In a massive show of love, solidarity, brotherhood, national bonding and togetherness, sisters from North-East tied Rakhi on Jawans from armed forces and paramilitary personnel deployed in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

On the auspicious occasion of Raksha Bandhan, Self-help groups from the eight North-East Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim also sent Rakhis, tri-coloured bands and facemasks to Jawans posted in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh – bringing together the eternal emotional bond between the various cultures, States and people of India.

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A symbolic Rakhi ceremony was also held today in Delhi in which sisters from North East states tied Rakhis to Hon’ble Minister of State, Ministry of Development of North eastern Region (MDoNER) (IC) Dr Jitendra Singh, Secretary Dr Inder Jit Singh, Special Secretary Shri Indevar Pandey, Officer on Special Duty Shri Prashant Kumar Jha, and Jawans from various units present in Delhi.

The initiative was driven by the SHGs from North East India, supported by Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER), North Eastern Council (NEC) and North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Project (NERCORMP).

Speaking on the occasion, Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said, “J&K is my parliamentary constituency and Northeast is my official constituency.  As an MP from Udhampur, Jammu and a domicile of the UT, I have a deep-rooted connection with the region. And as a Minister for MDoNER, I have a strong sentimental attachment to the North-East region which is also a part of my assigned responsibilities. I regularly receive representations from our brothers and sisters from the North Eastern states who keep on coming up with innovative ideas for the overall welfare and development of the country. It was during one such interface with the NE community wherein they showcased the strong and steadfast solidarity with the armed forces, which helped in the germination of this idea of bonding the two regions together in a strong union”.

Secretary Dr Inder Jit Singh said, “The self-help groups in the region have been manufacturing masks since April. And they went all-out in the extremely limiting environment of lockdown to manufacture the masks for the jawans. It is their toil, love and solidarity that is the key driving force behind this initiative”.