India’s youths must be prepared to face all challenges: Rajnath

As the world is going through a period of uncertainty, India’s youth must remain strong and be prepared to take on every challenge, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday.

In an address to a group of National Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets, he also spoke of India’s “befitting reply” following the Pahalgam terror attack and urged them to draw inspiration from those who played a vital role during Operation Sindoor. Singh described the NCC cadets as the nation’s second line of defence. “Indian Armed Forces destroyed terrorists based in Pakistan and PoK (Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir), which was a befitting reply to the unfortunate and cowardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam,” Singh said.

“Our soldiers acted with courage and restraint. We targeted and destroyed only those who hurt us, not anyone else. This was possible as they are strong physically, mentally and emotionally,” he said.

The defence minister described the youth as Abhimanyu of the Mahabharata, who knew how to enter any kind of ‘Chakravyuh’ and emerge victorious from it.

Singh also urged them to contribute to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s vision of making India a developed nation by 2047.

“We have now entered a time where expectations from youth have increased. They’re invaluable assets of the nation bearing the responsibility of taking the country to newer heights,” he said. Singh was addressing the cadets at the NCC Republic Day Camp at Delhi Cantonment.

“The world is selling comfort today. Video games, food delivery, and other such things are meant to bring comfort to human life. Through parades, drills and camps, NCC helps to break you out of that comfort zone, making a cadet mentally strong,” he said.

“In addition, the children learn many life skills which can help them to protect themselves and others during disasters,” he noted.