I am an organic product of ABVP. I cannot express how proud I feel today being the chief guest at the 69th ABVP Conference. Only a person who began his journey by sitting at the last row of the pandal at the Rajkot ABVP National Conference can truly understand this feeling,” said Union Home Minister Amit Shah on December 8, 2023, while inaugurating the 69th National Conference of ABVP in New Delhi started from December 7 to December 10.
He added, “ABVP has played a pivotal role in national reconstruction, contributing significantly to movements like the anti-Emergency movement, etc. Today, I urge the youth to channelise their efforts in promoting national interest, emphasising the need to live meaningfully for the glory of Bharat. I humbly request everyone present to commit the next 25 years of their lives to the goal of nation building as the world looks upon Bharatiya youth with optimism and hope. ABVP is not just an organisation; it is a movement in itself.”
The historic four-day event, held at the sprawling 52-acre ‘Indraprastha Nagar’ tent-city in Burari, New Delhi, commenced on December 7th, bringing together over 10,000 students from every district across Bharat. ABVP National General Secretary, Yagyawalkya Shukla, announced that ABVP has set a new world record with a membership of 50,65,264 students, solidifying its position as the world’s largest student organisation. The launch of the theme song of the 69th ABVP National Conference titled ‘ABVP ABVP Rashtrabhakti’ as well as the launch of five books on diverse themes concerning the issue of national consciousness were among the highlights of the second day of the event.
The 69th National Conference of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad commenced with the grand welcome of the Hindavi Swarajya Yatra, commemorating the 350th anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s coronation, covering a total distance of around 2000 km. The Yatra commenced on November 28 from Raigarh Fort, Maharashtra, and concluded on December 7th at the venue of the ABVP National Conference at Burari, New Delhi. Following the conclusion of the Yatra, Dattaji Didolkar Exhibition was inaugurated by the former National President of ABVP, Dr Rajkumar Bhatia, which was followed by a flag-hoisting ceremony in the evening, setting a beautiful example of inclusiveness and empathy with around 150 visually-challenged students forming a tri-colour and accompanied by over 8,500 students singing Vande Mataram in a mesmerising chorus.
ABVP National President, Dr Rajsharan Shahi, stated, “This conference is a sacred endeavour for all the ABVP activists. ABVP continues to advance its mission consistently over time. In its magnificent 75-year journey, ABVP has not only posed questions but has also presented solutions, contributing to familiarising the youth of Bharat with the real history of the nation. The vision of ABVP is that education must be rooted in culture and committed to progress.”
ABVP National General Secretary, Shri Yagywalkya Shukla, stated, “With the motto of ‘Student’s Power is Nation’s Power,’ the 69th National Conference stands as a testament to this organisation’s commitment to shaping the future of Bharat’s youth through education, culture, and leadership. ABVP is a movement that advocates positive changes, having a history of fostering and leading socially impactful and transformative endeavours. ABVP initiated ‘Mission Sahasi,’ a nationwide movement to provide self-defense training to students. ABVP has surpassed the milestone of more than 5 million active members, solidifying its position as the world’s largest students’ organisation.”
“I am an organic product of ABVP. I cannot express how proud I feel today being the chief guest at the 69th ABVP Conference. Only a person who began his journey by sitting at the last row of the pandal at the Rajkot ABVP National Conference can truly understand this feeling ” — Amit Shah, Union Home Minister
Suresh Soni, RSS National Executive Member, Mukund CR, RSS Sah Sarkaryavah, Ram Lal, RSS Akhil Bharatiya Sampark Pramukh, Sunil Ambekar, RSS Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh, Dr Rajsharan Shahi, ABVP National President, Yagywalkya Shukla, ABVP National General Secretary, Ashish Chauhan, ABVP National Organizing Secretary, Prafulla Akant, National Joint Organising Secretary, Nirmal Minda, Reception Committee President, Ashish Sood, Reception Committee General Secretary, and Dr. Abhishek Tandon, ABVP Delhi State President were present at the inaugural session of the 69th ABVP National Conference.
On the third day (December 9), more than 10,000 students participated in the vibrant Shobha Yatra, commencing from the ABVP National Conference venue (Indraprastha Nagar) at DDA Ground, Burari, New Delhi, and concluding at Maurice Nagar Chowk, Delhi University, in front of Daulat Ram College. The 4.5 km route witnessed the enthusiastic participation of students representing various States and showcased the cultural diversity of Bharat. The students participating in the Shobha Yatra, dressed in diverse traditional attires, collectively represented all states of Bharat. They were warmly welcomed at 62 stops along the route by local communities inhabiting Dhaka, Parmanand Colony, Nirankari Colony and other adjacent neighbourhoods. The Shobha Yatra concluded with an Open Conference at Maurice Nagar Chowk, where student leaders addressed the participating students on crucial issues about education and contemporary developments. The inclusive nature of the Shobha Yatra, representing mini-Bharat, exemplified the spirit of national integration.
Prof Yashwantrao Kelkar Youth Award Ceremony-2023
On the last day (December 10), Professor Yeshwantrao Kelkar Youth Award Ceremony 2023 took place at ABVP National Conference. The winners of Prof. Yeshwantrao Kelkar Youth Award 2023 are Shri Sharad Vivek Sagar (Patna, Bihar) for enabling Bharatiya youth from low-income and deprived groups to receiving world-class education; ‘Millets Queen’ Sushri Lahari Bai Padiya (Dindori, Madhya Pradesh), for her original work at the grassroots level towards conservation and enrichment of Shree-Anna (Millets); and Dr Vaibhav Bhandari (Pali, Rajasthan), for improving the standard of living and raising self-confidence among Divyangs. Senior journalist Rajat Sharma graced the award ceremony as the chief guest and awarded the esteemed recipients of the Yashwantrao Kelkar Youth Award 2023.
