Another area which deserves our special attention is the capacity of the Congress to inspire the youth and to attract them to work for the objectives which we aim at. It is needless to emphasize that without a sustained and rejuvenating inflow of youth into its rank and file no political party can be assured of a future. The Congress which has a crucial role to play in shaping the future of this nation, cannot afford to overlook this area of action. There is need to lay a special emphasis on the necessity for the organisation to think in terms of providing the youth with constructive programmes and with inspiring and tangible objectives so that they are attracted to share with us the tasks of nation-building. To whom else, if not to the youth of the country, can the party or the nation make an appeal? Without youth there is no future for the country; there is no future for the party. And this is one of the basic lessons that we have to learn from our past experience, that there must be a continuity of recruitment, continuity of support from generation to generation. In the twenties, thirties and forties, there were series of movements/ struggles etc. and there was naturally a flow of youngmen in the rank and file of the Congress organisation. From fifties onwards, there are no movements, no struggles inspired by nationalistic sentiments. Now there are agitations on communal considerations; there are agitations on linguistic considerations and there are agitations for parochial objectives. You can't recruit people from these. We have certainly got some other youth movements from which we can recruit new elements in the Congress rank and file. I think if you make a right appeal to the younger people and if you give them a feeling that they are wanted, that they will get every opportunity for participating in whatever we are doing towards building up of the nation, then the Congress will have no fear for its future. I think it is much better that we see the change that has occurred in the circumstances.
