Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi on Thursday urged the Indian youth to embrace their national culture and stop aping others.

Reflecting on the RSS’ agenda during their annual Vijayadashmi event marking the organisation’s foundation day, Satyarthi said: “Though hundreds of years of oppressive colonial rule could not kill India’s soul, it certainly left scars of inferiority in our mind and a deep sense of mental slavery that we have still not been able to tide over.”

“This inferiority complex conspicuously reflects in the ever increasing sense of contempt towards our language, tradition, culture, costume, food and education…,” said the child rights activist who was the chief guest at the Reshimbaug function.

He said people must adopt the values that are at the heart of the Indian culture.

“Our culture is not a pond of stagnant water instead it is a perennial river which keeps giving birth to springs and tributaries. We Indians are born with a unique quality of continual self-improvisation and we must take immense pride in it,” Satyarthi said at the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh event.

“Instead of copying and chasing the shadow of others, recognise your innate cultural strength and derive self-respect from it,” he told the youth present there.

He then urged all to pledge for building a compassionate, inclusive, secure, self-reliant and self-respecting India.

“If we start with millions of most marginalised and socially excluded children and work towards ensuring their freedom, protection, security, education, values and health only then will we be able to realise our goal of building a great India.”

“A strong nation cannot be built by hurling blames and accusations on governments nor can it be made merely by making solicitations every now and then,” he said.

He urged youngsters to “take a lead on this path for saving the present and future of our motherland”.

“If the branches of the Sangh situated in almost all villages across the length and breadth of our country serve as a firewall to protect this generation of children, then all future generations will become self-sufficient in protecting themselves.”