Praising the dedication and purposeful activities of the Bharat Scouts and Guides here today, President Pranab Mukherjee urged them to create a high standard of social order, and work wholeheartedly for national integration and international harmony in equal measure.
Interacting with them after presenting the Rashtrapati Award Certificates to the highest achievers, he said both scouts and guides must always inspire other of their ilk towards giving off their best for community-service and nation-building.
Recalling the contribution of Lord Baden Powell, the founding-father of the Scouts and Guides, he said that since 1909, the institution has espoused the promise of 'doing one's duty to god and country, and service to fellow beings'.
He hoped that youngsters associated with the institution would realize your own intellectual, physical and spiritual potential in both the short and long term.
He also said that as the world becomes increasingly globalised, India as a nation is also going through an unprecedented demographic transformation.
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"In another five years' time, the average age of an Indian would be 29 years! The statistical fact is not only indicative of how important it is, for the country, to focus on the aspirations of our youth; but equally, for each one of my young friends here, and across the country, to strive and become the much-needed 'agents of change'," he said.
"The Bharat Scouts and Guides can be the perpetual platform to nurture leadership at the grassroots level, precisely as needed," he added.
He also drew their attention to the recently-launched 'Swachch Bharat Abhiyan', the pan-India movement that is truly based on 'dignity of labour', a value that was so dear to Mahatma Gandhi.
"It is my firm belief that The Bharat Scouts and Guides stands poised to inculcate the basic sense of self-confidence, self-reliance and passion for national duty in each and every one of you," Mukherjee said.
"We must seek the measures to create a higher standard of social order. Each one of us must be mindful of the sensitivities of those around us, and the effect of our words and actions on them. We must collectively preserve the core values of pluralism and secularism that have served, over the years, to safeguard the fabric of our society. The Bharat Scouts and Guides must infuse a greater sense of tolerance in young minds, whilst allowing them to summarily reject any divisive agenda," the president said.
