In October 2005, the earth shook violently across parts of India and Pakistan. In North Kashmir, the border town of Uri was reduced to rubble. Homes collapsed, roads split open, and cries for help rose from beneath broken walls.

As panic spread, a young dental surgeon from nearby Baramulla ran towards the destruction. That moment would go on to define the course of Dr Itinderpal Singh Bali’s life.

Nearly two decades later, Dr Bali, now 51, is known across Jammu and Kashmir and beyond as the ‘Aid Man of Kashmir’. He has trained more than 30,000 people in life-saving first aid and emergency response skills, helping communities act in the crucial minutes before professional help arrives.

“When the 2005 earthquake hit Uri, I saw unimaginable helplessness,” Dr Bali recalls. Roads were cut off. Hospitals were difficult to reach. Injured people lay bleeding as neighbours stood close by, afraid that a wrong move could worsen the situation.

The desire to help was everywhere. The knowledge of how to help was not.

That gap stayed with him long after the aftershocks stopped. Dr Bali began to understand that survival during disasters often depends on what happens in the first few minutes, long before an ambulance or doctor can reach the injured.

What communities needed, he realised, was not only hospitals and equipment, but ordinary people trained to respond with confidence and care.

In the months that followed, Dr Bali worked closely with earthquake survivors and social activist Nirmala Deshpande. The experience deepened his resolve to move from instinctive action to organised service.

In 2007, he underwent professional disaster response training with RedR India, a UK-based humanitarian support organisation. That training........

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