Tag: Youth

Swami Vivekananda – The Man Behind Youth Day in India

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12th January is celebrated all across India as the national youth day, on the occasion of the birthday of Swami Vivekananda. Swami Vivekananda, a disciple of Ramakrishna and a monk, is known for his superb speech at the world Parliament of Religions in Chicago, and for establishing the Ramakrishna Mission. However, his journey to success has always been an inspiration to the Indian youth. In this article, let us go through the events that happened in Vivekananda’s life which made him so special.

Vivekananda, in his childhood days, was known by the name Narendra. He was born in Kolkata, on 12th January 1963. Today, his ancestral house has been taken by Ramakrishna Mission and has been converted to a museum and a cultural centre. In his youth days, he joined Keshab Chandra Sen’s Nava Bidhan and Sadharon Brahmo Samaj. In his youth days, Narendra was influenced by the ideas and principles of Brahmo Samaj. Nevertheless, after he met Sri Ramakrishna in 1881, Sri Ramakrishna became his spiritual focus.

Dakshineswar is one of the first place where Narendra went outside the city, to meet Sri Ramakrishna. Sri Ramakrishna was then the first priest of the Dakshineshwar Kali Temple, which draws thousands of devotees even today. Narendra used to regularly visit Dakshineshwar to discuss spiritual thoughts with Sri Ramakrishna. After the death of Sri Ramakrishna, Narendra decided to convert a dilapidated building at Baranagar to Ramakrishna Math, today known as Baranagar Math. Today, the house no longer exists, as it was demolished in 1897. The land was given to Belur Math authority and is now undergoing restoration under Belur Math. On the Christmas Eve of 1886, Narendra took monastic vows at Antpur village and left his home and everything else to lead a nomadic life afterwards, taking the title of Swami Vivekananda and becoming a monk.

Swami Vivekananda made two journeys to the west, the first to Chicago via Japan and Canada, where he attended the world Parliament of Religions. He toured across several cities of US, UK and other countries of Europe. On his return to India, he established the Ramakrishna Mission, headquartered at Belur Math, at Belur near Kolkata formed by the trustees of Ramakrishna Math. Even today it is the headquarter of Ramakrishna Mission and a major tourist and pilgrimage place near Kolkata. He went to the west a second time in 1899, to attend the Parliament of Religions in Paris, accompanied by Sister Nivedita and Swami Turiyananda. Detoriating health forced him to settle at Belur Math until his death in 1902.

Vivekananda left a lasting impact in our mind. One of the pioneers of Renaissance in Bengal, his teachings include eliminating the casteism, addressing social issues, promoting science and industrialization. The social service work done by Ramakrishna Mission include relief works in famine, poverty. Vivekananda brought a sense of nationalism and national unity among the Indians against the colonial rule. His quotes are famous throughout the world and are inspiration to the youth. One of his famous quotes “Arise, awake and stop not, until the goal is reached”, still rings in the minds of every Indians.

Written by – Himadri Paul

India at 75: A Nation Marching towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat

Economy, news

Better late than never. It took us 75 years, but we have finally begun our journey towards self-reliance. An ongoing pandemic overflowing with uncertainty, Covid-19 has impacted lives and livelihoods across the globe. Even as the best minds in the world race towards finding preventive and curative solutions to combat and curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, the current crisis has been an eye-opener to several opportunities that have presented themselves during this time. To this end, Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi made a much-needed call for an Aatmanirbhar Bharat or a self-reliant India that would be a source of local ingenuity creating global impact. He exhorted fellow citizens to utilize this time of crisis to be vocal for local and be self-reliant. Atmanirbhar Bharat is the vision of making India a self-reliant nation.

