Vande Mataram at 150: Youth Dialogue Held in Bhopal

Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan took part on Saturday in a Yuva Samvad, a youth dialogue held to mark 150 glorious years of Vande Mataram. At Smart City Park in Bhopal he planted saplings with young people who had come from seven states, and then answered their questions directly. The volunteers belonged to MY Bharat, the government's youth platform.

On the platform for the young

The Minister said meeting MY Bharat volunteers from seven states had left him glad, and that being among the young and among children is the happiest occasion for him. MY Bharat, he said, is a large platform for preparing the creative strength of youth for the building of a developed India, and its purpose is to turn young people into good citizens who work not only for themselves but for the country and society. A developed India, he added, will be built not by the efforts of government alone but by the active participation of citizens, the young above all. Conversations of this kind, in his view, help shape personality, character and a sense of civic duty.

On the safety of women and girls

Asked about crimes against women and girls, the Minister said both government and society must act, that women and daughters hold a special place in Indian families and culture, and that the harshest punishment should follow such crimes so that offenders fear the law. He recalled that a law providing the death penalty for the rape of young girls was enacted when he was Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, and said such a provision for heinous crimes against daughters also exists under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He asked that the length of the process be examined too, since after a trial court convicts, the accused may appeal to the High Court and then to the Supreme Court, and in death penalty cases a mercy petition remains available, so victims wait long for justice.

On the use of social media

Social media is as harmful when misused as it is useful otherwise, the Minister told the gathering. Correct information can reach millions within minutes, while rumours and misleading campaigns spread unrest. He asked the young to check the facts before sharing anything on any platform, and to use these media for knowledge and positive ideas rather than stay away from them. Speaking about tribal families at Kosmi, he said they had placed their difficulties before the Chief Minister, who has promised them justice.