Slating challenges faced by India on grounds of religious fundamentalism VP Naidu urges youth to curb social evils, poverty, illiteracy

Mumbai, September 27: Citing the instances of social, gender discrimination, atrocities against women, corruption, casteism and religious fundamentalism as some of the major challenges, Vice President M Venkhiah Naidu while addressing the first Prof. Yashwantrao Kelkar Memorial Lecture, organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad in Mumbai, urged the youth to participate in a big way to eradicate social evils, poverty, and illiteracy.

 

Asking them to be in the forefront in eliminating casteism and religious fundamentalism, he pointed out that the country was facing challenges on different fronts, about 20 per cent of the population was still living in poverty and an equal percentage of people were illiterate. On the external front, "India was constantly facing the problem of cross-border terrorism", he added.

 

 

“All of us must strive to build a New India that is free of poverty, hunger, discrimination, and inequalities based on caste, creed, and gender”, he said stressing at the need for promoting nationalistic outlook among the youth and involving them in constructive nation building activities.

 

Naidu meanwhile also advised student organizations such as Vidyarthi Parishad to instill the feeling of nation first among the youth and encourage them to actively participate in national development. He called upon the youth to work with a missionary zeal and determination to transform India into a prosperous and happy nation.

"India has a great demographic dividend with more than 65 per cent of its population below the age of 35 years. We altogether in unison need to impart knowledge and skills to youth for effectively meeting the challenges of technology-driven the 21st century", he said.

Stating that changing the face of our rural and backward villages was essential for inclusive development, the Vice President said that the critical challenge was to deploy the best possible ideas in the innovation led development of the rural areas of the nation, where 60 per cent of its population lives.

 

Further describing the urban rural divide in the country as a challenge, Naidu called for planned and systematic initiatives to revive the rural economy. He stressed the need to strengthen the rural economy by empowering rural artisans, farmers and women. "While climate change is real and affecting all species on the planet, we should spet up to conserve water resources, ensure a sustainable development and maintain the ecological balance", he signed off.