Jammu Nov 04 (KNS): Provincial President National Conference Devender Singh Rana on Wednesday exhorted youth to play their crucial role in combating growing tendencies of intolerance and hate, saying societal renaissance holds key to bind communities and regions together, especially in a diverse state like Jammu and Kashmir.
“Fringe elements can’t hold the society to ransom and tear apart our glorious and time-tested unity”, the Provincial President said while interacting with young students during a day-long interactive session organized by National Conference Students Union (NCSU) at Sher-e-Kashmir Bhavan here.
In a statement to KNS, Rana said the nation and the state are passing through a most difficult phase and it is time for youth to ponder where we have actually gone wrong. “The environment of drift won’t take us anywhere, as it is suicidal for harmonious growth of the society and therefore we have to resist the forces which, instead of strengthening bonds, are perpetrating the situation, leading to trust deficit between variant segments of people”, he said and referred to attempts being made to generate animosity by promoting, patronising and encouraging the divisive elements.
Making a strong plea to youth to help steer out the state from prevailing morass, the Provincial President said National Conference Student Union could be a viable platform to disseminate the message of unity and tranquility. Apart from strengthening camaraderie among fellow citizens, he observed that the Union can play a safety-valve against negative politics and machinations of exploiting the student community for achieving political goals. “This objective can be realized by setting in motion a healthy discourse by holding debates, discussions and seminars”, he said while emphasizing the need for keeping young minds away from power politics. He said the students have plethora of issues of their own, which need to be discussed and debated in a healthy atmosphere to find out solutions. In this regard, he said unemployment and employability remain major issues to them. “You have to prepare for the current competitive world with vigor and confidence”, he said while observing that unemployment should not bog down the educated youth but employability should make employers to reach out to them.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel“For creating such an idealistic youth force, healthy and congenial atmosphere is imperative, which cannot be realized if the society is fragmented into bits and pieces”, he said.
At the same time, the Provincial President said that asking students to remain disconnected with politics would be an overstatement. “History stands testimony to the fact how student politics has eventually led to mainstream politics”, he said while citing instances where student leaders made to Heads of Nations across the globe and to various important positions in the country and the State. He said academic alone is not license for success in life. Though important yet other spheres too make all the difference in career advancement. He, however, asked the participants to use NCSU platform for intellectual, political and societal growth. “Societal renaissance should be your immediate motto”, he said hoping those working under the banner of National Conference cannot think beyond ‘Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist Unity’, a lofty ideal cherished and professed by Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah. He said the need for strengthening religious and regional harmony was never ever so intense as of now. Therefore, the youth have to plunge in a big way and work towards peace, harmony and tranquility, he maintained.
Speaking on the occasion, Provincial Youth National Conference President Ajaz Jan enumerated the initiatives taken by successive NC governments for youth empowerment and avenues of employment for them.
District President Urban Dharamveer Singh Jamwal lauded the resilience of youth in maintaining tranquillity and amity despite provocations of the divisive forces.
Prominent among those present on the occasion included Central Secretary Th Rachpal Singh, Provincial Youth National Conference President Ajaz Jan, former legislator Deepinder Kour besides, Jugal Mahajan, Dilshad Malik, Rashida Begum, Sheikh Bashir, S S Bunty, Vijay Lochan, Abdul Gani Teli, Mohammed Ayub Malik, Sunil Verma, Rohit Kerni, M L Munshi, Rita Gupta, Sandeep Singh, Aman Cheema, Som Raj Taroch, Tejinder Singh and others. (KNS)