One of the greatest achievements of the Modi government has been the mobilization of Bharatiya youth for heralding social and cultural change. Even the worst of his detractors can’t deny that Prime Minister Modi’s style of governance, policies, and dynamic oratorial skills have infused the Bharatiya youth with a newfound vigor and enthusiasm to do their bit in nation-building.
I won’t mind saying that this is perhaps the first time in the history of independent Bharat that the youth is being given so much importance. Politics and governance, for a long time, had very little to do with the youth. The Prime Minister and his Ministers were seen as folks who created serious policies at the national level to fix the country’s economy, foreign policy, etc. The common people of Bharat knew little about these things. To the youth especially, it didn’t matter much which Prime Minister came and which one went.
For a long time, Bharat has been used to a rather elite model of governance in which the Prime Minister was seen as this reified figure meeting only VIPs and diplomats and addressing prestigious international forums in English. The common people of Bharat had little to do with the Prime Minister except that many of them voted for the party, the leader of which got to become the Prime Minister of the country. But PM Modi’s governance style transformed the dynamics.
Throughout both his tenures, his governance style and public persona are characterized by a formidable connection with the people of Bharat. PM Modi has gone out of his way to interact with common Bharatiyas from all walks of life, felicitate them on their achievements, and encourage them to do their best. From the PM’s regular Mann ki Baat series to various digital initiatives to involve the youth in nation-building, the current BJP government has walked the talk when it comes to making Bharatiyas feel connected with their nation. Staunch critics of the BJP might call this exhibitionism and theatrics but a performance doesn’t stretch that far and one doubts if it can feel that genuine. For the first time in the history of independent Bharat, we have a Prime Minister who regularly interacts with citizens and motivates them, be it during the coronavirus lockdown period, or the Swachh Bharat Mission, infusing in them a sense of vigor and purposefulness.
If the PM of a country is so energetic, it’s natural that the citizens begin to feel invested in what they are doing and feel they too have a stake in the future trajectory of development of their country. Going with the spirit of involving citizens in governance, Prime Minister Modi recently announced the first-ever National Creators Awards in New Delhi. The awards recently presented at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi celebrated the contributions of digital content creators who have brought innovation and positive social and cultural change.
Over 200 creators were nominated across 23 categories ranging from the Cultural Ambassador of the Year Award, Best Storyteller Award, and Heritage Fashion Icon Award to the Swachhta Ambassador Award, the New India Champion Award, etc.
Although the awards don’t seem to have any age criteria as such, the majority of people awarded are youth. The Bharatiya youth is using digital media in new and innovative ways to bring about social and cultural change. Many a time, these activities start as pure fun and eventually develop into something serious. For example, there are a lot of young Bharatiya content creators out there who are propagating a positive and impactful image of Bharatiya traditions and culture through their reels, posts, and videos. Social media is like a vast ocean where there is good content and there is bad content. You get what you look for. Awards like these go a long way in motivating the youth towards making great content that can drive social change rather than making cringeworthy reels and memes that degrade Bharatiya culture.
On that note, let’s take a look at the profiles of some of the creators awarded in various categories.
- Maithili Thakur: Cultural Ambassador of the Year
Bharatiya singer Maithili Thakur needs no introduction. She performs original songs, cover songs, and traditional folk music in multiple Bharatiya languages.
Maithili Thakur shot to fame through YouTube. She started by posting home-recorded singing Bhajans and various other types of songs with her brothers accompanying her on musical instruments. The sheer sublime purity of her voice and her singing skills captivated netizens and her popularity soared in no time.
23-year-old Maithili belongs to Benipattee in the Madhubani district of Bihar. She has been deeply connected with the world of folk music since childhood. Her father Ramesh Thakur is a music teacher, and Maithili’s mother’s name is Pooja Despite having attained so much fame at such a young age, Maithili Thakur mostly performs folk songs and Bhajans and stays away from Bollywood.
Maithili’s Instagram channel has 4.7 million followers. In an age when Bollywood is considered the benchmark of “good singing”, Maithili Thakur is an inspiration not just for the youth but for everybody who needs to hear her to know what pure and unadulterated music and singing sound like.
When Maithili sings various folk songs of Mithila that involve storytelling of various episodes from the Ramayana, one is spellbound by her rendition.
Maithili’s Instagram has a lot of folk music and Bhajan performance videos. In most of the videos, she can be seen wearing a traditional sari and rocking it like a folk music rockstar! We need more icons like Maithili Thakur to make traditional folk and devotional music popular amongst the youth.
2. Keerthika Govindasamy: Best Storyteller
Keerthika Govindsamy runs a YouTube channel by the name Keerthi History.
With a 1.94 million subscriber base, Keerthika delves deep into various facets of Vedic history on her channel and also takes up topics related to news and current affairs. What makes the channel unique is her distinct presentation style backed by meticulous research. Keerthika simplifies complex subject matter to make it more appealing and comprehensible to the lay audience, that’s what makes her a great storyteller.
She also picks up rather unique topics from the vast repertoire of Hindu culture and civilization, many of which I haven’t seen being discussed on their channels. “Everything you need to know about Rudraksh”, “Unusual Methods Used by Sushruta”, “Is ISKCON only for Elite People?”, Ramanujan – Mystery Revealed”, “Dwarka Underwater Myster Explained”, “The Life of Rajput Princesses Who Married Mughals”, The Rivalry Between Gayatri Devi and Indira Gandhi”, are some of the unique thought-provoking videos on her channel.
