‘Channelise rage into action’

The sense of outrage prompted by the events of 26/11 continues to spark off new initiatives promoting unity, especially those aimed at the youth.
And politicians of all hues are also getting into the act. MP Priya Dutt, speaking at the occasion of the launch of the Together for Peace campaign by the NYKS (Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan) in Delhi, was also vocal about what she felt was the need of the hour.���There are two voices echoing in our country right now ��� one calling us towards a path of peace, the other towards hatred. We must be very careful about which one we choose to listen to.��� While our politicians have never been very good at presenting a united front in trying times, Priya remarked, ���It���s the first time in my years in parliament that everyone has spoken in one voice about the attacks. Its important to keep that spirit alive.���
The NYKS hopes to mobilise rural youth across the country through the year-long campaign, with members pledging to promote peace and unity in the face of terror. While happy that such initiatives were being launched, Priya rued the fact that they were at all necessary, in a country that gave the world concepts such as non-violence. She admitted that it was only natural to feel an overwhelming sense of ���impotent rage��� at the events that shook the country, calling them an ���act of war against our country and our sense of sovereignty���. She however stressed that it was now important to ���channelise that rage into effective action.��� Recalling her own experiences as a child in Mumbai during the violence in Punjab in the 1980s, she said, ���My father (Sunil Dutt), organised a peace march from Mumbai to Amritsar then. I was studying at the time, and remember the impact it made. It was then I realised that one doesn���t have to turn to weapons to fight terrorism. It���s first necessary to remove terrorism from within and only then from without.���
Putting the onus firmly on the youth of the nation to ���be the change they want to see���, Priya stressed that it was necessary for the ���young people of this nation to start taking responsibility for the direction in which the country is headed. I have full faith that young leaders will begin to come out in such circumstances.��� And most importantly, she urged the youth to believe in themselves and their ability to change things for the better. She said, ���Don���t underestimate yourselves. You are the future of the nation, and I believe that the future is bright.���