Country's future reflected in number of young readers: Shah after inaugurating Delhi library

New Delhi, Jul 11 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday inaugurated the Jayaprakash Narayan Public Library in the NDMC area and said the presence of young readers in libraries was a better measure of a country's future than its economic indicators. Addressing the inaugural function, the minister said, "If you want to assess the future of a country, it cannot be done by looking at how prosperous its agriculture is, how crowded its markets are, or how many industries it has. It can be assessed by seeing how crowded its libraries are and whether young people are there." He said knowledge and wisdom formed the foundation of nation-building, and libraries played a central role in nurturing both. "The activities that take a nation forward and bring it prosperity are rooted in knowledge and wisdom. And that knowledge comes only through libraries," Shah said. Urging the library administration to connect with schools in the surrounding areas, the Union home minister said the habit of reading among young people should be encouraged. "My request to the librarians here is to reach out to all schools in the 10 nearby assembly constituencies. Bring young people here once. The books will do the rest. Once a young person develops the habit of reading, he himself learns to distinguish between right and wrong," he said. Shah said the library offered access to around 32,000 books and one crore e-books, and expressed hope that the Delhi government would integrate libraries across the city and link them with schools. He also praised the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) for naming the library after Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan. "Narayan was a person who embraced many ideas during his life, but whichever ideology he worked with, he always tried to achieve excellence in it," Shah said. Recalling Narayan's role in the freedom struggle, Shah said he escaped from Hazaribagh Jail during the Quit India Movement despite the risk to his life and rejoined the movement against British rule. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the public library would become an important resource for students preparing for competitive examinations. "I think the inauguration of this library is a big gift for the people of Delhi. This will serve as an asset for young people. Those preparing for UPSC and other examinations will get the kind of study environment they need through this library," she said. Gupta also said the city was witnessing improvement in civic infrastructure during the monsoon. "The problems that used to trouble the people of Delhi are gradually ending. Delhi is moving towards becoming a developed city. This time, we are seeing much better drainage arrangements and minimal waterlogging. A lot of credit goes to PWD Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma and the entire government working together," she said. According to the NDMC, the library at Mandir Marg has been developed as a modern public reading and study centre with seating capacity of 200 at a time. The civic body said the facility houses more than 30,000 books and includes an e-library section that provides members access to over five lakh e-books and a digital catalogue. The library has a multipurpose hall on the ground floor, library halls on the first and second floors and is equipped with lift facilities. Officials said it aims to provide readers with both physical and digital learning resources under one roof. PTI VBH PRK