SPEECH OF HON’BLE DEPUTY CHAIRMAN, RAJYA SABHA, SHRI K. RAHMAN KHAN, AT THE SE,OMAR PM “ROLE OF YOUTH IN PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT” ORGANISED BY INDIA WORLD FOUNDATION (IWF) IN ASSOCIATION WITH UNITED NATIONS INFORMATION CENTRE (UNIC), NEW DELHI ON 12 AUGUST 2009

I am happy to be here on the eve of the International Youth Day, which is being celebrated today. I take this opportunity to compliment the India World Foundation and the United Nations Information Centre, India Office for taking this initiative to organize the International Round Table Seminar on the “Role of Youth in Peace and Development’. The deliberations of the Seminar, I believe, would go a long way in promoting awareness among people on various issues relating to youth.

Today, we see a new India, young in its demographic profile and youthful in its spirit. Youth symbolizes energy, vigour, vibrancy and talent, which need to be properly harnessed for a better and peaceful world order not only for the present but also for the future generation. Peace and development are inextricably interlinked. Without the existence of peaceful conditions, the prospects for development become bleak. The role of youth in the promotion of peace and development can hardly be over emphasized. The ideals of peace and development have been proclaimed in its Charter by the United Nations. It is our collective responsibility to remain committed to these ideals.

I believe that youth ought to be made the vibrant engines of our peaceful development. How the nation prospers in the decades ahead; whether it attains all round peace and socio-economic development inclusive of all sections of the social inequalities and economic disparities will largely depend on how peace loving, progressive and forward looking is our youth.

Today, the role of youth in promoting peace and development has assumed greater significance in wake of the recurring incidents of ethnic conflicts, extremism, intolerance and terrorism with alarming proportions, which threaten peace and wellbeing of people in many parts of the world. Children and youth are often the innocent victims of senseless and cruel violence. It is essential for all of us, particularly the youth to stand united against such forces which are inimical to peace and development of the world community. Emphasising the close relationships between peace and prosperity of the nations of the world way back in 1947 when India gained Independence, the first Prime Minister of India, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, who was a humanist and an internationalist said and I quote “All the nations and peoples are too closely knit together today for any one of them to imagine that it can live apart. Peace has been said to be indivisible; so is freedom, so is prosperity now, and so also is disaster in this One world that can no longer be spilt into isolated fragments.” He believed that solutions to all our problems lie in our cooperative endeavours. In this era of globalization, it is, therefore, essential that we rededicate ourselves to this vision of Nehru. We must always be vigilant in safeguarding the values of freedom, human rights, tolerance, mutual respect, human dignity to ensure that the various communities in the world live together in peace and harmony. The anti-social forces, which seek to disturb the ethos of communal harmony, must not be given any chance for having their objectives achieved. And those who resort to violence in the name of religion are doing a disservice to their faith and to humanity and our common civilization and heritage. Therefore, I feel that it is very essential that our youth should stand committed to the ideals enshrined in the United Nations Charter.

Today, we are confronting the challenges of climate change, global warming, environmental degradation, HIV/AIDS, epidemics, etc. which adversely affect large number of population, especially our children and youth. It is essential that these problems are addressed by active involvement of youth. In this context, the sustainable development also assumes greater importance as it is inextricably linked with addressing these problems. It is indispensable that the youth should take proactive o\role in promoting sustainable development. Young people who are well informed and highly motivated can be very effective agents of change in society. Their full participation in addressing these problems has the potential to transform the world into a safer, peaceful and happier place to live in.

Today, all young people irrespective of their nationalities and other identities aspire to lead full and productive lives. However, the challenges of unemployment, insecurity, ill health, poverty, illiteracy, ignorance and social exclusion faced by the young generation are enormous. Each of these problems, has a debilitating impact on the development process and the future of the youth, thus making them vulnerable to take to the path of drugs, violence and other anti-social activities. I strongly feel that none of these problems can be addressed successfully without the active involvement of the youth. For this, providing employment, educational and training opportunities besides other capacity building measures to develop confidence and optimism among them hold the key to their bright and secure future.

As you know, India has significant young population constituting 40 percent of the total population. We have the great advantage of this exceptionally young demographic profile compared to other countries of the world. However, this demographic dividend could become our disadvantage if the youth are not adequately empowered and their energies and talents are not properly channelized. We have great challenge to make this a vibrant and strong resource as valuable partners in our nation building. It is important that the young men and women effectively take part in the national endeavors. The Government is also committed to the welfare of the youth. For this, a national Youth Policy has been formulated to address the concerns of the youth and to keep pace with the fast changing socio-economic scenario.

I would like to mention here that our Parliament is very much alive to the problems and concerns of the youth. Apart from conducting structured and constructive debates and discussions on the issues relating to the youth, we have Parliamentary Forum on Youth, which has been working to have focused deliberations on strategies to leverage human capital among the youth for accelerating development initiative; to build greater awareness amongst public leaders and at the grassroots levels on the potential of youth power for effecting socio-economic change; to interact on a regular basis with youth representatives and leaders, in order to better appreciate their hopes, aspirations, concerns and problems; and to consider ways for improving Parliament’s out-reach to different sections of youth, in order to reinforce their faith and commitment in democratic institutions and encourage their active participation.

Before I conclude, I would like to stress that our main objective should be to motivate and empower youth in the promotion of peace and development through promotion of knowledge among youth with regard to significance of peace building; to encourage them to develop creative and positive thinking; to inculcate a sense of responsibility towards society and world at large; to build bridges between urban and rural youth; and strengthen solidarity among them. I would like to recall the words of Swami Vivekanda, who had said “the future of our country rested in the hands of our youth”. May God bless our youth with ‘nerves of steel, muscles of iron and minds like thunderbolt’ as Swmaiji had envisaged.

I hope that the deliberations in the Seminar will be productive and helpful in understanding the role of youth in the promotion of peace and development in proper perspective. I wish the seminar and the International Youth Day Celebrations all success.

Thank you.