Gandhinagar: Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) inaugurated ‘Yuva Sangam’ today, an initiative of the Ministry of Education, Government of India, under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (EBSB) programme to strengthen people-to-people connect and build empathy between the youth of North-Eastern States and the rest of India. As a part of this initiative, 18 students and off-campus youngsters from Assam have arrived at IITGN to visit Gujarat, and 53 students and off-campus youngsters from Gujarat are going to depart today evening to visit Assam with their respective state officers for one week to experience various facets of art, culture, life, and landmarks and to connect with the youth in these states.

A combined orientation programme for these students was inaugurated today by Chief Guest Shri Sathyanarayanan Mundayoor, Padma Shri Awardee (2020) and a devoted educationist and social activist working in the North-East India, who is also a Scholar-in-Residence at IITGN, in the presence of Prof Rajat Moona, Director, IITGN.

Encouraging the young participants to make the most of the programme, Shri Sathyanarayanan Mundayoor said, “It is a very special day for all of us. Travelling and exploring new places is always a unique experience since time immemorial. But largely, it happens at individual levels for spiritual or academic purposes. The ‘Yuva Sangam’ programme has been planned and developed so meticulously and thoughtfully to provide you with a wonderful opportunity to interact with fellow Indians, be receptive to their ideas, and learn new things. Both Gujarat and Assam have a very rich history and culture, and I am sure that you all will have the warmest experiences and memories in both states. Take back the beauty of India with you and spread it everywhere.” Born in Kerala, Shri Mundayoor has been working in Arunachal Pradesh since 1979. Keen to build up reading habits among children, he has made several efforts to reach tribal families in the hilly state. He also founded the Lohit Youth Library Network, a voluntary movement, in 2007.

Terming the programme as a unique learning opportunity, Prof Rajat Moona, Director, IITGN, said, “Yuva Sangam is a very interesting programme to bring together people from various parts of the country so that they can learn from each other’s culture, traditions, development, technology, and so on. When Mahatma Gandhiji came back from South Africa for the first time, he travelled throughout India to understand the country, its people, their culture, and problems and connect with them because there were very limited means of connectivity at that time. Today you all have embarked on a similar kind of journey, and we are fortunate that the means of connectivity have improved drastically across the country. We are sure you will have a very good time.” He also pointed out a unique feature printed on the T-shirts given to participants, i.e. boundaryless maps of Assam and Gujarat signifying the confluence of two states through this programme.

Prof Sivapriya Kirubakaran, Dean, Student Affairs, presented the votes of thanks appreciating the efforts and support by several people in organising this tour.

The 18 students and off-campus youngsters, including 11 males and 7 females, plus their accompanying officers from Assam, are going to visit different places in Gujarat between February 24 and March 02, 2023, to get an immersive multi-dimensional exposure under five broad areas – Paryatan (Tourism), Parampara (Traditions), Pragati (Development), Prodyogiki (Technology), and Paraspar Sampark (People-to-people connect).

During the exposure tour, participants are going to visit Indroda Park, Akshardham Temple, Amul Dairy, Muni Seva Ashram in Vadodara, Statue of Unity, Sabarmati Ashram and Riverfront, NIT Surat, Modhera Sun Temple, and Rani ki Vav. They will also get a first-hand experience of living among students of various cultural diversity at IITGN and NIT Surat campuses and engage in different activities with them, including telescopic observation of the night sky, cultural activity, research glimpses, interaction with other North-East region students at IITGN, and so on. They are also going to meet the Governor of Gujarat Acharya Devvrat.

As a nodal Institute for this programme in Gujarat, IITGN has also facilitated the selection of 53 students and off-campus youngsters, including 27 males and 26 females, from various districts of Gujarat and having different educational/professional backgrounds in the fields of arts, commerce, engineering, agriculture and veterinary science, management, entrepreneurship, teaching, ayurveda, pharmacy etc. A flag-off event for the departure of Gujarat students for an exposure visit to Assam will be held today evening. They will be hosted by IIT Guwahati.

Expressing her excitement and expectations from the programme, Charchita Goswami, a native of Assam studying BCom at the St Anthony’s College, Shillong, said, “We all are super excited for this tour to explore Gujarat as all of us are coming to the state for the first time. We know that Gujarat is one step ahead of the North-Eastern states, and I am sure that we will be going back with a lot of learnings and memories from here. It is also a miracle for our generation that in spite of being strangers, we have made good bonds with each other in such a short period and we are looking forward to more good times.”

Sharing his thoughts upon coming to Gujarat and IIT Gandhinagar, Supratim Deb, a student from Silchar, studying BA in Journalism and Mass Communication, said, “I have come to Gujarat for the first time, and I am very hopeful that this tour will help me in academic as well as personal development. I have already met many new people and am going to meet many more and learn from their experiences and wisdom. I am also keen to know about the culture, food, and music of Gujarat and excited to see the Statue of Unity.”

Gayatri Parmar, a Master of Engineering student from the M S University of Baroda, shared her enthusiasm and said, “I am excited to visit Assam for the first time, visit various places there, meet different people, and learn their culture.”

Sharing his plans for the exposure trip to Assam, Jigar, a student of the Government Engineering College, Gandhinagar, said, “Assam is the state of warriors and the land of natural beauty, Muga silk, Ahom monuments, delicious food, pottery and bamboo products, Bihu dance, and so on and I am on cloud nine with having this opportunity to absorb something of these things during our tour to the state.”

This wide cultural exchange programme is being organised in collaboration with various other ministries and departments, such as the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Department for Development of North-East Region (DoNER), among others, to give an opportunity to the youth of our country to celebrate the ancient culture and natural diversity of India as well as understand art, culture and languages of different states.