A group of religious working among young people in 27 states of India studied their role in nation-building as part of commemorating the 100th year of their presence in the Northeast. “Salesians towards Nation Building” was the theme of their national assembly at Dimapur, the commercial capital of Nagaland state. A band of 12 Salesians of Don Bosco arrived at Shillong, the present capital of Meghalaya state, January 13, 1922. The region now has three Salesian provinces –Guwahati, Dimapur and Shillong.
As reported by mattersindia.com, Rector of Don Bosco College, Itanagar, Fr. Jose Chemparathy, the overseer of the Centenary Celebrations in 2022, highlighted the importance of the preparatory years and listed the three themes that will form part of the activities for each year – Imparting Gospel Values and Catechesis (2019); Youth Ministry (2020), and Salesian Spirituality (2021). “The Salesian as an educator of the young,” Father Xalxo said, “needs to be a prophet of secularism, democracy and fundamental rights. The type of formation he gives to the young should be an antidote to communalism, politicization of religion and violence. As an educator, the Salesian should be someone who is engaged in tackling India’s widespread illiteracy, the phenomenon of boys and girls dropping out of school, caste discrimination, and uneven economic development by industrialist.”
The delegates from 12 Don Bosco Networks explained their Innovative Approaches and Challenges in their respective areas of work for marginalized youth and underprivileged people.
Source: www.mattersindia.com
