“Youth and Nation-Building” speech by the President of India sri Pranab Mukharjee
Address
by the President of India to the institutes of higher learning and civil
service academies through video-conferencing using the national knowledge
network on the topic, “Youth and Nation-Building”
Vice Chancellors of Central
Universities;
Directors of IITs, NITs,
IISERs and other institutes of higher learning and civil service academies;
Faculty members;
My dear students:
1. I wish you all a very happy
and prosperous new year. Let 2016 be a year of achievement and fulfilment for
each one of you.
Friends:
2. India is a nation with a
significant young population. Over six hundred million people in our country
are below the age of 25 years. The National Youth Policy defines youth as those
persons who are in the age group of 15 to 29 years. I am however not
subscribing to any technical definition here. For me, youth is much more than
mere age. I place my faith in those who are curious and keen to learn; who are
impatient and adventurous; who have boundless energy and drive; who accept the
permanence of change and are ever ready to question the status quo;
and who have the potential to create and harness disruptive technologies for
rapid growth.
3. Investment in educating the
youth, in the sharpening of their mental faculties, technical skills,
professional competence, and awareness about their social responsibilities,
would be the key to prepare them for nation-building. The way we nurture our
youth into confident, capable and committed citizens will determine our
country’s future. I have therefore chosen to speak to you today on "Youth
and Nation-building”, a subject close to my heart.
Friends:
4. When we talk of
nation-building, the first thing we have to think of is what kind of nation we
want to build? A blueprint for that cannot be some random sketch but a grand
design based on values, hopes and aspirations of the people of the nation. On
twenty-sixth January 1950, we laid a strong foundation by giving ourselves the
Constitution of India. It was themagna carta of socio-economic
transformation for building an inclusive and modern India. We promised
ourselves to secure to all the citizens of this sovereign nationjustice, liberty, equality and fraternity.
The core principles of democracy, secularism, gender equality and
socio-economic equity became the beacon for our journey forward.
Friends:
5. Let me pause here to take a
look at the changes that surround us. Information and communication technology
has made us think, act and react differently. Distances have shrunk; mobility
has increased; instant communication has led to greater awareness, and raised
expectations. Consumerism is at its peak. Medical sciences have raised the life
expectancy and through better healthcare improved the quality of life.
Disruptive technologies have become the rule rather than the exception, putting
strain on adaptive capacity of individuals and systems.
6. It is in this environment
that the youth have to shoulder the responsibility of nation-building. They
must be readied for it through the medium of education and training. The
education that we impart to our youth must have three clearly-defined goals.
First, it must teach them to control their lives, which can be done through
character-building, healthcare, and sharpening the ability to learn and use
experience for attainment of one’s goals. Second, it must teach them to
understand life through a study of history, science, religion and philosophy.
And the third, it must teach them to enjoy their lives through friendships and
relationships, observance of nature, and study of art and literature. Our
education system must gear up to develop our youth on these lines.
Friends:
7. We must provide value-based
education to our youth. We must inculcate in them the spirit of democratic
behaviour which calls for an appreciation of the rich diversity of our nation,
assimilation of ideas, and accommodation for divergent or contrarian views. The
idea of secularism is deeply ingrained in the consciousness of our nation. It
has to be further strengthened in the minds of the young ones to build a
harmonious society.
8. Gender equality is
essential for building an inclusive society. Unless women participate on equal
terms and in equal numbers in the process of nation-building, all efforts will
remain incomplete. The occurrence of some unfortunate incidents of atrocity and
violence against women in recent years should strengthen our resolve to wipe
out any trace of depravity and evil from the minds of individuals. ‘Respect for
women’ is sacrosanct in our society with its roots embedded in our
civilizational values, which are reflected in our Constitution. A spirit of
reverence towards women must be instilled in our children in our homes and
educational institutions. It must guide social conduct of an individual from an
early age.
Friends:
9. Without socio-economic
equity, the word "inclusion” has no meaning. During the last few years, we
have provided citizens the right to information, employment, education and
food, backed by legal guarantees. The Government has launched programmes for
financial inclusion, creation of model villages and formation of a
digitally-empowered society. We have strong legislations and schemes oriented
towards inclusion. What we have to do now is to create enough opportunities
through their implementation to meet the ambitions of an aspirational India.
Friends:
10. The nation which you have
to build as bureaucrats, technocrats, scientists, educators, social innovators,
thinkers, and agriculturists has to be an India which will ensure a decent and
fulfilling life to all its citizens. It has to be aswachh India, swasth India,
a digitally-empowered India, educated and skilled India, and a tolerant,
harmonious and peaceful India where the last person feels a part of the
narrative of the country.
