Prof Rabinder Nath Sharma, a prominent Left activist and teacher, in a personal communication, shared with us his experience of Kairon reprimanding those who did not do their national duty in a morally upright manner. He regarded this to be the moral duty of the citizens. Through all this collection, Kairon did not tolerate corruption. This was over and above the contribution of 252-kg gold in the form of ornaments, coins and medals.Īt the end of the war, the Punjab Government decided to give Rs 10,000 to the recipients of the Param Vir Chakra, Rs 5,000 for the recipients of the Maha Vir Chakra and Rs 2,500 for the recipients of the Vir Chakra. On November 28, the NDF reported that from the people of India, it had received Rs 8 crore, of which 46 per cent (over Rs 3.7 crore) had been contributed by Punjab. ![]() ![]() By now, the NDF had received Rs 2 crore in cash donations. From other parts of the country, 5.327 kg of gold was donated. The MPs of the Congress collected 0.6 kg of gold to gift to the National Defence Fund (NDF). Of the 12,000 gold coins collected, some were from the times of the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.īN Mullick, Nehru’s intelligence chief, noted that Kairon had promised Nehru that the people of Punjab would support his efforts to defend the country with ‘gold and blood’. This was what had been donated to the government by the people of Punjab in the form of necklaces, bangles, rings, nose pins, medals, old coins and other items from their personal collection. Half of this had come from the people of Amritsar. On his 73rd birthday, Jawaharlal Nehru was given a gift of 130-kg gold by the Punjab Government. Thousands of young men and women attended it and pledged to defend the country and undertake military training. The first meeting of this group was held at the Gobindgarh Fort in Amritsar. ![]() General Mohan Singh, a veteran from the Indian National Army, was encouraged to organise a training programme for students so that they could be well equipped to defend the country in the face of an enemy attack. Kairon’s hold over the soldiers was such that even Radio Ceylon, the most popular radio station in India of the time, broadcast his address, along with religious hymns and shabads, to soldiers early in the morning, which encouraged them to remain on the path of righteousness and fight for justice. Deputy commissioners were ordered to take special care of any soldier or family members who would approach the administration with any problem.
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