ABVP adopts Vande Mataram promotion, ‘screen time to green time’ campaign at Kashi conference

Jaunpur (UP): The RSS' student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has adopted the promotion of "Vande Mataram" in educational institutions and a "Screen Time to Green Time" campaign as two major student-led initiatives aimed at strengthening national consciousness and addressing excessive digital dependence among youth.

The initiatives form part of four resolutions adopted at the conclusion of the ABVP's 65th Kashi State Conference, which concluded here on Wednesday after three days of deliberations on student welfare, academic reforms and environmental responsibility.

The ABVP said the Vande Mataram resolution, marking 150 years of the song, seeks to promote it as a symbol of national unity and cultural consciousness through campus-based cultural programmes, student dialogues and institutional engagement, according to a statement by the students' body.

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The "Screen Time to Green Time" initiative aims to encourage students to reduce screen exposure and increase participation in outdoor learning, sports, green campus activities and nature-centric engagement to promote physical and mental well-being, it said. Two other resolutions expressed concern over prolonged admission procedures and vacant seats in central and state universities, and outlined a long-term vision for educational empowerment and ecological awareness in the Sonbhadra region, it added.

Addressing the conference, ABVP national secretary Abhay Pratap Singh said the organisation would actively campaign to take these initiatives to campuses across the country. The new Kashi state executive committee was announced by state president Mahendra Tripathi. Santosh Singh 'Ansh', Ram Shankar Uraon, Abha Tripathi and Ravi Shekhar Singh were appointed state vice presidents while Shiv Babu Chaudhary, Nivedita Mishra, Aman Singh and Trikant Singh Jatav were named joint secretaries.

ABVP zonal organising secretary for east Uttar Pradesh, Ghanshyam Shahi, said the organisation had completed 77 years of its journey and stressed the role of student activists in nation-building. "The ABVP is not merely an organisation but an idea, and the society recognises us by our conduct," he said.