“Arise! Awake! and stop not until the goal is reached.” – Swami Vivekananda
Today’s youth have no dearth of days to celebrate – Rose Day, Valentine’s Day, Friendship Day and the list is endless. But are they aware of National Youth Day, celebrated January 12, to commemorate the birthday of social reformer, philosopher and thinker Swami Vivekananda?
Ahead of National Youth Day, Sunday POST talks to a few youth leaders to ascertain the relevance celebration of National Youth Day in today’s time.
Priyabrata Tripathy, a social worker at Red E Pathsala, says, “Swamiji’s philosophy is certainly relevant today. The youngsters these days get carried away easily and idolising the wrong people. Therefore, it is essential to spread the ideals of Swami Vivekananda now more than ever. Channelising youth power for nation building is the theme for this year. Being a follower of Swamiji, I would urge as many youth as possible to behave responsibly in this difficult juncture and lead the society to prevent further loss of life due to the pandemic.”
He further adds: “If we are well-off, it is our responsibility not to let anyone remain starved. Similarly, if you are qualified enough, start teaching kids who cannot afford to go to school. It is indeed high time we followed these ideals of Swami Vivekananda and make this youthful nation scale greater heights.”
Ananga Kumar Behera from Jajpur has been educating people living in slums. Besides, he is working to curb the rate of school dropouts, alcoholism and is conducting workshops for farmers so that they can get good harvest.
He says, “National Youth Day has lost its significance nowadays because today’s youths idolise the reel heroes, not the real ones like Swami Vivekananda. It is time, we worked towards making his vision of an India where youth lead in all spheres, a reality.”
Sharing his plans of this year’s National Youth Day celebration, he says, “On behalf of our voluntary organisation Chhoti Si Asha, we will be conducting a meeting at Ghanteswar in Bhadrak comprising youths from all walks of life. The event is aimed at making the youngsters focused and motivated. That apart, we will launch a plantation drive.”
Social activist Punyaslok Panda had represented India at the Asian Youth for Sustainable Palm Oil Summit 2019, co-organised by Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), in Bangkok.
He is of the opinion that youths get influenced by rampant commercialization of occasions like Valentine’s Day or Friendship Day. But the same can’t be said about the celebration of National Youth Day. This is one of the reasons not too many people are aware of this day even as it was declared just 35 years back, he says.
Asked about their plans, he adds: “Last year we celebrated International Youth Day and have plans this year to celebrate National Youth Day. We have planned a session where we would discuss how youth and sustainability work together for a better future.”
Sushant Sahoo received the National Youth Award for bearing the medical expenses of the poor and ailing who lie uncared for by the roadside. He says, “National Youth Day certainly matters a lot to me. We hold a meeting to encourage youths of the present generation to follow the path shown by Swami Vivekananda. According to me, the main objective of National Youth Day and the reason for its observance is to create a platform for the youth and address their problems in various spectrums of life. But sadly, this is not happening. Though there is the MiValentine’s Daynistry of Youth Affairs and Sports to look into such issues, unfortunately, it doesn’t take much interest in youth affairs. It’s high time the state as well as Union government took youth issues seriously and encouraged youngsters to celebrate the National Youth Day whole-heartedly following the footprints of youth icon Vivekananda.”
Rashmi Rekha Das,OP
