National Youth Day- 'YOUTH' the Latent Power of the Nation |

Every year, January 12 is celebrated as National Youth Day (Yuva Diwas) across the country with great pomp and fervour. It was way back in 1984 that the government of India declared January 12 as National Youth Day to commemorate the birthday of Swami Vivekananda. Swami Vivekanand was a social reformer, philosopher and great thinker. Schools and colleges across the country celebrate National Youth Day with speeches, music, seminars, presentations and competitions. The first National Youth Day was celebrated on 12 January 1985 in Bhopal.

About Swami Vivekanand in Brief-

Date of Birth: January 12, 1863,

Place of Birth: Calcutta, Bengal Presidency (Now Kolkata in West Bengal),

Parents: Vishwanath Dutta (Father) and Bhuvaneshwari Devi (Mother),

Education: Calcutta Metropolitan School; Presidency College, Calcutta,

Founder of: Ramakrishna Math; Ramakrishna Mission; Vedanta Society of New York,

Philosophy: Advaita Vedanta,

Publications: Karma Yoga (1896); Raja Yoga (1896); Lectures from Colombo to Almora (1897); My Master (1901).

On 11 September 1893, he took the stage in Chicago and stunned everyone with his opening line of the speech “My brothers and sisters of America”. He received a standing ovation from the audience for the opening phrase. He went on to describe the principles of Vedanta and their spiritual significance, putting Hinduism on the map of World Religions.

Vivekanand’s Views on the Youth of the Nation-

“I have faith in my country, and especially in the youth of my country. My hope is in you. The youth have an immense amount of feeling and enthusiasm in their blood. Each one of you has a glorious future if you dare believe me. Have tremendous faith in yourselves, like the faith I had when I was a child, and which I am working out now. Have that faith, each one of you, in yourself — that eternal power is lodged in every soul — and you will revive the whole of India”.

22nd National Youth Festival 2018-

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 22nd National Youth Festival (NYF) through video conferencing. The theme of the festival is ‘Sankalp Se Siddhi’. The five-day festival was held at the Gautam Buddha University in Greater Noida. Union Minister for Culture (Independent Charge) Mahesh Sharma was the guest of honour on the occasion. The festival is organised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh government. This is the first time that the NYF is being organised in NCR. The objective of organising the NYF is to provide a platform to bring the youth of the country together in an attempt to provide them with an opportunity to showcase their talents in various activities

“Arise! Awake! and stop not until the goal is reached.”