Dimapur, October 20 (MExN): Expressing deep confidence in the Naga youths to bring about changes, Nagaland Governor K. Shankaranarayanan today urged them to be more responsible, positive and promote free exchange of ideas amongst all saying that whatever the youth do or believe in has a greater effect on the whole society thereby affecting the overall social infrastructure.
A copy of the Governors’ speech at the 53rd convention of the Konyak Baptist Bumeinok Bangjum at Chenwetnyu under Mon district, which was made available here, disclosed the Governor opining that the convention gives the people an opportunity to learn from the noble thoughts of faith and religion that can go a long way in guiding and motivating the youth.
Underscoring the need preserve the cultural heritage of the people, Shankaranarayanan said that youths stand to learn and gain a lot by learning about rich cultural history and traditions on one hand and blending it with modern education and Christian thought on the other. Shankaranarayanan stressed on the need to properly channelise the inherent energy present in youths in a proper direction, since youth, by nature are very restless and full of energy. However, he said that youth have benefited a lot by the Christian way of life as it has given a sense of direction to them.
The Governor further expressed strong confidence on the around eight lakh youth population in the state to face the twin challenges of peace and development. “Whatever the youth do or believe in has a greater effect on the whole society. The education levels and awareness for social issues is higher amongst the youth and hence they have a greater role in contributing to overall improvement of social infrastructure,” said the Governor. However, he lamented that a large section of the youth are affected by by evils like drug abuse and HIV AIDS.
“The use of drugs amongst the youth has come down over last few years, however the menace of AIDS continues as to control it, and we basically require behaviour change amongst the youth,” he said and added that around seventy percent of AIDS cases in the state is caused sue to erratic sexual behaviour. In this regard, Shankaranarayanan looked upon the church to play a pro-active role and guide the youths so that such behavioural abnormalities are restricted and controlled besides ensuring that the youth do not fall prey to such evils.
He hoped that the Konyak Baptist Bumeinok Bangjum convention would address this burning issue and will come up with an action plan for tackling this problem. Besides, the Governor also highlighted the need for the youths to give leadership to the society. In this regard, he opined that to be a leader, the youths need to be more responsible, think positively and promote free exchange of ideas amongst one and all.
Shankaranarayanan said that the church and its Institutions like CYE and Youth Clubs give ample opportunities for the Youth to get leadership training and in organizing group activities. He said that the church and its institutions has great potential to give the State, the leaders of tomorrow who can create a new era of social, economic, political and cultural developments with the youth ready to take the reins of our future.
“I call upon all the Youth present here, to have the right values and ethics that Christianity teaches us, in order to create a human resource that is well equipped in giving direction to the modern day Nagaland,” exhorted the Governor.
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