Aqib Bhat, a Kashmiri youth who is residing in Pune for the past 15 years is all praise for the people of the city.
“Kashmiri students acrossIndia have had a tough time in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack last year.Pune was among a few cities, where we were treated with dignity. We aregrateful to Pune. It has given us a lot and we want to pay back. Had we stayedback in Kashmir, our lives would have been wasted. Our lives have changed forgood,” said Aqib.
He said the lockdown inthe wake of coronavirus pandemic provided the Kashmir youth staying in Pune anopportunity to serve people of the city and those who have come there for jobsand studies.
“Our J&K StudentsAssociation and VandeMataramSanghatana joined hands to distribute food packetsto those who were totally dependent on mess food or restaurants in Pune.SachinJamge and KiranRaut of VandeMataramSanghtana Guru Gautam Muni Trust aswell as Sikh and Jain community members have been guiding and working with us.Initially, every shop and restaurant was closed and students, labourers andhomeless were suffering a lot. We were among the first social workers who movedquickly realizing the gravity of the situation,” he said.
Aqib, along with Kashmiriyouth, ZahidBhat, Ishfaq Dar, Saleem Raina, Firdous Mir, and 75 othervolunteers have been providing around 6,000 food packets daily, he said.
“We have distributedaround 1.30 lakh packets and 750 grocery packets so far. We even donated booksto MPSC aspirants in the city who could not step out of their hostels,” hesaid.
Narrating theirexperience, Aqib said, “We can relate to this situation as lockdowns are theorder of the day in Kashmir. “People don’t even get essentials such asmedicines and groceries as all shops remain closed. Here at least essentialsare available. So we could cook food and make packets ready. Whenever wereceived a call from any area, we used to visit it, sometimes past-midnight,and distribute the packets,” he said.
Appreciating role of thepolice, Aqib said, “Wherever we went to give food to the needy, the policemenco-operated with us and allowed us to move freely in the city for this work.They even gave us their personal mobile numbers and asked to call up wheneverwe need any help,” he said.
“Yesterday, we againwitnessed human side of the police as we were passing through Katraj area. Somepolicemen were patrolling in the street. We hesitatingly asked them whetherthey needed food as some 25 packets were still left with us. They took thepackets and also took our numbers and told us that they would call us if theyneeded more packets. Later, we came to know that these policemen did not keepthe packets for themselves but distributed them among the poor,” Aqib said.
Aqib is satisfied thatthey have found a calling in life by serving people in need. “I am proud that Iam getting this opportunity to serve people, thanks to Sanjay Nahar sir, whobrought us to Pune and took care of us and educated us. A common Kashmiri sees Indiaas the army, police and suppression. However, Indians love Kashmiris and wefeel we belong to them during our interactions. Our experience in Pune has beenvery positive. We helped Kashmiris during Kashmir floods through Sarhad byproviding medicines and other relief material. We also helped stranded Amaranthpilgrims from Maharashtra,” he said.
Commenting on the workbeing carried out by Aqib and other their mentor and Sarhad founder, Naharsaid, “I think Sarhad has achieved its objective by educating these Kashmirichildren and assimilating them in the mainstream Maharashtrian life. Theirsocial work is a small gesture out of gratitude towards Maharashtra and itspeople.”