Dear Shri Nayab Singh Saini Ji

My plan was to write about the Pakistan-brokered ceasefire that, for the time being, ended the American Iran war. But a columnist is often influenced by his heart more than his mind. And that is how I thought of appealing to your heart rather than to your heartless bureaucracy, in the hope that you will not let me down.

On April 9, I was in Karnal as a resource person at the 2026 Delhi Province Assembly of the Indian Missionary Society (IMS), an indigenous order of the Catholic Church. One thing that attracted me to the IMS is its practice of giving all its members new Indian names like Kiran, Keerthi, and Manas instead of European names like Eugene, Lucas, and Dubois.

I was happy to meet the Provincial, Fr Sajeev, and a large number of priests drawn from various parts of the province. They represented a microcosm of India. I was glad that they asked me so many questions and that I could engage with them for about one and a half hours. In the end, I am not sure who benefited more, me or them.

Around last Christmas, I was invited as a guest by MDD Bal Bhavan to take part in its Silver Jubilee celebrations. Unfortunately, it clashed with another programme I had committed to attend. So I missed not only a memento but also an opportunity to understand how the Mission to the Destitute and Desperate of India (MDD) functioned.

During the COVID period, the Distress Management Collective (DMC) told me that the Bal Bhavan had run short of food materials and needed support. I was happy to note that the DMC extended a helping hand when the Bal Bhavan needed it most. After all, one can control everything but not one's own hunger!

My knowledge of MDD was limited. Of course, I knew it had a dynamic founder and leader in Shri PR Nath. I also knew that he was the younger brother of my friend and colleague at the Kerala Club, Shri PR Nair. I met him for the first time when I attended the funeral of Shri Nair's wife.

When I expressed an interest in visiting Bal Bhavan, he extended to my wife and me an invitation, with a lunch thrown in as an added attraction. However, he remembered my visit only after my friend and former DGP of Haryana Police, Dr John V. George, sent him a message that I had a programme in Karnal. Otherwise, Shri Nath might not have even been there.

We often think highly of ourselves. We expect everyone to know us. But the truth is far from reality. Shri Nath knew that I was associated with Deepalaya, but did not know that I was a journalist with 53 years of experience in the profession. When I told him that I lived in Chandigarh from 2003 to 2009 while I was with The Tribune, I made it a point to mention that I played an important role in launching the Haryana edition of The Tribune.

I am not sure about the position now, but in my time with The Tribune, it was the largest English daily circulated in the state. Most of Dainik Tribune's circulation was in Haryana. I understand that your constituency is in Kurukshetra. I had an occasion to inaugurate a seminar at Kurukshetra University, organised by the late Prof. Brij Kishore Kuthiala, where one of the speakers was my guru like figure, the late Prof. Omchery NN Pillai. I considered it a great privilege to share the dais with him, little knowing that we would be comrades in arms at the Kerala Club soon thereafter.

I had a shock when the security guard opened the gate to MDD Bal Bhavan to let our taxi in. I had expected a modest building with bare facilities for the children living there. This might have been because I have visited several children's homes in Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha.

What I saw at Karnal was mind boggling. As Chief Minister of Haryana, you should take pride in the fact that MDD Bal Bhavan is situated in your state and not elsewhere in the world. I will come to that in a moment. Shri Nath has an obsession with the colour white. He wears a white shirt with white pants and white shoes. The whole building is a riot of white. I presume that he might have been a Brahmakumari or a Pope in his previous birth!

I may have sounded deprecating, but the colour is not something to be ashamed of. It is the most important colour because it symbolises purity, clarity and balance. It reflects all wavelengths of light, making it fundamental to perception itself. White provides contrast, enhances visibility and creates space in design.

Unlike many founders whose offices are the plushest, Shri Nath occupies a corner seat in the office meant for three – the triumvirate who run the NGO. After reading this, you should not get the impression that it has been a bed of roses for him. On the contrary, the years, especially when the Bal Bhavan was taking off with two abandoned children in a rented premises in 1999, were as comfortable as Bheeshma felt when he was on a bed of arrows at Kurukshetra.

Shri Nath took me around the campus and showed me all the facilities available there for about 70 girl children. They are not children he has personally chosen. They were referred there by the District Child Welfare Committee of the Haryana Government. It functions under the committee's control and in furtherance of the ennobling provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act.

It is, perhaps, the only children's home where all the children have air conditioning in the halls where they sleep. While I am personally frugal in using the AC, the children are guaranteed AC comfort throughout the night during summer. And in winter, they enjoy room heaters – a luxury for me.

