Need for holistic approach towards development of youth: President

President Prathibha Devisingh Patil has stressed the need to evolve a holistic approach towards the development of youth in the country so that they could take up their responsibilities with knowledge and values when they are at the vanguard of changes taking place in the society.

Inaugurating the conclusion of the year-long centenary celebrations of the Knanaya Archeparchy of Kottayam here on Tuesday, the President said the nation was passing through a period of change and the youth shall be at the vanguard of that change. “We must provide the necessary environment in which their talents are nurtured and create facilities and generate opportunities for their productive activities,” she said.

In a rapidly changing world, the society is faced with challenges and apprehensions as to “whether the future would be safer and better? Whether non violence and compassion would remain the guiding principles? Will individual excellence be dedicated to only self-achievement or will it be devoted to welfare of humanity? Shall success be measured in terms of material gains and in the race for success, shall importance of human relations be forgotten?

“The answers to such questions lie in the way the youth will think and act,” the President said. According to her, they should have a “compass of values and ethics that will guide them”. “It will be compassion, and an understanding that human race has a common destiny that will inculcate a spirit of tolerance and coexistence and all religions have emphasised this important message,” the President said.

India is a land where some of the world’s major religions originated and also where persons from all major faiths reside. The nation’s unique composite identity is the outcome of its ability to absorb from and assimilate the many influences and thoughts that have come here over the millennia, Ms Patil said.

The principle of secularism enshrined in the Constitution is based not only on tolerance, but also on respect for all religions, the President said and added that she believed humanity was the greatest religion as it combined the basic tenets of all religions. “We have to work together with patriotic feelings and unity of purpose and maintain perfect communal harmony to keep the nation together and strong,” the President said.

Ms. Patil lauded the social development initiatives launched by the Archeparchy as part of the centenary celebrations and said they were the reflection of the social commitment of the Christian community in Kerala which has been contributing to the progress and the development of the State and the nation for many years.