Late Shri Yashwantrao Chavan
“I define young People not merely in terms of age, but also on the basis of their capacity to accept a challenge and face it. That, really speaking, decides whether a man is young or old. Tilak was asked, after he had lost his case in the Privy Council, whether he had also lost his heart and courage. Tilak’s reply was. “I cannot lose courage. I belong to a generation which, if the skies fall, will stand on those fallen skies and still go on fighting”. That is the badge which the younger people should always wear.
A young man should always look for challenges, keep his courage and have ideals. A young man without an ideal is not a young man. A young man without dreams is not a young man. He must have the capacity and the courage not only to dream but also to make efforts to convert those dreams into realities. If the youth does that, I am sure, the greater India of our dreams will become a reality”
Excerpts from “Winds of Change” (Collection of Speeches & Writings by Yashwantrao Chavan) (Courtesy-Sommaiya Publication, Mumbai)