Keerthika also has an Instagram account “keerthihistory” with 647k followers. On her IG handle, she posts short videos and reels on various topics related to Bharatiya culture and civilization.
3. Jahnvi Singh: Heritage Fashion Icon Award
20-year-old Jahnvi Singh is a social media content creator who creates unique content on Bharatiya culture and heritage.
Her Instagram channel has 577k followers. She promotes Bharatiya handloom sarees from different states on her channel. In each reel, she takes up a particular saree weaving style from a Bharatiya state and gives detailed information on its place of origin and unique quotient. Jahnvi has a unique presentation style as she delves into a storytelling mode, telling the audience the background story of each handloom saree tradition while she can be seen wearing the same sari.
Jahnvi’s Instagram handle also has many short reels imparting lessons from ancient Hindu epics like Bhagavad Gita for the layperson. Her speaking style is extremely catchy and lucid and has great potential to connect Bharatiya youth with Hindu culture and civilization.
At a time when the government is focusing on reviving the traditional textiles industry through various initiatives, content creators like Jahnvi Singh can indeed go a long way towards creating a strong market demand for Bharatiya handloom sarees, and thus giving a lease of life to various artisans and craftspersons.
4. Malhar Kalambe: Swachhata Ambassador
24-year-old Malhar Kamlambe leading various clean-up drives in Bharat since 2017 is a source of inspiration for all.
The Founder of “Beach please”, he also raises awareness on issues of plastic pollution and climate change. He has been conducting beach clean-up drives in Mumbai for the past 5 years. Malhar Kalambe has also been featured on the cover of Forbes India and ranked 28th on the list of Bharat’s top 100 digital stars.
Kalambe has been a source of inspiration for the youth as he has a huge network of youth volunteers who join his weekend beach clean-up missions in Mumbai. Malhar Kalambe has more than 82k followers on Instagram. His Instagram handle features reels of his cleanliness drive as well as awareness reels on how to develop habits of basic cleanliness while being out in public spaces.
Swachhta is not something that the government can be 100 percent responsible for. Any government can take initiatives and set up systems in place but ultimately, the onus is on Bharatiya citizens to keep their publis spaces clean. Unfortunately, in Bharat, we still have that culture where people would keep their homes spick and span but be least bothered about the mess they create on roads. We don’t have a sense of attachment and responsibility towards our public spaces. That’s why changemakers like Malhar Kalambe are not just youth icons but a source of inspiration for everybody.
5. Jaya Kishori: Best Creative for Social Change
Jaya Kishori shares stories from Ramayana and Bhagavad Gita insightfully to take the profound teachings of the ancient Hindu epics to common people and help them connect the teachings with their lives.
She has a YouTube channel with 3.23 million subscribers where she dons the role of a Kathakaar and addresses her audience on various issues connected to life through the perspective of the wisdom of ancient Hindu epics. She can also be seen singing Bhajans in many of her videos.
Jaya Kishori has a website where she calls herself a “Motivational Speaker, Spiritual Orator & Life: Shrimad Bhagwat Getta, Life Experiences, Family Teachings, Imbibing Wisdom from all.
Abrahamic faiths have a very elaborate ecosystem when it comes to preachers. Hindu Dharma is not aggressive, and therefore, we don’t have that kind of ecosystem. But it’s good to see Dharmic influencers coming up who wield a lot of power and influence on Bharatiyas from all walks of life. Dharmic influencers like Jaya Kishori should certainly be encouraged to take the message of our ancient value system far and wide.
6. Lakshay Dabas: Most Impactful Agri Creator
Lakshay Dabas was honored with the Most Impactful Agri Creator Award for his pioneering efforts in revolutionizing agricultural practices through technology and innovation.
Lakshay Dabas has trained more than 30,000 farmers about various ways of natural farming and protecting crops from pests and insects. The Prime Minister lauded Lakshya’s vision and urged him to meet the Governor of Gujarat, Shri Acharya Devvrat Ji to discuss his vision on natural farming where he has reportedly persuaded more than 3 lakh farmers to adopt natural farming.
Lakshay Dabas also has a YouTube channel called “Organic acre” where he educates farmers on the benefits of organic farming. He also uploads different videos focusing on organic farming methods for different crops. “Profitable tomato Farming in India”, “Organic Haldi Framing Business Model in India”, “A to Z chilli farming technique with mulching + drip irrigation in India”, and “Flax seed farming India” are the titles of some of his videos.
Lakshay has given a detailed introduction of himself in the “About” section of his channel where he talks about his life story. He tells us how he left his well-paying job to do full-time farming and is able to earn 1,00,000 plus monthly by growing and selling his organic farm produce.
The story of Lakshay Dabas is indeed an inspiration for Bharatiya youth who are losing interest in rural professions like farming and think that an urban lifestyle supported by a white-collar job is the only path to success. Even many future generations from full-time farming families will be hesitant to take up farming. We definitely need more agri icons like Lakshay who can not only educate farmers on various innovative modes of organic farming but also make farming a lucrative source of livelihood for the youth. On another note at a time, when Bharat’s agricultural narrative has been hijacked “famers’ protests’, this is definitely a refreshingly different counter-narrative of hope, resilience, and innovation.
