Given his knowledge and patronage for numerous kinds of martial arts, it’s not surprising that Akshay Kumar has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make self-defence training compulsory at school level in India. The actor-producer, who also for the last six years has been funding an annual international martial arts competition in Mumbai, came back home from his Singapore holiday, impressed with their approach to self defence.
“I was talking to a friend who told me that the crime rate in Singapore is just 0.03 per cent. The reason is that every individual in that country is trained in self defence and martial arts techniques right from school,” says Akshay, adding, Each man and woman is also taken through rigorous military training. They are also taught how to shoot with guns. The purpose is to ensure that every individual is prepared to fight for themselves and fight for the country.
Countrymen and women are also made to sign an undertaking that they will fight for the country when it needs them to. They have to undergo a refresher course once every two years after school so they remember what they learnt. Thats an achievement because the entire population is equipped to protect themselves and their country. We have to achieve that too, since more than 70 per cent of our population is under-40 even now, says the actor who once wished to open a martial arts academy but dropped the idea completely when the state government refused to give him land anywhere within Mumbai.
No one wants to travel to Bhayander to learn martial arts but that doesnt mean Ive stopped supporting it or its importance in our schools and colleges. We need it and we must have it. India will be a far more prosperous country then, Akshay ends.