‘We fought shoulder-to-shoulder ignoring religion’

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru:

Major General VPS Bhakuni, who runs the SSB Sureshot Academy, sought to give communal harmony a shot in the arm on Friday as he emphasised vibrant multiculturalism in the armed forces.

The Bengaluru-based institution’s aim is to promote the armed forces as a career option. “You will find that in the army, under one roof, there is a mandir (temple), masjid (mosque), gurudwara (sikh place of worship) and another place of worship from any religion. So that is the kind of environment, an army officer and soldier is brought up on,” Bhakuni said.

“When we faced every problem while standing shoulder to shoulder, be it the wars of 62’, 65’, 71’, we fought them all together for independence. We shall do so in the future as well. There are small differences between brothers. We shouldn’t give it undue importance,” he added.

Bhakuni said that there were more than 100 participants in the academy’s programme from all over the country. “SSB Sureshot Academy is to train the youth for the army, air force and navy. We are creating the future leaders of the armed forces. They are the ones who appear for various examinations and qualify,” he said. He branded his institution a ‘sarva dharm sthal’ (a place for all religions).