Lucknow, 12 Sept (HS): At the inauguration event of the

Gomti Book Festival-2026 organized in Lucknow, UP CM Yogi Adityanath said, “One

should have the habit of purchasing books that generate creative emotions. Once

you have mastered the knowledge of letters and numbers, nothing in the world is

difficult. We have established a library in every gram sabha. The Vedic

tradition of India, which 88,000 sages advanced through various Puranas,

originated from that sacred land known as 'Naimisharanya'. The Indian Rishi

tradition always inspires one thing— 'May noble thoughts come to us from all

directions.'

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that every child should

read and absorb Prime Minister Narendra Modi's book Exam Warriors.

It would be unfair to say that young people don't read books; the need was to

make books accessible to them. Both society and the nation suffer the

consequences of limiting knowledge to a narrow scope.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was addressing the youth

after inaugurating the 5th Gomti Book Festival-2026 at Lucknow University on

Saturday. Before this, he visited the exhibition on the university campus. The

Chief Minister distributed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's book Exam

Warriors to the children present there. He said that every child should

read and absorb this book. It is useful not only for school students, but also

for every youth and citizen. The faces of the children who received the book

from the Chief Minister lit up. The Chief Minister also got a photo taken with

the girl students.

It is unfair to say that youth do not read books: The Chief

Minister said that saying that the youth has turned away from books or is

wasting their time on social media is completely inaccurate. To say so would be

unfair to the youth. What is needed is to make arrangements to make books

available to them. When Yuvraj Malik first proposed organizing a book festival

in Lucknow, I discussed it with the then Additional Chief Secretary, Avnish

Awasthi. I said I would encourage it. After this, the book festival started in

Lucknow. When it yielded positive results, I suggested organizing a book

festival in Gorakhpur as well. More people attended there than in Lucknow, and

more books were sold. This completely disproved the notion that today's youth

don't read books.

First, an attempt was made to confine it to a narrower

scope: The Chief Minister said that like any individual, society and nation

also become sick when its potential starts diminishing and it starts distancing

itself from its heritage. Earlier, an attempt was made to confine India's

ancient knowledge tradition within a narrow scope, the consequences of which

had to be borne. The land of Uttar Pradesh has been an important centre of the

Indian knowledge tradition. In Naimisharanya, about 70 km from Lucknow, the

sages carried forward the tradition of contemplation and knowledge. Kashi has

been the land of knowledge and dialogue. In Shuktirtha, located in

Muzaffarnagar of this state, the tradition of reciting the first story of

Shrimad Bhagwat Mahapuran is associated about five thousand years ago.

The digital age has reduced the distance between villages

and cities: The Chief Minister said that the digital age has reduced the

distance between villages and cities. Citing the example of village

secretariats, he said that previously, the village head used to manage the

village from his home. The government developed the village secretariat system,

not only providing seating arrangements for the head and village panchayat

officer, but also created conference rooms and digital libraries for the

villagers. Libraries have been established in 57,600 village panchayats across

the state, providing books from the National Book Trust. Previous governments

did not provide a platform to youth and villagers, and despite this, negative

words were used against them due to underutilization of their talent. Now that

these same youth and villagers have access to facilities, they are better

demonstrating their potential.

If the governments were in a bad shape, it was natural for the

system to be in a bad shape:

Referring to the schools of the Basic and Secondary

Education Council, the Chief Minister said that previously, the condition of

these schools was such that their buildings and systems appeared dilapidated.

When the governments themselves were dilapidated, it was natural for the system

to also deteriorate. Through Operation Kayakalp, the face of schools in the

state was transformed. Buildings were constructed and smart class facilities

were provided. Citing the example of Chitrakoot, the Chief Minister said that

when I visited there, the situation was very bad. When I visited again a year

later, a third-grade student in one school demonstrated operating a digital

library and displayed curriculum-related material. Previously, due to lack of

facilities, the girl was unable to showcase her abilities. After getting the

facilities, the same girl was confidently showcasing her talent.

Create your own book bank, make better use of it if

available: The Chief Minister appealed to the youth to develop the habit of

buying and reading books according to their needs. He said that whenever an

opportunity arises to buy a book, along with curriculum books, give priority to

books that develop creativity and positive thinking. A good literary work, a

religious text, the autobiography of a great man, or a book related to the

research of a scientist can inspire a person throughout his life. The Chief

Minister appealed to the youth to create their own 'book bank' and said that

the habit of reading books in free time can give a new direction in life.

The government is the largest buyer of books from the

National Book Trust: Expressing gratitude to the organisers, National Book

Trust and associated organisations for organising the Gomti Book Festival, the

Chief Minister said that the book fair should not be limited to Lucknow only,

but it needs to be taken widely to other places in the state.

On this occasion, National Book Trust Chairman Prof. Milind

Marathe welcomed the Chief Minister by garlanding him and presenting him a

book. A short film based on the journey and memorable moments of the previous

editions of Gomti Book Festival was also screened in the programme, which was

seen by the Chief Minister and the guests present. Higher Education Minister

Yogendra Upadhyay, Secondary Education Minister Gulab Devi, Basic Education

Minister Sandeep Singh, Lucknow University Vice Chancellor Prof. JP Saini,

National Book Trust Chairman Prof. Milind Sudhakar Marathe, Director Yuvraj

Malik along with authors, publishers and a large number of students were

present in the function.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi