It goes without saying that education plays an important role in the life of people, more so for the people who come from areas where there are less opportunities for decent livelihood. Something on these lines is true for a police officer in Uttarakhand, who gave priority to education and is now donning various roles to serve the people of the state. Apart from being a policeman, Mr. R K Saklani is a popular guru for the youth in the state.
Mr. Saklani was recently transferred to Haridwar from Muni-Ki-Reti police station in Rishikesh, where he started his own transit camp for training the youth for armed forces. Serving at the post of an inspector, Mr. Saklani was deeply connected with the youth in the city. Such was the goodwill which he generated from his work that on being transferred to Haridwar, he was showered with flowers!
But where did all this motivation come from? This question often comes to everybody’s mind when they hear about Mr. Saklani and his exemplary deeds. In an exclusive interview with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Saklani emphasized on his past life before joining Uttarakhand police and his purpose behind training and guiding the youth.
INCLINATION TOWARDS EDUCATION
Mr. Saklani said, “I was brought in a village called Pawwala Soura in Dehradun district, where my father was a primary school teacher. While growing up we experienced everything which a struggling youth of a family in this era has to go through. Be it cutting grass, maintaining cows and other farming activities – I did everything.”
Mr. Saklani and his siblings completed their schooling from government schools. As the village came under the Dehradun district, Mr. Saklani took admission in DAV PG College for pursuing his graduation. Following the footsteps of his father, he took the Basic Teacher Certificate (BTC) and did master’s in English Literature.
Soon in 2002, he got selected in the Uttarakhand Police at the post of sub-inspector. He said, “My father was very serious about education and it is the only reason why my siblings and I have reached so far in our career.”
STARTING TRAINING CAMP FOR THE YOUTH
In 2002, Mr Saklani had two choices to frame his career. The first one was to become a teacher after completing his B. Ed and the other one was to join the police. He said, “The scope of serving the people at a large scale was only possible in the field of policing. As a teacher, I would not have been able to reach out to maximum people, as the scope of doing social service is wider in policing.”
After joining the Uttarakhand police, the focus of Mr. Saklani shifted towards the youth as he realized that the age when people choose the wrong direction in life is when they are young. He conducted various awareness programmes in schools and colleges across the state and guided the youth while interacting with them. His policing and motivational skills are the reasons why he is popular among the youth.
It was in 2017 when Mr. Saklani started a transit camp for training the youth, at a ground near Rishikesh. He was posted as in charge of a police station in Narendra Nagar of Tehri district at that time. He said, “The transit camp was started by me with a focus on training the youth for armed forces. As there was only an indoor place in Narendra Nagar, we opened an outdoor facility in Muni-Ki-Reti. The classes are free of cost and around 250 enrollments have already been recorded in these four years. From Monday to Friday, physical training is provided to the youth for two hours every day. On Saturday, a mock test is conducted to prepare them for written examinations.”
THE MOTIVE
Despite his transfer, Mr. Saklani has ensured that the training started by him in Rishikesh carries on without a hitch. For this, he has appointed four instructors who take care of the daily training sessions and are paid by him personally. This initiative was taken under the ‘Youth United for Virtual Awareness’ programme in which such direction is provided to the youth for their better future.
Up till now, around 25 students from the training camp have joined the police force, army, home guard, and other government services. For his selfless endeavour, Mr. Saklani deserves a salute.
