idea who to contact in the Armed Forces for support and guidance. After intensive research, she came across the Zilla Sainik Welfare Office, which gave her a good deal of support. “They not only gave me the list of army widows I could meet and support but also guided me at every step,” says Ms. Narang.
The gravity of the situation dawned upon her when she heard their heart-wrenching stories. Poverty was just one of the themes; often, there was the loneliness of single parenting at a young age.
“Till 15 years back, the minimum education qualification for the rank of sipahi (sepoy) was Class VIII, which has now been raised to Class X. The retirement age of sipahis till the rank of hawaldar is 35-38 years. Most of them are from rural areas and get married at a very young age, and their spouses are either illiterate or have minimum education,” says Captain Vidya Ratnaparkhi, Zilla Sainik Welfare officer.
The struggle
According to data from the Office, 36,819 armed widows were registered with the State government till November 2017. In Mumbai itself, there are 38.
Surekha Shinde (70), for instance, went to a village school near Ratnagiri till Class IV and got married when she was barely 19. When her husband, Naik Ramchandra Shinde was martyred in the Indo-Pakistan war in 1971, she was 23 and her daughter was four. “I was shattered and did not know where to go,” she says. Her brother brought her to Mumbai. “While I was given a grant of ₹5,000 by the Central government and ₹ 150 as monthly pension, this was insufficient,” says Ms. Shinde, who started working as a housemaid. “Life has been a struggle and while my brother has been very supportive, we faced many financial hardships,” she says.
Recently she had to undergo bypass surgery and had to take a ₹9-lakh loan from various sources.
Bhagirati Gawas, from Sindhudurg, too faced immense hardship after her husband was martyred in the 1971 war. She was 26 then and had three young children. “I was illiterate and had no idea how I would take care of my children,” she says. While she received a monthly pension of ₹139 and a job offer from the government, she preferred to stay back at her village and till her land.
Her oldest son took up the job offer given to her and moved to Mumbai along with her, but the trauma of the hardships they faced continues to haunt them. “The pension scheme has improved considerably since 1971. Depending upon the rank and years of service, a sipahi’s widow received ₹2,500 till 1997, ₹7,000 till 2016 and now gets ₹10,000,” says Captain Ratnaparkhi.
Raising funds
In June 2016, Ms. Narang raised money for these women through the crowdfunding website ‘Milaap’, where she launched the Army Widows Empowerment initiative. “Initially, quite a lot of work was required and I spent most of my weekends accelerating the campaign,” says Ms. Narang. Spreading awareness was also a challenge. However, with the help of her parents, friends and teachers, she started promoting the initiative on social media.
Till June 2017, Ms. Narang was able to raise ₹6 lakh. With help from the Zilla Sainik Welfare Office, seven widows were selected for one-time urgent financial help and cheques of ₹35,000 each were issued in May 2017. The remaining funds were donated to the Army Flag Day account, managed by the Zilla Sainik Welfare Office, which helps a large number of widows and their families with medical, education and other urgent financial requirements.
Since June, ₹66,600 has been raised and “some more money may come in as the crowdfunding campaign is still on,” says Ms. Narang. To maintain transparency, donors get regular feedback from Milap on the use of funds.
“There is a misconception that as there are no battles or wars, there are no casualties. However, we fail to realise that there is cross-border terrorism, tensions at the Indo-Pak border, eastern sector etc.,” says Captain Ratnaparkhi.
Ms. Narang wishes to pursue her higher studies from abroad, but wants the campaign to continue. “While it is too early to say anything, I wish to start my own NGO so that I can take up this cause in a more concerted manner.”
When it comes to helping families of those who lay down their lives for the country, no initiative is too small. Ms. Narang may be young, but understands just how deep the gap is. Says Captain Ratnaparkhi, “At such a young age, Gauhrishi has great empathy for soldiers. She is indeed an inspiration for each one of us.”
Snapshot
Army Widows Empowerment
Founder: Gauhrishi Narang
Founded: 2016
Funds: Donations
Web:milaap.org/fundraisers/mission-awe
