Carrying saffron flags and placards with messages written on it, hundreds of youth participated in the street march aimed to awaken the people against these social evils and urged the society at large to wake up to the occasion.
Drug menace is rampant in Punjab. The future of girls and boys are in danger. Parents, teachers, doctors, policemen, politicians and religious leadership, we all are responsible. Society reflects what it is composed of, said SYP head Ranbir Singh while addressing the gathering.
He said “all parts of Punjab were in the octopus-like grip of different kinds of alcohol and drug abuse. It is a sad irony that the Punjabi is today leaning on loneliness, misery and stress.
A view of an awareness March by Sikh Youth of Punjab at Tanda (Hoshiarpur) – February 05, 2013
“We believe at one level, it was a part of the design to engage the Punjabi youth in drugs as a weapon to check their political consciousness and to counter the fighting spirit in them,” he said. He declared that their group has resolved to hold a series of public programmes on these very issues and the next would be in Jalandhar very shortly.
Group’s vice-president Paramjit Singh Tanda said the society must learn to respect and protect women’s dignity, modesty and freedom. Referring to the controversy about Rapper Honey Singh’s song glorifying sexual abuse against women, he said, apart from asking the governments to ban such songs the youth should impose self-ban on themselves by not listening to such songs.
HS Dhami, President of Dal Khalsa, addressing a rally organized by “Sikh Youth of Punjab” at Tanda (Hoshiarpur) on February 05, 2013
Dal Khalsa head H S Dhami in his address to youth said around 66 per cent of India’s population is under the age of 35. He said every successful process of transition, whether in politics or other sphere, requires a mix of the wisdom of experience and the exuberance of youth. He felt that if youth comes forward to lead, the quality of politics would improve because they will bring fresh ideas, enthusiasm, dynamism and a lot of energy. He said the youth of Punjab faces multiple challenges yet hoped that younger generation has commitment and passion to move forward while tackling all problems.He rued criminalization of politics as it’s obstructing the path of those youth who are morally upright and honest and wanted to serve the people with clean hands.