Since 1984, the birthday of Swami Vivekananda (January 12) is celebrated as National Youth Day across the country. The day was chosen to honour one of India’s greatest spiritual and social leaders, Swami Vivekananda. It is also commonly known as Yuva Diwas.
The National Youth Day is observed all over India at schools and colleges, with processions, speeches, music, youth conventions, seminars, Yogasanas, presentations, competitions in essay-writing, recitations and sports on 12 January every year. Swami Vivekananda’s lectures and writings, deriving their inspiration from Indian spiritual tradition and the broad outlook of his Master Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa, were the source of inspiration and have motivated numerous youth organisations, study circles and service projects involving youth.
Significance of National Youth Day:
Swami Vivekananda always focused immensely on harnessing the potential of the youth. He wanted to inspire the young generation so that they could counter the British and attain Independence. Swami Vivekananda’s weapons of winning the world were education and peace. He always portrayed himself as a ‘Nationalist Saint’ who wanted the youth to get out of their comfort zones and achieve absolutely anything they desire, writes The Free Press Journal.
Swami Vivekananda’s aspiration was to motivate the youth to an extent that they start voicing the changes they desire and ultimately accomplish them. In order to honor his vision and motivate youth to act on it, National Youth Day is celebrated across the country.
History of National Youth Day:
The decision to recognise the day as Yuva Diwas/National Youth Day was taken by the Government of India in 1984. The Government of India quoted that ‘the philosophy of Swamiji and the ideals for which he lived and worked could be a great source of inspiration for the Indian Youth Day.’
National Youth Parliament Festival 2021:
As confirmed by the Education Ministry, PM Modi will be addressing the National Youth Parliament Festival 2021 on January 12 at 10.00 AM. The event will be streamed live on the Twitter/Facebook pages of the minister.
Participants for the National Youth Parliament Festival 2021:
The participants of the National Youth Parliament will include 87 state winners from which 29 who came in the first position will be speaking on selected topics while the remaining 58 will be attending the National Youth Parliament, writes JAGRAN Josh.
The National Youth Parliament is conducted with an objective to hear the voice of the youth from the age of 18 to 25, who are allowed to vote but are not eligible to contest as candidates or the election. The students participate through the deliberations in the youth parliaments at the district level and above.
As per JAGRAN Josh, the festival also aims to encourage the youth to engage in public issues, understand the point of view of the common man, and form their opinion and express them in an articulate manner. The participants will not necessarily be students from educational institutions.
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