Ajit Doval urges youth to put national interest above personal gains
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval urged India's youth to place national interest above personal gains and seize the country's historic opportunity for growth. Speaking after receiving the Lokmanya Tilak National Award, he also praised Lokmanya Tilak's legacy and India's leadership
Pune: National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Saturday called upon the country’s youth to dedicate themselves fully to the national interest and rise above personal gains, urging them to make the most of the “window of opportunity” before India to build a stronger nation.
Addressing a gathering after receiving the Lokmanya Tilak National Award 2026 here, Doval said the younger generation should resolve to work only in the interest of the nation and ignore narrow and short-term interests.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah presented the award, instituted by Tilak Smarak Trust, to Doval here.
“Today’s youth should commit themselves completely and think that they will work only for the national interest. They should be willing to sacrifice small personal interests, and even if such considerations arise, they should ignore them,” he said.
Doval said India was passing through a crucial phase in its history and should not allow the present opportunity to slip away.
“There is a window of opportunity in the history of our country. We cannot afford to lose it. Right now, our priority is to build the nation,” he said.
Expressing confidence in India’s future, the NSA said the country would succeed in its mission and create a new chapter in its history.
“I am confident that we will succeed in this endeavour and create a new chapter in our history,” Doval added.
He said the country was fortunate to have leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Hailing Lokmanya Tilak, Doval said he was not only a freedom fighter but also a social reformer and a philosopher.
He said when the plague hit Pune and claimed the life of his 21-year-old son, Tilak did not leave the city but stayed back instead.
“The youth probably think that India was always like this. The youth probably think freedom is doing whatever they feel. Freedom was not that. Those who sacrificed their lives for freedom, those who struggled for it… Lokmanya Tilak. There was pain among the people… they wanted to speak. Tilak gave them the strength to do so and instilled a new ‘chetana’ (consciousness) in them,” he added.
Doval said these days people talk about their rights, but they do not know the pain it would cause those who sacrificed everything for them if those rights are misused.
Tilak did not just give the call that ‘Swaraj is my birthright and I will take it’, but he wanted every citizen to nurture the same mindset, he added.
Doval said he accepts the award named after Lokmanya Tilak with humility.
He also praised Shah for his “clear vision and commitment towards the country”, and said he had the opportunity to work with the Union Home Minister.