I asked Shri Nath why the children were pampered. He said it was his vision that the children under his care should have the best facilities and not feel any sense of deprivation. Admission to the girls' quarters is strictly forbidden to males – except those of the mosquito variety, where the females are more dangerous.

In an ordinary children's home, children can be kept only till they attain the age of 18, the age of voting. Once they reach that age, they are considered adults who cannot stay there. At this Bal Bhavan, they are allowed to stay till they turn 21. And in exceptional cases, they are allowed to stay even beyond that age.

Sir, you would be happy to know there was great excitement at the Bal Bhavan when I was there. One of their young adults is getting married next Monday. You may wonder what is so special about the marriage. The girl grew up in the Bal Bhavan. What's more, she has a hearing and speaking impairment. They have found a groom whose disability is worse than that of his bride. But he is a capable person who runs a shop on his own and has the capacity to look after his wife.

When I was there, Shri Nath received a telephone call from someone who promised to sponsor the sweet dish to be served at the marriage reception. The Bal Bhavan has an auditorium cum dining hall with a stage where the marriage will be solemnised and the guests given a sumptuous meal. If time permits, I suggest that you attend the marriage and bless the couple.

MDD Bal Bhavan is, perhaps, the only children's home in the country where there are two bedrooms specially earmarked for newly married couples to stay for a few weeks or months until they can find their own accommodation. From Monday, the newly married couple can use a bedroom for as long as they need it.

This shows the thoughtfulness of Shri Nath. Don't think that he is an advocate of early marriages. On the contrary, he is against early marriages. "Just Rights for Children" is a banner MDD has been using in collaboration with the Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation to prevent child marriages. Its CEO claimed that at least 15,000 child marriages were prevented because of their intervention. Is this not a commendable achievement for your government, which promotes the slogan, "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" (Save the Daughter, Educate the Daughter)? Yes, children should be in classrooms instead of having children.

Another of your government's programmes is Skill India. I am happy to tell you that one of the girls there used my camera to take our picture. It was perhaps the first time she used a professional camera, but she took a nice one in Aperture Priority mode.

Girls are also trained in tailoring and beauty culture. They also learn how to apply mehendi, which, you know, fetches a lot of money during the marriage season. They will be able to stand on their own legs when they leave the Bal Bhavan forever.

I am sure you would have heard about the Mother's Cradle scheme that the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa introduced. Any woman who does not want to take care of her baby for economic or other reasons can leave her child in a cradle kept in public places like a government hospital. The government would take care of the child.

Shri Nath has a similar cradle at Karnal. Anyone can leave their baby in the cradle there. While leaving, they should press the bell. Within five minutes, the child would be lifted from there and taken care of. At the moment, MDD Bal Bhavan does not have the licence to run an adoption centre. Hence, the baby is handed over to such a centre. Once he gets the licence, he will be able to provide all the necessary care and support for the babies before they can be handed over to their foster parents. They have so far received 24 babies, most of whom are girls.

The Bal Bhavan helps your government fulfil your promise of public health. It provides free of cost consultation by an MBBS doctor at its clinic. Your government should be grateful for all this.

Now, do you know what your government has done to the Bal Bhavan? The government is committed to paying ?3,000 per child per month. This is insufficient, as it includes the cost of food, accommodation, school fees, medical care, dress, toiletries, etc. The government also has to pay the salaries of some staff. Every year, they receive a grant.

Last year, they did not receive any money. In the case of Bal Bhavan, they get food items and other materials on credit. Their bills are cleared when the government grant is received. In March, they were told that the government had overspent ?150 crore received from the Centre. So they were asked to wait until March end. Then they were told that there is no money in the kitty.

MDD Bal Bhavan is not the only one to suffer. There are 22 children's homes in the state. None of them has received the grant this year. Needless to say, Haryana is one of the richest states. A few years ago, a secretary level officer told me that the state has thousands of crores of rupees collected from builders, under a Central law, for the welfare of workers. And he did not know how to use the money.

Whatever the constraints, I urge you to find the resources and release these funds at the earliest. For the children in these homes, this is not an accounting delay. It is the difference between dignity and deprivation. It is the difference between a full plate and an empty one. To withhold support now is to leave them on the edge of hunger and uncertainty. I cannot believe this is what you intended when you took your oath of office. You promised to protect and to care. You promised that the most vulnerable would not be forgotten. Please, for heaven's sake, release the funds your government owes to the 22 children's homes.

Yours etc.,