RSS leadership urged the Centre to listen to youth concerns and find solutions beyond issues such as NEET.
The organisation said its affiliated groups should step up outreach to young people and encourage constructive dialogue over their aspirations.
RSS leaders also flagged the growing drug menace, calling for coordinated efforts by communities, government and police to protect young people.
Taking note of the recent Gen Z protests at Jantar Mantar, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has urged the Union government to engage with the country’s youth and address their growing concerns.
The decision to reach out to the government by the top leadership of the RSS, the ideological parent of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was made during the three-day Akhil Bharatiya Samanvay Baithak (ABSB) that is going on in Visakhapatnam.
“It is important for the union government to listen to the concerns and worries of the youth of the country. It is not just about the NEET examination, but there are several issues that concern the youth of the country, and the government must try to find solutions to them,” Mukunda CR, Saha Sarkaryavah or the joint general secretary of RSS, in Visakhapatnam.
He added that the youth of the country are worried about their future and the government and society must come together to find answers to their problems. Although concerns over Gen Z have been discussed at various levels within the RSS leadership, this is the first time the organisation’s top leadership has collectively taken up the issues facing young people.
Mukunda said that while the Union government was already taking steps to address these concerns, society too needed to play a role in understanding and responding to the issues confronting the youth.
“It is extremely important to understand the concerns of the youth. The RSS and its 40 affiliated organisations are working in this direction. It is also important for the society to look for ways to reach out to the youth. There are more than 35 crore youth in the country in the age group of 16-29,” said Mukunda.
RSS Steps Up Youth Outreach
During the three-day-long conference of the RSS, more than 300 members, including BJP chief Nitin Nabin, were also present for the meeting. Talking about the concerns of the young population of the country, Mukunda explained that the youth were not just engaged with the RSS and its affiliated organisations, but those who were present at Jantar Mantar also represented the young population of the country.
“It is important to understand that distraction and disruptions are not the only way to solve the concerns, but there should be constructive and positive dialogue to find solutions. It is important for the government and society to understand the aspirations of the young,” added Mukunda.
Even as the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has faced protests by young people, senior RSS leaders said the organisation received more than 1.20 lakh applications from youth to join the RSS. They said more than 1.20 lakh young people had applied online by July this year, when protests were also being held at Jantar Mantar.
“The RSS has been working with the youth and it has been decided that organisations such as the Bajrang Dal and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) must make efforts to reach out to the younger population and address their concerns more,” Mukunda said.
Additionally, senior leaders of the RSS also discussed the growing problem of drugs in the country. The RSS leadership acknowledged that the union government was taking steps to curb the menace. To deal with the problem, senior leaders said that there was a need for communities, government and police to come together to protect the youth of the country.
