A 12-day long Special National Integration camp with a total of 190 cadets from all over India was held at Sindhu Sanskriti hall from August 12 to 23. N.N Vohra, Governor J&K visited the camp on August 17. 

The camp is a follow up of Pre Special National Integration camp at the same venue which was attended by 400 cadets from Leh, Jammu and Kashmir region.

Governor N.N Vohra said, “India is a vast country and knowing about it strengthens brotherhood, unity and harmony. To maintain unity, territory, sovereignty and freedom we have to protect our country, which is indeed a difficult job done by the defence services of Indian army, navy, air forces etc. The cadets are having a good opportunity to know what these services are.”  

He advised the cadets from different states to learn and respect the diverse culture and tradition to strengthen the brotherhood and raising the interest of our nation. 

Talking about Ladakh, he said that the scenic beauty of Ladakh is very exceptional which cannot be found in any part of the world, due to which outnumbered of tourist from all over the world visits here. 

“Now in the coming years, Ladakh is going to be connected throughout the season with rest of the state through Manali and Srinagar, when these two highways become operational, we are going to receive high numbers of visitors to the region”, he added.

Major General, Virender Kumar, Additional Director General, NCC Directorate J&K detailed about the various activities of NCC and said, “The national cadet corps has over the period of time working to shape up young cadets for nation building. The operation through its multifarious innovative training programme and the conduct of NCC camp has created invariable contribution toward achieving the nation building. In addition, the Ministry of Defence approved for raising one battalion in border areas by the year 2025. This will help to meet the growing aspiration of youths of the state.” 

He said that holding a National Integration Camp in border areas play an important role in bringing out the sense of togetherness among the youths from different parts of the country. Such camps help them to know the diverse culture, religions and geographic condition of the country and build responsible, disciplined and motivated citizens of the country.

He informed that the performance of cadets at the national level has improved. The cadets from J&K Directorate went for Youth exchange programme to Kazakhistan, Russia, Sri Lanka, and Singapore. One cadet went for a naval cruise to Maldives, three cadets from Leh has scaled the Mt. Everest. This year 6 cadet has qualified for NDA and 4 in a special scheme for Armed forces. 

Anmol Naram, cadet, “Most of us don’t travel to all parts of east, west, north and south of our country so in this camp, we have cadets from all over India and since everyone has different way of life, we get to know how India is and what is there in India.”

Sajan Mukshika Sharma, a cadet from second J&K Girls Battalion said, “It’s been three years since I have joined NCC and is a great exposure since we get to know many things in this camp. We start our day with yoga then practice drill, training and culture activities.”

NCC camps aim to impart collective training to cadets providing an opportunity to experience community living, to cooperate and work together. It also aims in inculcating leadership qualities, the spirit of adventure and sportsmanship.