11. India needs novel ideas
and creative solutions to overcome challenges in the fields of education, skill
development, sanitation and healthcare, financial inclusion and service
provision. A successful innovative idea is one that has scalability. How can we
skill one million of our youth every month? How can we gainfully employ trained
manpower in the industry? How can we provide healthcare services to each rural
household? How can we meet the financing requirements of small farmers and
entrepreneurs in villages and small towns? How can we make public utility
services more accessible, inclusive and transparent?
12. The answers to these
questions lie in creating a strong digital backbone that can lead to efficient
service delivery. Putting a mobile phone in the hands of a person living in a
remote village and teaching him to use it to access information, knowledge and
services is a great act of empowerment. It gives true meaning to the word
‘inclusion’.
13. For building the India of
our dreams, we all have to work together to develop an eco-system which will
bring together innovators, entrepreneurs and financiers, which will recognize
merit and give primacy to science, technology and innovation. A facilitative
and supportive environment for free play of all creative forces, be it in
government, corporate sector or academia, has to be created.
14. The government has just launched
"Start-up India" to promote start-ups and offer incentives for
entrepreneurship and job creation. The over 4,500 start-ups make India the
third largest start-up eco-system in the world. The higher academic
institutions have a clear role to play in refining the entrepreneurial
abilities of their students. Teaching of entrepreneurial studies as a course in
our institutes will be a good beginning.
15. Educational and civil
services institutions have to inculcate in their students and trainees a sense of
social responsibility. Some suggestions for enhancing their engagement with the
community are:
i. Assign them to teach in
nearby government schools for at least one hour per month.
ii. Deploy them to undertake
community-based projects to uplift the condition of people in the vicinity.
iii. Assign them to identify
problems faced by villages and work on innovative solutions which blend modern
technology with local practices.
My young friends:
16. Tomorrow belongs to you.
Your commitment to national goals will determine the direction of our future
growth. As you get ready to embark on the journey to fulfill your dreams, let
me share with you my own little checklist for nation-building.
We work towards
nation-building if:
Produce more than we consume;
- We give more than we take;
- We work more than we idle;
and
- We think more than we talk.
You may just find this list
useful.
Thank you.
Jai Hind.
*************
Inculcate
in youths the spirit of democratic behaviour which calls for an appreciation of
the rich diversity of our nation, assimilation of ideas and accommodation of
divergent or contrarian views, says President
The
President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee delivered through Video Conferencing
a New Year Message on the topic ‘Youth and Nation-Building’ to students
and faculty of institutes of higher learning and civil service academies from Rashtrapati Bhavan today (January 19, 2016).
Addressing the students and
faculty, the President said we must inculcate in youths the spirit of
democratic behaviour which calls for an appreciation of the rich diversity of
our nation, assimilation of ideas, and accommodation of divergent or contrarian
views. The idea of secularism is deeply ingrained in the consciousness of our
nation. It has to be further strengthened in the minds of the young ones to
build a harmonious society. Gender equality is essential for building an
inclusive society. Unless women participate on equal terms and in equal numbers
in the process of nation-building, all efforts will remain incomplete. A spirit
of reverence towards women must be instilled in our children in our homes and
educational institutions. It must guide social conduct of an individual from an
early age.
The President said the
Government has launched programmes for financial inclusion, creation of model
villages and formation of a digitally-empowered society. What we have to
do now is to create enough opportunities through their implementation to meet
the ambitions of an aspirational India. The nation which the youth have to
build as bureaucrats, technocrats, scientists, educators, social innovators,
thinkers, and agriculturists has to be an India which will ensure a decent and
fulfilling life to all its citizens. It has to be a swachh India, swasth India,
a digitally-empowered India, educated and skilled India, and a tolerant,
harmonious and peaceful India where the last person feels a part of the
narrative of the country.
The President said for
building the India of our dreams, we all have to work together to develop an
eco-system which will bring together innovators, entrepreneurs and financiers,
which will recognize merit and give primacy to science, technology and innovation.
A facilitative and supportive environment for free play of all creative forces,
be it in government, corporate sector or academia, has to be created. The
higher academic institutions have a clear role to play in refining the
entrepreneurial abilities of their students. Teaching of entrepreneurial
studies as a course in our institutes will be a good beginning.
The President called upon all
educational and civil services institutions to inculcate in their students and
trainees a sense of social responsibility. He suggested some steps for
enhancing their engagement with the community such as assigning them to
teach in nearby government schools for at least one hour per month; deploying
them to undertake community-based projects to uplift the condition of people in
the vicinity and assigning them to identify problems faced by villages and work
on innovative solutions which blend modern technology with local
practices.
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