Press : Meeting between BJYM President, Shri Anurag Thakur and Ms Zeenat Rahman

PRESS RELEASE

Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Member of Parliament & National President, B.J.Y.M. hosted Ms. Zeenat Rahman who serves as US Secretary of State Mr. John Kerry’s Special Adviser on Global Youth Issues and Director of the Office of Global Youth Issues (J/GYI) and her team of delegates at his residence 14, Janpath, New Delhi.

Joining them in the meeting were the following Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (B.J.Y.M.) members - Rahul Kothari, National Secretary BJYM & Vice President, Bharat Scouts and Guides; Rajesh Chaudhary, National Secretary BJYM; Chetan Bragta, National Executive committee Member, BJYM; Saurabh Choudhary, National Executive committee Member, BJYM; Ms. Nupur Sharma, National Executive committee Member, BJYM, Chaitanya Mahajan, Akansha Singh, Navdeep Singh and Ravinder Dahiya BJYM Member.

The exchange of ideas took place between representatives of the world’s oldest democracy and the world’s largest. Ms. Rahman started the round-table discussion by emphasizing the role of youth and globalization of youth issues in the day and age of internet based social networks. She was keen to understand the dynamics and demands of the Indian youth and how the BJYM under the able leadership of Shri Thakur tackles with them.

Shri Thakur addressed the delegates’ queries by explaining the shift between issues of national importance and those plaguing the youth at state and / or local level. He stressed that states like Himachal Pradesh also existed where the level of literacy amongst youth was much higher than the gross national level. States such as Gujarat had been most successful in curbing unemployment rate amongst youth.

Shri Thakur also brought up the current increase in youth participation in political activities with the help of social media be it the Rashtriya Ekta Yatra, the issue of corruption or safety of women. He added that India’s nearly 700 million youth population posed both a challenge but also an opportunity as a driving force for nation building. He ended by emphasizing that the BJYM as an agent for change, was at the forefront of this transformation.

It was a fruitful meeting and Ms. Rahman and her team left with a note for future collaborations and exchanges with the BJYM.