The first mention of this came in the form of the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharata Abhiyan’ or ‘Self-Reliant India Mission’ during the coronavirus pandemic-related economic package announcement on 12 May 2020.[1] This self-reliant policy does not aim to be protectionist in nature. It does not mean isolating away from the world. Foreign direct investment is welcome, technology is welcome, self-reliant India translates to being a bigger and more critical part of the global economy. He eloquently identified five pillars on which Aatmanirbhar Bharat would stand and on which a New India could pole-vault to an era of sustainable economic prosperity and societal good, bridging the financial as well as digital divides between the haves and the have-nots. Creating a nation of job-creators and not just job-seekers is the key. And central to this is the need for extensive collaboration between corporate industry, academia, and governments at the village, district, state and central levels. Such synergies have indeed gained momentum with the Covid-19 crisis and need to be further capitalized on. We begin with the pillar of demographic dividend. With over 65% of our country under 35 years of age, more than 1.4 million schools and 10,500 engineering and related institutions, a whopping 39,000 colleges and universities, India enjoys a demographic dividend like no other in the world.

We must enable the channelization of this youthful energy towards nation-building activities by focusing on developing vocational, technical and managerial skills while fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship at the school, university and industry levels. The recent announcements of private sector participation for innovations in space and defence sectors open up a flood of new opportunities for the MSME industry. Any solution developed for 1.3 billion people can also be a possible solution for the 7+ billion people on the planet. The recently launched Bharat App Innovation Challenge by MeitY, MyGov, and Atal Innovation Mission is a welcome step to identify and create world-class apps that can be used by the rest of the world too. India has the perfect environment. It has over 1.3 billion people, a youthful population, a growing middle class, one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, and affordable, available advanced technology to re-imagine new solutions to existing and emerging consumer needs. An ideal situation for thousands of startups and companies to capitalize on and fulfil pent-up demand for new solutions and consumer- or citizen-centric services in every vertical— agriculture, healthcare, education, water management, clean and renewable energy, affordable housing, defence, space, transportation, or retail. The following few examples prove the need and efficiency of a long due movement which will go on to rake supreme growth for our country:

1)The growth of India’s personal protective equipment (PPE) sector from zero before March to 1,50,000 pieces a day by the beginning of May, is considered a fine example of a self-reliant India. The PPE industry in India has become ₹7,000 crores (US$980 million) in two months, the second largest after China.[9]

2) The largest fund in the country worth ₹21,000 crores (US$2.9 billion) was set up by the IIT Alumni Council with the aim of supporting the mission towards self-reliance.[10]

3) India’s own ‘Made in India’ 5G network was also announced in July 2020 by Reliance Jio. Mukesh Ambani announced in mid-July that “Jio has created a complete 5G solution from scratch, that will enable us to launch a world-class 5G service in India, using 100 per cent homegrown technologies and solutions”.

4)For the first time, in July 2020, it was announced that Apple would manufacture one of their premium iPhone models in India.[12]

5)August 2020, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced that the Defence Ministry is “now ready for a big push to Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative” by imposing an “import embargo on 101 items” in a staged manner over a period of 5 years. 

 Aatmanirbhar Bharat provides a truly watershed moment in our history to ignite the innovative entrepreneurial spirit of New India by focusing on strengthening the above pillars, which will ensure an unprecedented wave of long-deserved growth, prosperity and well-being that can serve the interests of the rest of the world as well.

Written by – Radhika Ahuja

THE DIGITAL TERMITE

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The Digital termite is ruining our peaceful zone on a global level if you carefully look behind your screens. The “Information age” is actually the age of distraction for more than half of our digital youth. They say “ The digital youth didn’t inherent digital distraction, they were born into it.”

One of the most craziest irony of our era is that technology (digital termite) has saved  a lot of time. Our world is on our fingertips. Considering the fact, on an average we touch our phones 3000 times a day. When we temporary misplace a device, the experience of phantom vibration syndrome and how merely seeing a message at least can be as distracting as checking the message itself.

Scrolling  on  your social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp etc.) , responding to every notification is not important but our curiosity urges us to respond. There is no denial for this fact.

ADVANTAGES WITH ITS ADVERSE HISTORY.

