Youth pledge to fight terrorism, corruption at Delhi March

INDIAN YOUTH as well as citizens will not tolerate any government, which tolerates terrorism in the country and accepts corruption as a national value. The people of India are themselves getting ready to rid this country of political abuse and misuse of power and won’t mind cleaning the political cesspool.

This message was evident at a huge march organised against terrorism and corruption by Art of Living and the Youth for Equality in the heart of Delhi, on Sunday, March 1.

Strong resentment against the government for failing to protect the nation was evident at the march, where a couple of thousand youth including senior citizens were present at the Parliament street, on a sunny afternoon to protest against the rampant corruption and terrorism prevalent in the country.

Youngsters present at the march agreed with fact that India needed to do a massive overhaul of the system. Molly, a student of Daulat Ram College, said that this march was a well intentioned move that would spread awareness amongst the youth and the people.

With the theme- ‘This year my country is my valentine’, the protesters also took a pledge against these social evils. In one charged voice, they followed, the indomitable Kiran Bedi, to say that the youth and citizens of India will not accept irresponsible governance, which tolerates terrorism and accepts corruption as a national value.

A visibly moved, Bedi asked the youth to unite and ask questions from the government and seek accountability. Taking up the issue of security, Bedi said that despite crime statistics going down day by day, the level of safety was going down and down and no one knew why this was happening.

She also asked the youth to ask the government about the number of complaints lodged with police and number of those registered and worked out on. Bedi also said that the politicians of the country should also be forced to reveal the details of the foreign accounts to put an end to corruption.

Speaking on the occasion, Maninder Singh Bitta, President of All India Anti-terrorist Front, asked the youth to emulate the great Indian revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh and take control of the stuation. He said that the Indian youth have to come forward and take their rightful role to fight against terrorism and corruption, which are threatening the nation.

Talking to merinews, Bitta said that Indian politicians were responsible for the wholesale corruption and nepotism prevalent in the country. “India is contracted every five years by one party or the other and this leads to corruption as well as failure to check terror,” adding that youth and common people will have to come forward to fight this battle.

When asked whether the 26/11 incident in Mumbai was the political failure or a bureaucratic failure, Bitta said that it was a system failure and both had let India down to a great extent. “We united in Punjab and managed to put an end to terrorism. The same needs to be done across the country,” he said.

RTI activist, Arvind Kejriwal, told the people that Right to Information Act was a powerful tool to force the bureaucracy to take action. He asked the youth to understand the impact of this law and use it for checking corruption and fighting against the bureaucratic sloth.

Khursheed Batliwala, from the Art of Living, exhorted the good people to come forward and take action for bringing about change. Telling the youth that unity was strength using clapping as an example, he said that bad people were more motivated and united to do wrongs, as such it was important for the righteous to take on this challenge.

On this occasion, a 26/11 survivor, Rajita Mukherjee, read out her poetry on the topic of terrorism. She addressed the marchers in Delhi through a mobile phone and reiterated her commitment for peace and harmony.

“We must come forward to fight against corruption and terrorism if we want to live in peace and harmony,” said Divya from Gwalior, who is a student activist. She said that coming to this march was meant to send a message across the terrorists that they will not win this war.

Dressed in white tees with message against corruption, the youth were confident and firm in their belief that it is high time for corrective action. Speaking to merinews, a group of youth said that this was just the beginning and this movement will soon spread throughout the country, as all Indians want change.

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