ABOUT US – Col Sanjay Pande

SAVITA

27 Sep 1964 – 08 Sep 2017

Married – May 1987

Passion – Unit ladies, families of soldiers, children, welfare in one word ‘LOVE”.

Passed away in Sep 2017 due to Cardiac Arrest resulting due to Ovarian Cancer. Laughing and joking till last day.

COL SANJAY PANDE

Passion – Writing on issues connected to National Security, Military Tales, Veterans, Forces Widows, Youth Leadership, Thinking, Mind Power, Humour, Cooking, Cycling etc.

Personal Details –

DoB – 12 Sep 1960, Jamnagar

Father – Indian Air Force, Retd in 1986 as Hony Flt Lt

Childhood and School – 21 years in Air Force Stations. Kendriya Vidyalayas across India

College – One year in Delhi University and graduated from Nagpur University in 1981

Military Career

Army – SS 34, OTA Chennai in Oct 1981, passed out on 26 Aug 1982. Commissioned in Artillery.

Postings – Jalandhar, Dinjan, Arunachal, Devlali, Abohar, Darbuk, Dehradun, Tibri, Kupwara, Wellington, Talbehat, Kupwara, Allahabad, Samba, Batalik, Bikaner.

Commanded in Batalik, active LoC for two years and three months from 2003-2005.

Courses – 14 in total including JC, SC, DSSC, LGSC

Appointments/Imp Postings – Instructor IMA, BM Arty Bde, BM RR Sect, Col “A”

Terrains Seen – Rajasthan, Punjab, Kupwara, Tangdhar, Pharkian Gali, Macchhal, NG Sector, HAA, LAC (Ladakh), LAC (China), Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Myanmar border.

Operations – 17 years out of 25 years.

Retired – Premature Retirement – 2006

Reason for PMR – Please file RTI with AHQ

Post Retirement – In Delhi

Family – SAVITA (Wife) passed away in 2017, Children two, both working at away locations.

Me –

While in service not even one favour asked or taken for ACR, Posting, Gallantry Awards, Course Grading, Foreign Posting, Promotion or anything that helps in career growth.

12 Gallantry Awards to men under command and Unit Citation.

Not one man can ever come up to put even smallest blemish on my service career.

Not one rupee corruption in entire service or post retirement life either in kind or cash.

Never approached any senior in Army to grant a favour in service or after retirement.

Never stepped in my own unit after Command since 2005 to date. I touch with over 600 veterans of my unit and 100% widows.

No affiliation with any political party.

Desire NOTHING.

PAYING BACK : DEDICATED FOR LIFE TO FORCES WIDOWS AND VETERANS

I, Col Sanjay Kamlakar Pande (Retd) after putting in 25 years of service took premature retirement in 2006. Since the days of commanding the unit from 2003 to 2005 in Batalik (Kargil), accompanied by my wife, during leave, we have been visiting widows of our unit in their homes in deep rural Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and J & K. We dedicated ourselves to the wellbeing of the widows and provided every type of support like guidance for pension, grants, medical, CSD and any other type of assistance.

Since retirement, we started visiting the widows and veterans in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and J & K at least once in a year. We did it at our own from own pension and to-date have not taken any financial assistance from any organisation, whether government or non-government. The visits increased to about two times a year and for seven to nine days. We went in our own transport from village to village meeting widows, children and veterans. We extended every type of assistance and projected these problems regularly to authorities.

Through these visits since last 15 years, we got very close to the widows and veterans and worked selflessly at grass root level. We were fully aware of their day to day challenges, problems and continuously analysed the way out.

In 2017, Savita, my wife, passed away and children went abroad for work and education. Since then I have taken it as my life’s mission to continue what we both did together but now alone.

I am from past three years, preparing a project that will revolutionise the way widows and veterans are handled. The “ONE WINDOW” or “ESM-WIDOW WINDOW” will bring all stakeholders on one platform with the users being ESM and Widows. This will connect the Central Government directly to the ESM-Widows and the complete intermediary chain automated/reduced drastically thus increasing the happiness quotient of users. Lukewarm response from Govt organisations is not very motivating.

Dainik Bhasker covered his pet project “Sammaan aur Jubaan”. Education Grants of government do not reach widows or reach very few. Kendriya Sainik Board has accepted that massive information gap exists. “Sammaan aur Jubaan” is about ensuring that widows children minimum do the post-graduation in a stream of their choice with whatever tuition fees.

This is the fourth year of successful running of the initiative aptly named “SAVITA” (Sustainable And Valuable Initiative for Timely Assistance)”. This is just a feeling, a virtual organisation with just one motive, SEWA at our own cost.