“To mark the 75 years of its founding, ABVP held a grand national conference in capital of the country. Even for aperson like me, who was associated with the organisation for over four decades in the past, it was difficult to imagine the multidimensional growth the organisation has achieved.That ABVP is a permanent organisation of floating population is itself a wonder.That it keeps adding new feathers to its cap every now and then reveals its inherent strength.” — Raj Kumar Bhatia, Former National General Secretary, ABVP
This award, initiated in 1991, is presented in memory of Professor Yeshwantrao Kelkar, known as the architect of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. He is remembered for his role in the organisational expansion and strengthening of ABVP. Prof. Yeshwantrao Kelkar played a significant role in establishing and defining the ideological boundaries, foundation, organisational development, and working methodologies of ABVP. This award is a joint initiative of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Vidyarthi Nidhi Trust, organisations committed to working for the progress and education of students.
“ABVP is the first student organisation to raise the demand for lowering voting age from 21 years to 18 years in Bharat, to give youth their voting rights” — Ashish Chauhan, National Organising Secretary, ABVP
The award aims to highlight the work of young social entrepreneurs, encourage them, express gratitude towards them, and inspire young Bharatiya individuals to get involved in social work. The award includes a sum of Rs 1,00,000/-, a certificate, and a memento.
“Student’s attendence in colleges is decreasing and they are forced to join private tutorial. To make Colleges effective, ABVP has planned to start a campaign ‘Campus Chalo Abhiyan’ from January 12 on the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. Further, ABVP has planned to Study the number of seats vacant for teachers in the country and will demand to fill them. Also, this year, Jila sammelan will be organised in the topics of Art, environment, Sewa, Mental health, sports etc.” — Yagywalkya Shukla, National General Secretary, ABVP
Sharad Vivek Sagar said, “I started Dexterity Global at the age of 16. My aim was to train students so that they too could grow as leaders and scholars and succeed at national and international platforms. Today, the organisation connects over 7 million young citizens across remote towns and villages of India with educational opportunities (like competitions, conferences, scholarships, workshops, etc) every month along with preparation material.
“Today, Graduates and Fellows of Dexterity have won over 1,000+ major international and national competitions, received more than Rs. 175 crores in scholarships, been selected Ambassadors to UN platforms and Presidents of Student Governments at the world’s Top 500 Universities. More than 80 per cent of Graduates and Fellows of Dexterity come from low-income families and extremely humble backgrounds,” Sagar added,
I started Dexterity Global at the age of 16. My aim was to train students so that they too could grow as leaders and scholars and succeed at national and international platforms” — Sharad Vivek Sagar, Founder, Dexterity Global
“Nothing is small in life. If you change your viewpoint of thinking; you can also grow in life. ABVP is such an Organisation, which can listen and understand me” — Dr Vaibhav Bhandari, Swavlamban Foundation
“Till today, my parents and I have not taken any injections as we have been eating millets since the beginning,” said Millets Queen’ Sushri Lahari Bai Padiya. Hiralal Sarvate, who came to this award function with her, said, “Grandparents of Lahari Bai used to say that those who eat millet will not have any diseases. Lahari started collecting its seeds and sowing crops and built a Seedbank. And later started distributing this to farmers for agricultural purposes. Her purpose was to make people healthy, as millet carries every Vitamin.
Senior journalist Rajat Sharma reminisced about the crucial role played by the ABVP in his life during the Emergency, emphasising its significant contribution to the nation’s concerns. He praised the vital role of ABVP in the country’s 75-year journey. He said, “Since the last 40 years of my journalism career, I have seen many things. We used to witness humiliation of Bharatiyas living abroad. Today three crore people from Bharatiya origin proudly say that they are from Bharat. And I can say that there is huge contribution of members of ABVP in this achievement or the current stage of Bharat.”
“This conference is a sacred endeavour for all the ABVP activists. ABVP continues to advance its
mission consistently over time. In its magnificent 75-year journey, ABVP has not only posed
questions but has also presented solutions, contributing to familiarising the youth of Bharat with the real history of the nation” — Dr Rajsharan Shahi, National President, ABVP
“Ten years back, it was hard to imagine that Sri Ram temple would be constructed. It was hard to imagine that Bharat will kill terrorist going inside Pakistan. But this change happened. Because ABVP created such hardworking Karyakartas who brought this change,” he added. After the successful completion of this four-day conference, ABVP, on December 11, 2023, said that it would celebrate Deepotsav on the day of Pran Pratishtha of the Shri Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. In conjunction with the Pran Pratishtha of Sri Ram in the Shri Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22, ABVP appealed to students nationwide to celebrate Deepotsav, intending to impart the ideals of Bhagwan Ram to the younger generation. ABVP has also passed a resolution during its National Executive Council meeting, welcoming the construction of the Ram Temple.
“Since the last 40 years of my journalism career, I have seen many things. We used to witness
humiliation of Bharatiyas living abroad. Today three crore people of Bharatiya origin proudly say that they are from Bharat. And I can say that there is huge contribution of members of ABVP in this achievement or the current stage of Bharat” — Rajat Sharma, Senior Journalist
In this conference, a total of six resolutions were passed in National executive committee meeting of ABVP. Four resolutions were passed in the ABVP National Conference: Youth must adopt a healthy lifestyle, Need for conscientious development for environmental balance, Firm measures to be taken for quality education and a vibrant campus, and Global welfare-oriented Bharatiya diplomacy. Two other resolutions were also passed in the National Executive Council meeting, namely, The Symbol of Bharatiya Swa and Pride Ram Mandir and Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam: A historic step. Notably, ABVP will organise district-level conventions across all states to engage youth in dialogue on diverse issues.
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