There are days that mark events, and then there are days that shape destinies. July 9 marks the Rastriya Vidyarthi Diwas, the foundation day of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) — the largest student organisation in the world. It is the day when India’s youth found their ideological mooring, cultural compass, and civilisational resolve. It is the day when the spirit of Bharat echoed across classrooms, college corridors, and university campuses — in the voice of nationalism, service, and sacrifice.
Founded on July 9, 1949, the ABVP emerged as a powerful student-led force committed to national reconstruction — believing that students are not merely citizens of tomorrow, but the torchbearers of today. At a time when the nation was newly independent and its soul still scattered, the ABVP channelised youthful energy into a coherent, character-building, civilisational mission.
Today, as the largest student organisation in the world, the ABVP continues to stand tall — uncompromised, unyielding, and unafraid. The Vidyarthi Parishad has not confined itself to being a student union; it has transcended into a civilisational movement powered by the mantra “Chhatra Shakti, Rashtra Shakti” — (Students’ Power, Nation’s Power). Its activism draws from an unflinching belief that the unity and integrity of Bharat are sacred and non-negotiable — and that education is the most powerful instrument to build character, awaken national consciousness, and transform society.
Kashmir ho ya Guwahati — Apna Desh, Apni Mitti
No slogan captures the soul of ABVP like: “Kashmir ho ya Guwahati — Apna Desh, Apni Mitti.” Whether it is standing with displaced Pandits in the Kashmir Valley or voicing the pain of indigenous people in Assam struggling to safeguard their identity in the Brahmaputra Valley, the ABVP has always stood where the tricolour trembled.
At a time when the so-called liberal elites were debating in seminar halls whether Kashmir was “integral or not,” the ABVP was already on the ground — organising study tours, youth awareness camps, and solidarity campaigns to strengthen India’s presence in the Valley.
In Assam, long before it became politically expedient to speak against illegal infiltration, the ABVP had raised its voice for Assamese identity, cultural preservation, and demographic protection.
During the Emergency
When then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi proclaimed Emergency in 1975, democracy gasped. The Constitution was gagged, and civil liberties were crushed. The ABVP was among the first to rise as the frontline of resistance. Barely out of their teens, its karyakartas braved arrest, torture, and even death. From underground pamphlet campaigns to secret meetings, from protest graffiti to the mobilisation of national conscience — the ABVP kept the flame of liberty alive in a nation blanketed by fear.
The Karma Yogis
The ABVP never sought to manufacture campus careerists. It aspired to create Karma Yogis — young men and women committed to Bharat’s upliftment. Its focus has always been on character over careerism, and commitment over convenience.
The names of Late Prof. Yashwant Rao Kelkar, Late Madandas Devi, Late Prof. Bal Apte, Dattatreya Hosabale, the current Sarakaryabah of RSS, Sunil Ambekar, Prof. Raj Kumar Bhatia, Prof. Milind Marathe etc. stand as testaments to the vision-driven, ideology-rooted leadership model of the ABVP.
The Parishad’s concept of the educational family — which includes students and teachers — is indeed revolutionary. Students may be at the centre, but teachers are their natural guardians. Education is seen not as a transaction, but as a sacred tradition.
Modern day Chanakya Circuit
From flagging recent corruption in the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) to fighting drug abuse, from standing for reservations for the economically weaker sections to preserving ancient Indian knowledge systems — the ABVP is not stuck in yesterday, but is shaping tomorrow.
It has launched platforms such as Students for Development (SFD) and Mission Sahasi to empower women and promote sustainable growth. Its advocacy for NEP 2020 was not symbolic but structural. For years, the Parishad warned against Macaulayism in Indian education. It championed teaching in mother tongues while asserting that “no nation rises by killing its language.” It fought to decolonise the curriculum and revive Bharatiya wisdom — from Ayurveda to Arthashastra.
The ABVP always maintained that vocational education is sacred, not secondary. It insists on multi-disciplinary learning and academic flexibility, valuing creativity over conformity.
When the New Education Policy was finally adopted, it bore the ideological imprint of the ABVP.
The ABVP does not merely react to narratives — it creates narratives, anchored in civilisational vision, refined by evidence, and executed on the ground.
Personal pride in a nationalistic cradle
As a career journalist with over two decades of experience, I say this with immense personal pride — I am a proud product of ABVP.
My student days were not wasted in wine-fuelled protests or identity politics. They were devoted to serving students, understanding Bharat, and dreaming of a stronger India. ABVP taught me that ideology is not a burden, but a beacon.
Why ABVP matters today
The Parishad believes that sustainable change does not come from statecraft alone, but from social transformation. That is why the ABVP remains firmly above partisan politics, relying not on political patronage but on public participation — because real power lies not in vote banks, but in value-based activism.
In an age of woke chaos and algorithmic outrage, the ABVP is one of the few organisations where dissent is debated, not deleted; where students are not made to hate their civilisation, but are encouraged to embrace it with critical clarity and cultural pride.
Its philosophy of constructive activism rejects destruction as a form of protest. Instead, it believes in the First Person Principle — that change must begin with the self, and that every campaign must be rooted in duty, not entitlement.
Today, as Bharat stands on the cusp of reclaiming its civilisational strength, the ABVP continues to march from campus to campus — awakening young minds, not into rebellion, but into responsibility.
Bharat’s youth, Bharat’s shield
This July 9, when students chant “Swaabhimaan se jeena, Bharat ke liye jeena” (Live with dignity, live for India), remember — this is not just an organisation’s anniversary. It is the nation’s affirmation — an affirmation that Bharat’s youth shall never surrender its conscience to colonial hangovers; that its campuses shall not become crucibles of Balkanisation; that its students shall not be wanderers without roots, but warriors of national reconstruction.
(The writer is a senior multimedia journalist.)