Brave army brothers in Galwan get rakhis from sisters across India

Vadodara: Despite being miles away from their families, the wrists of hundreds of soldiers standing guard at Galwan on Indo-Chinese border will not miss the rakhis on Monday.
Women from eight states have sent the soldiers colourful rakhis on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan to help these brothers who are braving the tough weather and Chinese army aggression feel loved and protected.
“The soldiers posted at Galwan border gave a great sacrifice to protect our borders. They ensured that we remained safe so we decided to extend our gesture for our army men,” said Sanjay Bachav, a teacher at Baroda High School, Bagikhana.
“We collected rakhis over the last few weeks and were overwhelmed by the huge response we received despite the danger of Covid virus still looming large. Apart from Gujaratis, women from other states too sent rakhis for the soldiers,” Bachav told TOI.
Bachav with some of his students packed the rakhis and sent them by courier to not just Galwan but also Kargil and Siachen.
“We sent over 12,000 rakhis this year, of which over 3,000 were for Galwan. Phone calls have started coming in from the soldiers who received the rakhis,” Bachav added.
“I got a call from an army man posted in Kargil on Saturday. He thanked us for sending in rakhis for the soldiers despite the pandemic. They have been serving our nation selflessly and by sending rakhis we send in a message that we are all a one big family,” said Himali Patel, a chartered accountant and former student of Bachav.
Bachav ensured that every rakhi was sanitized several times before packing. He began sending in rakhis to the army men four years ago. “These soldiers are away from their families but they also love to celebrate festivals like all of us. So I decided to send them rakhis and forge a bond with the men who protect us day in day out,” Bachav added.