27th National Youth Festival

• The Prime Minister inaugurated the 27^th National Youth Festival at Nashik, Maharashtra on 12th January.
• On the occasion of 161^st anniversary of Swami Vivekanand Ji, 27th National Youth Festival is being celebrated in Nashik, Maharashtra.
• National Youth Day will be celebrated by all field organisations of the Department of Youth Affairs in districts pan-India in collaboration with multiple Government departments.
• Across 763 districts of the country, a district level mega program on National Youth Day 2024 began with a reverent floral tribute to Swami Vivekananda.

ABOUT NATIONAL YOUTH DAY

• 12^th of January marks the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, and is celebrated as National Youth Day.
• The decision to celebrate Vivekananda’s birthday as National Youth Day was taken in 1984, and it was first marked on January 12, 1985.

ABOUT SWAMI VIVEKANADA

• Swami Vivekananda was a spiritual leader, philosopher, and social reformer who made profound contributions to India’s cultural and spiritual landscape.
• He was born as Narendranath Datta on January 12, 1863.
• He preached a philosophy called “neo-Vedanta,” which interpreted Hinduism through a Western lens. Vivekananda believed in the harmony between spirituality and material progress.
• He gained global recognition for his remarkable speech at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893.
• As the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Swami Vivekananda established the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897.
• He established many Mathas in India the most important being the Belur Math in Belur, Howrah district.