Viksit Bharat Young Leaders' Dialogue' to be held on Jan 11-12: PM Modi

A "Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue" will be held on January 11-12 in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Sunday and said the initiative was part of efforts to connect youngsters having no political background with politics.

In the 116th episode of his monthly "Mann Ki Baat" radio broadcast, Modi also called on people to celebrate inspiring stories of the Indian diaspora who made their mark globally, contributed to freedom struggles and preserved "our heritage".

He said Swami Vivekananda's 162nd jayanti on January 12 would be celebrated in a very special way next year.

On this occasion, a "Maha Kumbh" of young minds will be held at Delhi's Bharat Mandapam on January 11-12 and the initiative will be called the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue.

"Crores of youths from all over India will participate in it. Two thousand such youths selected from villages, blocks, districts and states will gather at Bharat Mandapam for the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue," Modi said.

"You might remember that from the ramparts of the Red Fort, I urged such youths to join politics, none of whose family members or even the entire family have had a political background. To connect one lakh such youths, new youths, to politics, many special campaigns will be run in the country. The Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue is one such effort," he said.

Noting that experts from the country and abroad would be present for it, Modi said many national and international personalities would also be there and he would be present for as much time as possible.

"The youth will get an opportunity to present their ideas directly before us. How can the country take these ideas forward? How can a solid roadmap be made? A blueprint will be prepared for this. So you, too, get ready; this is a great opportunity for those who are going to build the future of India, who are the future generation of the country," the prime minister said.

"Come, let us build the country together, make the country developed," he added.

The prime minister also hailed the National Cadet Corps (NCC) and noted that the NCC name reminded one of their school and college days.

"I myself have been an NCC cadet, so I can say with full confidence that the experience I got from it is invaluable for me. The NCC instils a spirit of discipline, leadership and service in the youth," he said.

The compassion and energy of India's "Yuva Shakti" in helping senior citizens is commendable, Modi said and cited the example of a young person from Lucknow helping the elderly submit digital life certificates.

He also talked about a person from Ahmedabad who is warning and making the elderly aware about cybercrimes, including digital arrests.

"I had discussed digital arrest in the last episode of 'Mann Ki Baat'. The elderly are the most common victims of such crimes. In such a situation, it is our responsibility to make them aware and help them stay safe from cyber fraud," he said.

"We have to explain to people again and again that there is no provision of digital arrest in the government; this is a blatant lie, a conspiracy to trap people. I am happy that our young friends are participating in this work with full sensitivity and motivating others as well," Modi said.

Talking about his recent visit to Guyana, Modi said thousands of kilometres away from India, a 'mini India' dwelled there.

"Around 180 years ago, people from India were taken to Guyana to work in the fields and for other tasks. Today, people of Indian origin in Guyana are leading the country in every field -- be it politics, business, education or culture. The President of Guyana, Dr Irfan Ali, is also of Indian origin and is proud of his Indian heritage," he said.

"When I was in Guyana, a thought struck my mind that I am sharing with you. Just like Guyana, there are lakhs of Indians in dozens of countries across the world. Their ancestors have their own stories of decades; even those over 200-300 years ago. Can you be on the lookout for such stories of how Indian immigrants made their mark in different countries?" he said.

"How they took part in their freedom struggle! How they kept their Indian heritage alive! I want you to find out such true stories, and share them with me. You can also share these stories on the NaMo app or on MyGov with #IndianDiasporaStories," the prime minister said.

Modi also highlighted an extraordinary project underway in Oman and said numerous Indian families had been living in the country for many centuries, with most of them who settled there being from Kutch in Gujarat.

These people created important trade links and, even today, they have Omani citizenship but Indianness is ingrained in their personae, he said.

"With the support of the Indian Embassy in Oman and the National Archives of India, a team has started the work of preserving the history of these families. Thousands of documents have been collected under this campaign so far. These include diaries, account books, ledgers, letters and telegrams. Some of these documents even date back to the year 1838. These documents are full of sentiments," he said.

The "Oral History Project" is also an important basis of this mission and, in this mission, senior people from there have shared their experiences, he said.

A similar "Oral History Project" is being carried out in India as well, he added.

Under this project, history enthusiasts are collating the experiences of the victims during the country's Partition, the prime minister said.

"Now, there are very few people left in the country who have witnessed the horrors of Partition. In such a situation, this effort has become even more significant. The country that preserves its history, its future is also secure. With this very thought in mind, an effort has been made in which a directory has been created to preserve the history of villages," Modi said.

Talking about the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign, Modi said people from all over the country participated in it with great enthusiasm.

"I am very happy to tell you that this campaign has crossed the important milestone of planting 100 crore trees. Hundred crore trees, that too, in just five months," he said.

Modi pointed out that the campaign was now spreading to other countries as well.

"You must have noticed that as soon as someone mentions a 'government office', a picture of a pile of files emerges in your mind. You must have seen something similar in films, too," he said.

"So many jokes are made on these piles of files in government offices; so many stories have been written. These files used to gather dust after lying in offices for years and years, and would start accumulating dirt," he added.

A special Swachhata Abhiyan was launched to remove such decades-old files and scrap and this campaign brought amazing results in government departments, he said, adding that the cleanliness drive freed up a lot of space in offices.