Technology may be a boon to young digital entrepreneurs but believe me we all are at risk. Money and addiction relief will not medicate your social and personal responsibilities. Technology is so pervasive that it is becoming harder and harder to persist it. Our fears about the impact of increasing amounts of screen time on ourselves involve three main areas which include mental health, addiction, and the level of engagement with what’s going on around us. Research says that(internet data):

  • Fifty-four percent of digital users agree with the statement ,”I prefer texting people rather than talking to them.”
  • A 2012 study from the university of Essex demonstrated that merely having a a cell phone visible in the room –even if no one checked it- made people less likely to develop a sense of intimacy and empathetic understanding during meaningful conversations. Interestingly, the researchers suggest that the experiment participants did not that necessarily consciously notice the effect of the phone.
  • Even tech-savvy teens don’t like their companions to check Facebook during an in-person conversation. Forty-five percent of teenagers reported feeling annoyed when friends get distracted by technology while they are spending time together. Forty-four percent admit to allowing social media to divert their attention from in-person interaction.

HOW TO GET RID OF DIGITAL TERMITE?

Discipline will lead you towards your dream destination. Some distractions are just idle habits. Anything that limits the interruptions or temptations caused by technology will help you to stay focused and will help you for your effective performance. In this digital era living your life at backend will not work obviously. so constantly motivating yourself is the keytool to organize your life scenario. The battle is all yours.

1.LIMIT YOUR SOCIAL BOUNDARIES:

Being productive is your choice so you have to work for it. Its critical to keep boundaries with technology but boundaries can reduce your distractions and make sure that you can excel in your zone.

Convince yourself, build a habit of using your device  only at certain times and in certain places during a day. LIMIT AND EXCEL should be your motto to conquer your battle of digital distraction.

2.PERSONAL AWARENESS:

No one can teach you until and unless you want to grab. Being aware of your daily digital engagement and managing them can help you to keep a healthy balance between digital and analog. Multitasking with technology will bring a cruel impact on your performance and productivity. Checking instagram during your class hours means that you’re not fully engaged in the conversation.

Being aware of the loss by hampering your work performance and engagement just by responding to digital demands is the first step in making a change.

3.DISCOVER BETTER ALTERNATIVES:

Knowledge is power when it comes to managing digital distractions. For example: You can use Siri , Google assistant, Alexa  and other similar tools to cut down the number of times you pick your phone. Even instead of texting someone constantly you can pick another alternative of talking them directly. Choose better alternatives to cure your anxiety which digital distractions bring inhand with them.

4.CREATE A REWARDING LOOP:

The human mind tends to create a loop to sooth its journey and the creation is all yours. Research says that when we follow a particular pattern the human mind adapt it and feel the response according to our creation. For example: Create a cycle of checking your notifications after every one hour of productive work. Believe me your mind will accept it as a reward for your work  and as such both in hand work will be successfully completed.

The proverb “You row what you sow” is completely based on our today’s scenario. The wonderful innovation “TECHNOLOGY” is now showing its adverse effects but again the human mind is mysterious and can clear all its flaw. So keep working on your distractions.

BY:TANVI SANGWANI.

UNCONVENTIONAL minds of youth

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The INDIAN rupee is the official currency of India. Like a coin, everyone has two different Shades. India has more than 30% of youth. But in this highly updated virtual society, how many thoughts can a youth society have?

creative youth

We can’t restrict our future deciders who have different thinking abilities; only we can control them but not limit them.

Despite education nowadays, most youngsters are leading their lives and looking into others’ lives through smartphones in this virtual society; some are addicted to playing games like Pubg. Generally, we can’t beat someone immediately with anger. Still, we can do this in this game. Most youths are playing with friends to escape from boredom, and later on, it’s becoming an addiction.

One should know that a game is a game. We can play at any time but not all the time.

Self-care is not a luxury. But It’s an illusion that we should maintain the high cost of living standards to appear as rich.

Most of the youth are going into fake relationships because of attraction and jealousy and experiencing the pain of heartbreak.

But we have to know that one wrong decision of us can’t stop our next step.

Seek respect, not attention. Don’t try to earn attention by trying to be more popular; try to earn respect.

youth nowadays

Every year many creative minds and intelligent students are passing out from SSC board examination and choosing the degrees which are already highly competitive like MBBS, IAS, BSc computers keeping in the view that other courses have a lack of opportunities.

