26th December was announced as ‘Veer Bal Diwas’ by the Honourable Prime Minister on 9th January 2022. The day marks the martyrdom of the sons of Sri Guru Gobind Singh - Sahibzadas Baba Zorawar Singh Ji and Baba Fateh Singh Ji.
Children while often considered to be fragile and weak have shown immense bravery in times of conflict and crisis. Their bravery serves as an inspiration to the entire world.
To observe Veer Bal Diwas, we would like to look at five children who have shown courage and gallantry during times when it was needed the most.
- Mittal Pataditya
- Ratul Chandra Rabha and Rituparna Boro
- Riyaz Ahmed
- Priyanshu Joshi
- Maibam Prity Devi
Two assailants entered the house of Mittal Pataditya and her mother and started assaulting Mittal’s mother to extort money. Mittal, who was twelve years old at the time, didn’t hide under the bed. Instead, she confronted the attackers, one of whom had a knife. She was stabbed so many times that she received 350 stitches, but she never let go of the attacker. The attacker was later arrested and Mittal was conferred with the National Bravery award in 2012.
In the Kamrup District of Assam, two unknown men fired at a teacher and shot him dead. Ratul Chandra Rabha and Rituparna Boro, then students of Class VIII and X respectively, chased down the militants for three kilometres and even caught one of them, despite the militants having guns and grenades. Both of them were conferred with the National Bravery Awards in 2005.
Riyaz Ahmed’s life altered due to his herculean effort in rescuing a girl. In 2003, Riyaz saw a girl at the railway tracks, while a train was coming towards her. Without hesitating, Riyaz jumped and saved the girl. But his courageous act came at a cost and he lost both of his legs at the mere age of nine.
Priyanshu Joshi was returning home with his sister from school. However, a leopard jumped on them and tried to attack his sister. Priyanshu with only his bare hands and his school bag, fought the leopard and scared it away. He still loves wild animals, being an example of bravery and morality.
We all have watched action movies, where the hero picks up a thrown grenade and throws it back to save the people. What if we say that something like that happened in real life? Meet Maibam Prity Devi, who at the age of ten, was tending to her shop until some militants threw a grenade at her shop. Maibam picked up the grenade and threw it out of people’s range, saving countless lives in the process. However, she suffered injuries in the process.
Child Help Foundation realizes the potential of children and primarily caters to the health, education and nutrition of children. Through programmes like Emergency Medical Support, Quality Education and Zero Hunger, Child Help Foundation has helped many children.
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