The basic objective of National Youth Day is to bring the youth of the country together in an attempt to showcase their talents in various activities to cover almost all socio-cultural aspects of life, providing an opportunity for amateur young artists to express themselves and interact with fellow artists and to further learn the new art forms from experts of various disciplines.
The theme of National Youth Festival
The Centre said the festival is held to provide exposure to youths at a national level and this year’s theme for the four-day program is “Viksit Yuva – Viksit Bharat (Developed Youth – Developed India)”.
This year host state of the National Youth Festival
This year the festival is being organized by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports in collaboration with Karnataka. The event will be held from January 12 to January 16, 2023, at Hubballi- Dharwad, Karnataka. More than 30,000 youth will attend the inaugural function where the Prime Minister will share his vision with them. During this unique five-day event, over 7500 youth delegates from all over India, recognized leaders in their own field of activity, get together to engage in different learning activities.
The Government of India decided in 1984 to make every January 12th, the birthday of the great Swami Vivekananda, National Youth Day. The Government of India quoted that ‘the philosophy of Swamiji and the ideals for which he lived and worked could be a great source of inspiration for the Indian Youth Day. Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke at the start of a four-year celebration of Swami Vivekananda’s 150th birth anniversary on January 12, 2013.
Every year on January 12, schools and colleges across India celebrate National Youth Day with processions, speeches, music, youth conventions, seminars, Yogasanas, presentations, essay-writing, recitations, and sports. Swami Vivekananda’s lectures and writings were inspired by Indian spiritual tradition and his Master Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa’s broad outlook. These served as a source of inspiration for numerous youth organizations, study circles, and service projects involving youth.
The National Youth Day is observed all over India at schools and colleges, with processions, speeches, music, youth conventions, seminars, Yogasanas, presentations, competitions in essay-writing, recitations, and sports on 12 January every year. Swami Vivekananda’s lectures and writings derive their inspiration from Indian spiritual tradition and the broad outlook of his Master Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa. These were the source of inspiration and have motivated numerous youth organizations, study circles, and service projects involving the youth. Swami Vivekananda’s birthday (12 January 1863), according to the Indian Almanac (Vishuddha Siddhanta Almanac) is on Pausha Krishna Saptami tithi, which falls on different dates in the English Calendar every year (generally in the month of January). This is observed in various centers of Ramakrishna Math and Mission in a traditional Hindu manner which includes mangal arati (a kind of worship practiced in India, especially by Hindu people), special worship, homa (fire-ritual), meditation, devotional songs, religious discourses and sandhya-arati (vesper service at evenings).
About Swami Vivekananda
- Swami Vivekananda, born Narendranath Datta on January 12, 1863, was a disciple of Sri 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna Paramhansa. He went on to become a key figure in the introduction of the Indian darsanas (teachings, practices) of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world and was credited with raising interfaith awareness.
- Vivekanand was highly regarded as a major force in the contemporary Hindu reform movements in India and contributed to the concept of nationalism in colonial India.
- Famous for his famous speech in the Parliament of World’s Religions in Chicago, in 1893, he focused on channeling the energy of the youth.
- As his teachings and practices had a huge influence on the youth, the Government of India in 1984 declared January 12 day as National Youth Day.
