Pics: Meryick D'silva
Daijiworld Media Network-Mangalore (DV)
Mangalore, July 26: "India is our motherland and we should be proud to serve this land. Serving the nation should be our primary importance," said H S Manjunath, District Governor of Lions Club.
He was addressing the gathering after inaugurating the inter-school workshop on Patriotism and National Pride to mark Kargil Vijay Diwas organized by Lions Club Mangalore, Centre For Integrated Learning and DK District Ex-Servicemen's Association here on Saturday July 26.
"Wherever we go, our dedication will be towards this country. It is our duty to respect and identify the contribution of soldiers who served this land," he added.
Speaking of the contributions of soldiers he said, "Parama Vir Chakra is the highest award which presented in military."
Col N S Bhandary, president of DK District Ex-Servicemen's Association explained how the Kargil war was fought in the extreme cold and said that children are the future of this nation. "They should cultivate the spirit of patriotism. Everyone cannot join the army but each one can express his patriotism by serving this land. Serve the country as a good citizen and be a role model for the society," he said.
Rtd Air Vice Marshal, Ramesh Karnik said, "Civil society forgets the contribution of soldiers as they take off their uniform, but this programme is appreciable. Armed forces should be recognized for their immense contribution to this country and they have participated in most of the wars. Soldiers are the real heroes in life. For the last two thousand years we were enslaved by foreign rulers because we had no unity among ourselves. We should read our history and learn from it."
"Our country is facing border disputes with the neighbouring country. Hence we vigilantly protect our country's economic, cultural, geographical and territorial independence. Though the district has several educational institutions, students are not motivated to answer the National Defense Academy exam. National Defense Academy exam should be the first priority," he continued.
ZP CEO Tulasi Maddineni said, "Our neighbouring country is not so friendly with us. On one hand we have dialogues with China, but on the other hand China is circulating maps showing that Arunachal is in its territory. There is also threat for the communication satellites. If the satellites attack the banking sector, communication will be a problem."
"Though India has been attacked for the past 2000 years, it has been tolerated and people who migrated have been Indianized. Hence our country should be powerful. We are the real patriots when we buy products which are Indian made. China made products will undermine the economy," she concluded.