A thanksgiving evening for ‘Samaritans’ lending crucial support to North East people

By Bipin Sharma

A thanksgiving event titled “India for North East People-Unity in Diversity” was hosted in the capital recently to honour those good ‘Samaritans’ that had pledged themselves for the cause of the North East people in the crucial reckoning hours of their grief and sorrows. Organized by ‘Helping Hands’ NGO in sync with 8 North East States Students Unions, SARC Associates and BKT Film Production Company at the Constitution Club of India, Rafi Marg, New Delhi on 3^rd May, 2017, the event was a special way to express gratitude to all those organizations and passionate volunteers who had left an indelible mark in the hearts of the North East people residing in Delhi-NCR through their noble, caring acts.

The emotive thanksgiving function saw a huge turnout of people from the North East, besides MPs, Ministers, prominent dignitaries and bureaucrats. The anchoring of the event was done by Shilpa Bhavna.

While everyone played a significant role in ensuring the success of the event, the Man who stole the thunder was none other than Robin Hibu (IPS), the founder cum President of ‘Helping Hands’ who got a thunderous applause for all his untiring efforts and exuberance.

A charitable, non profit, non government organization, ‘Helping Hands’ NGO works pan India for empowering the needy, with emergency and legal support.

The Chief Guest of the event was Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs while the Guest of Honour were Vijay Sampla, MOS for Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr. T. Meinya (MP), Mary Kom (MP), Conrad Sagma (MP) and Ronald Sapa Tlau (MP).

In his speech, Minister Kiren Rijiju said, “India is a diverse country and we must live harmoniously irrespective of caste, creed, religious, and language difference. The people of North East add beauty and distinctive vibrancy to the country. It is imperative to mention that the nation is not defined by its capital, but by its boundaries, and that needs to be understood by all of us. Every member of the society and every state is an integral component of the country, and in the true sense, happens to be the mainstream segment of the country.”

Addressing the packed house, Founder and President of Helping Hands NGO, Robin Hibu (Delhi Police IG and Nodal Officer for North East people) said, “People are our most valuable asset and the core principles at ‘Helping Hands’ includes shared vision and goals, collaboration and sharing, mutual respect and joint investment of efforts in the overall goal of uplifting and empowering the under privileged. The key aim of ‘Helping Hands’ is to serve the North East People in distress besides creating awareness, providing legal-emergency assistance as well as healthcare–education facilities. We are pledged towards ensuring the overall empowerment of those in suffering and need. There have been a lot of accomplishments in a very short span, and we have made sincere efforts in assuring North East people residing in Delhi-NCR that their grievances would be instantly addressed sans any delay or encumbrance. ‘North East’ is indubitably an integral part of our country, and it is the duty of every Delhiite to ensure the welfare of their people, and to shield them from any discrimination. Kudos to the entire team of volunteers for all their painstaking efforts and ensuring the success of the event. The large gathering of volunteers from different walks of life, special guests and prominent personalities proves that we are all united to ensure the well being of North East people especially students. The sacrifice of Nido Tania who was brutally assaulted and murdered will definitely not go in vain…”

The rich cultural legacy of North East drew a loud cheer from the audience when local eminent artists showcased the traditional dance forms of their area.

The highlight of the event was the honouring of the launch of books “North East-The Land of Rising”, “Make in India” and Window to success- An insight into MSME sector” authored by Sunil Kumar Gupta.

The book “North East-The Land of Rising Opportunities” aims at serving as a one-stop shop practical guide for anyone who aspires to invest in the NER or wants to gain knowledge about the demography, culture, traditions, festivals, investment opportunities, funding options, laws and special provisions that govern the region.

The revised edition of the book “Make in India” is a sincere effort towards help entrepreneurs and business establishments worldwide to know everything about setting about a venture in India. The book includes information about India, investment policies, funding options, sectorial regulators in India and much more.

The revised edition of the book “Window to Success-A compendium on MSME sector” has been meticulously organized into 11 chapters which flow logically to guide a young entrepreneur into the world of MSMEs in India.

The event also saw the announcement of scholarships by Author Sunil Kumar Gupta, BKT, Greater Noida College of Commerce for Women and SARC Associates in various streams such as CA and CS training, film related training and IAS coaching for meritorious North East students selected by ‘Helping Hands’.

The event also witnessed the announcement of the movie ‘Kasak’ based on North East region, and directed by Chairman of BKT Academy and Films Pvt. Ltd. Sidhant Saheb.

The event concluded with a thanksgiving note and presentation of mementos by North East People to CEOs of Indigo Airlines, Vistara Airlines, Director of Vajiram, ALS and Elite IAS Institutes, Incharge Graveyard Dwarka, Crematorium Punjabi Bagh, Chairman of SARC and BKT films for their remarkable CSR activities.

At the end of it, one really hopes that the remarkable initiative of Helping Hands and their myriad volunteers bears rich fruits in helping spread widespread awareness about the significant role and contribution of the seven sister states of India which are namely the contiguous states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura in the North Eastern India.

On a more significant note, the event managed to effectively communicate the larger message that the dream of ‘New India’ could easily be achieved by regarding all states and UTs as ‘mainstream’ integral segments of the country.