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Journalism of Courage
At military stations across Ambala, Patiala, Ferozpur, Amritsar, Beas, Pathankot, Sambha, Jammu and Jalandhar Cantt, a rather interesting concept has played out over the past month. Called Mission Tiger, it is the brainchild of Mumbai-based filmmaker, musician and social activist Sandeep Waraich, who, under this project, has been holding rock shows across cantonments and schools in these cities to create awareness on the drug problem gripping Punjab, and also encourage children to join the armed forces.
Sponsored by the Army, the mission began with the aim of ‘saving the tiger’ when Waraich took out an album on the same in 2009. “It was released by the Army who are the real tigers of this country,” says Waraich, who, although wanted to join the forces like his father and brother, found his calling in the creative arts and took to music at a young age.
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With motivational songs on Kargil, the National Defence Academy, tracks such as Seva Parmo Dharam, Sarvatra Vijay, Zor (on Vande Mataram), etc, Waraich’s five-member band got traction when last year, through the Education Board, they covered schools in Mumbai. Encouraged with the positive feedback, he decided to use his music to raise the right issues in Punjab. “We approached Lt Gen K J Singh, GOC-IN-C, Western Command, and he understood the adverse effects and far-reaching implications of drug abuse, and how youngsters needed to be inspired to give the armed forces a shot,” shares Waraich who got to conduct his programmes for schoolchildren in all military cantonments in the10 stations of Punjab and Jammu. The aim, he adds, is to inspire youth to develop a spirit of nationalism, patriotism, be strong, brave and graceful like a tiger. He consciously chose music as a medium over the “outdated lectures, demonstrations and documentaries that are employed to reach out to the youth”. To keep the spirits high, Waraich, who runs Shivalik Films Production, has also started a Facebook page and interacts with children. “The participation of the youth of Punjab and other border states in the armed forces is strategically vital from the geographical and military point of view, keeping the past history of Punjab as the sword arm of India in mind,” he adds, looking to reach out to the youth in the North-East now.
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