The University of Science and Technology Meghalaya becomes Northeast’s only private university selected for nationwide Nasha Mukt Yuva campaign interaction with Narendra Modi
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 2: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday virtually launched the 100-week “Jan Bhagidari” initiative, calling upon India’s youth, whom he described as the nation’s “Amrit Peedhi,” to lead the movement towards a drug-free India and help realise the vision of Viksit Bharat. Addressing young people across the country, including students of the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) through a live virtual interaction.
USTM was the only private university in the Northeast selected for the special interaction, held at its Central Auditorium as part of the nationwide “Gen-Z Against Addiction – Nasha Mukt Yuva: Viksit Bharat Sankalp Abhiyan.”
The University of Science and Technology Meghalaya students, many wearing tricolour caps, took a pledge against substance abuse before the Prime Minister joined the programme. A powerful dance-drama skit presented addiction as a destructive force consuming young lives before collective resistance defeated it.
Referring to the performance, Modi said its message went far beyond theatre.
“Drugs crush you and slowly take you far from your dreams,” he told the youth. “It was not merely a play, but the reality of life.”
Warning that addiction weakens the body, willpower and ambitions of young people while devastating their families, Modi delivered a stark message: drugs may give a temporary high, but ultimately bring careers and families low.
Quoting from the Guru Granth Sahib, the Prime Minister also emphasized hope and rehabilitation, reminding young people struggling with addiction that medical treatment and rehabilitation centres offer a road back.
“People who come out of drugs are even stronger,” he said, stressing that the government stands with those seeking recovery.
Modi said the anti-drug initiative, which began as a pilot project in Kashi, (Varanasi, a holy city located in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, had grown into a national movement. With one crore young Indians from diverse regions and backgrounds joining the campaign, it made a huge difference. He urged students to carry its message into schools, colleges, homes and communities.
“If one crore youth work against drugs, this movement will reach every home and every heart,” Modi said, linking their participation directly to India’s national ambition. The dream of a Viksit Bharat by 2047, he stressed, would be realised through the dreams, talent and determination of its young people.
The programme concluded with the National Anthem.
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The occasion crowned an extraordinary journey that began with the founder, Mahbubul Hoque who started with just one computer, four students and just ₹85, and grew over two decades into an educational movement of 14 institutions spanning KG to PhD under ERDF. At its heart stands USTM, which secured an ‘A’ Grade in its first NAAC accreditation, built hundreds of national and international academic collaborations, and expanded Hoque’s vision into medicine through the P.A. Sangma International Medical College and Hospital. Often described as the “Sir Syed of Northeast India,” Hoque has made rural, disadvantaged and accessible education central to his mission, turning a tiny beginning into an institution-building legacy that has opened the doors of opportunity to thousands across the Northeast.
On August 2, as the Prime Minister’s message reached USTM’s auditorium and its students joined a national mission, Hoque’s remarkable educational experiment found itself firmly in the national spotlight.
For Mahbubul Hoque, USTM and its parent organisation ERDF, it was the kind of day that can divide an institution’s history into two chapters: what came before, and what comes next. The mission of building a drug-free India finds its most powerful starting point in the university, where young minds are shaped, ambitions are nurtured and the future of the nation takes form. And what better place to ignite that movement than USTM, an institution whose very mission is rooted in the education, empowerment and holistic advancement of youth?
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JANPATH NEWS NETWORK (JNN)
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