But not qualifying in one exam doesn’t mean that you are not eligible to live or it’s not your fault; every qualification has an excellent opportunity to try until you shouldn’t forget that we depend on our society vice-versa. We are just independent in our thoughts.

Youth will be attractive to more bad deeds than good. They have to know how to be in public as well as at home.

Dos and don’ts to control this

• We have to create a friendly environment from childhood with moral values.

• We Have to show that everything is not free to us we have to pay.

• We have to utilize every natural resource according to our needs and we have to use recycled products instead of using plastic.

• We have to be perfect in public. We need to stop smoking, drinking in public, and disrespecting any gender.

NOTE

• Youth should know that it is essential to understand the importance of dignity of labor.

• We should respect every gender, even transgender.

• Only Public officials like IAS IPs can’t change our society and can’t solve our society’s problems alone.

• Every one, especially YOUTH, must be self-responsible for themselves and their surroundings.

If our government encourages youth through increased opportunities, that day, kids need not fly for opportunities.

We can have efficient Public officials with an abundance of humanity.

Then, society’s main problems like violence against women, religious issues, poverty, etc. will be minimized.

So, I want to conclude.

IF our young brains will be empowered like this

Then,

“our Indiawill stand as one of the developing countries in world map.”

In my view youth who are unique, talented are as precious as the currency of our country

Written by M.subhadra.

 

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Social Media – A Drug

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At some point, we all a suspicion that are we addicted to social media or not? The Social Dilemma, a recent documentary broadcasted on Netflix, more or less, confirms this suspicion. However, that’s not a significant part of the film.

What left me startled was the intention that social media addiction isn’t unintentional out-turn, instead of a well-prepared objective. Turns out, all these years, it has been manipulating us, and we didn’t even realize.

Checking and Scrolling through social media already was a popular activity for everyone, whether a teenager or an older adult. It is increasing every minute, especially during the lockdown. It is addictive, both physically and psychologically.

According to a study by Harvard University, social networking sites light up the same part of the brain that also ignites when taking an addictive substance. Thus using these networking sites is as additive as taking drugs.

Some research also suggests an undeniable connection between social media use, adverse mental health, low self–worth, comparing oneself with another, low self-esteem, and many other problems like this. A person addicted to social Media is more prone to get depression, anxiety, and other mental health related issues. It opens the door to a territory in which people are juxtaposing their real offline selves to the flawless, filtered, and polished online versions of others, which can be harmful to mental well-being and self-observation.

Despite being aware of these negative impacts of social media, teen social media use continues to rise. Teen peer pressure is an issue of social media overuse. Popular websites used by teens are –

  1. Snapchat
  2. YouTube
  3. Instagram
Teens and social media

Social Media Overuse is a grave issue globally; how can we overcome it?

It is having an increasingly damaging impact on humanity and life. If you feel like you’re addictions towards it is escalating day by day, The documentary is a warning bell why it is necessary to step away from scrolling now and then.

Here are some ways to overcome overusing Social Media –

Social media
  1. Turn Off your Notification

As notification is a constant reminder that something is happening online every time, you might feel like you’re missing something.

When you limit notifications disturbing you now and then, you might find it easier to concentrate on your daily routine.

2. Limit Yourself

Set a timer. Watch. To limit the amount of time you spend on the phone. Limit Yourself depending upon your level of addiction. It will be a substantial test of your will power.

3. Get a Hobby

You may have a lot of time. Get a hobby that does not include your phone, and that new hobby will keep your mind preoccupied when you’re craving for social media.

4. Make using social media a treat

Only allow screen time when you’ve done something productive. It all will a substantial test of your willpower and Self- Control.

5. Last but not least, in fact, the most important one.

Do watch the documentary The Social dilemma and Read about how it impacts our brain and transforms the way we think. When you know about something’s cons, it gets slightly more comfortable to stay away from it.

Written by Ishita Singh.