National Youth Day: Swami Vivekananda's teachings still inspire, but nation harnessing power of young workforce will be true tribute

Today is the 156th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. Back then, the Congress-led government felt that the “philosophy of Vivekananda and the ideals for which he lived and worked could be a great source of inspiration for the Indian Youth.” Yearly celebration of the National Youth Day, since then, has been marked by youth conventions, academic seminars, debates, cultural events and sporting activities. Vivekananda dreamt of India’s youth leading a mass movement to educate the poor, believing that education would eradicate poverty and usher economic prosperity. Nothing better signifies Vivekananda’s influence on youth than the fact that young revolutionaries in early 20th Century Bengal like Subhash Chandra Bose and Aurobindo Ghose considered him their inspiration. Perhaps, Vivekananda was right when he critiqued the Western education system in India, “Education is not the amount of information that we put into your brain and runs riot there, undigested, all your life.” It will be the biggest tribute to Vivekananda when India finally succeeds to reap full benefits of its unique demographic dividend.