o commemorate the war heroes and take the legacy of valour to the GenNext
New Delhi : September 26, 2016 : In a fast changing world where histories get easily forgotten, Smile Foundation and ‘India Remembers’ have joined forces to connect our young generation with our armed forces’ glorious traditions of valour and legacy of supreme sacrifices.
To commemorate India’s contribution to the Great War and to honour the veterans of 1965 Indo-Pak War, Smile Foundation as part of the India Remembers project has organized a Commemorative event at the CWGC Delhi War Cemetery on 26th September.
The project will provide a learning opportunity to the children to discover, explore and remember the valour and sacrifice of the personnel of the Indian Armed Forces who lost their lives in the service of the nation since 1914 to till date.
Three significant events fall at the end of September – 23rd September marks the capture of Haifa by the Jodpur and Mysore Lancers during WW1. The day is celebrated as Victory Day. The same date also marks the end of the 1965 Indo-Pak War. 26th September marks the landing of the first Indian troops on European soil during WW1.
As a part of this project children of Smile Foundation have met the war veterans, decedents from the village of Bhondsi, Haryana. From this small village large number of people have laid their lives serving in the defence forces since World War I till now. Adopted as India’s symbol of remembrance, children presented marigold to the war heroes and also gift their commemorative creatives like artworks, letters written for soldiers and perform songs on this occasion. The war veterans and the decedents of the fallen soldiers have shared their experience with the children to inspire, encourage the younger generation.
The whole project is conceived and initiated by the United Service Institution of India (USI) in partnership with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), Flags of Honour Foundation (FOH) and the Big Ideas Company.
About Smile Foundation:
Smile Foundation is a national level development organisation reaching out to more than 400,000 underprivileged children, youth and women directly every year through more than 200 welfare projects on subjects such as education, healthcare, youth employability, and women empowerment across 25 states of India. Adopting a life cycle approach of development, Smile Foundation focuses its interventions on children, their families and the community.
About USI :
The United Service Institution of India (USI) was founded in 1870 for the furtherance of interest and knowledge in the art, science and literature of National Security in general and of the Defence Services in particular. It is the oldest Institution of its kind in Asia. The Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research (CAFHR) was established in December 2000 under the aegis of the USI after due Consultation with the three Service Headquarters.