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For these orphans of militancy, this is home

The girls chant prayers for peace every dawn and dusk, trying to erase memories of the violence that claimed their parents and destroyed their world not long ago.

They are the children of killed militants and riot victims. Interestingly, it is not a government organisation or a voluntary body that is providing them shelter, but a couple in Mohali, Punjab, who had at one time been detained under the Terrorists and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act.

When Kanwar Singh Dhami returned from prison, his wife had started an orphanage for the children of slain militants.

''I remained in a cell with my husband for almost a year. I gave birth to a son there who is now four years. It was after being released that I realised the agony of children who have lost their parents in various encounters with the police or militant outfits,'' Dhami explains the reason for opening the centre.

The institution, Gur Asra Trust, on the outskirts of Chandigarh also shelters four widows of slain militants. They now help with the cooking, sing hymns and take care of the 41 girls in the shelter.

Most of the children belong to Amritsar and Hoshiarpur, the two districts that had the maximum casualties during the militancy period in Punjab.

UNI

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