Atmanirbhar Bharat: The Work of Today.

By Divya Behl

Imagine a farmer in a small village tilling his land with confidence, a scientist in a modern lab building satellites, or a student learning coding. A teenager making a meal for the first time, a child learning to tie her shoelaces, or a family beginning to support local products. Self-reliance begins there. They are all different stories, tied to one immovable idea – Atmanirbhar Bharat.

A self-reliant India is not the dream of tomorrow; it is the work of today.

Whenever I see dirty streets or imported clothes and fabrics, I think of ways to bring back the “Golden Bird” India once was. Not only for its wealth, but for its spirit of being self-reliant. I also see people neglecting the dreams of young children who could work for a better India.

The first step I will take is to silence the labels and ideas which say that young people cannot make a difference, that we do not understand, or that our voices don’t count. I do not believe this. Being young is not our weakness, it is our strength. We are the ones who still ask, “Why not?” We are the ones who notice what is broken and believe we can fix it.

The second step I will take is to spread awareness about equal opportunities in education, especially for girls. In many villages, girls are expected to stay at home, limited to the kitchen, while boys are sent to school and allowed to dream freely. Each boy and girl who is educated is a finished jewel, a fulfilled possibility for India.

The third step I will take is to reduce disparity between different regions of India. Self-reliance is not only about producing goods or raising GDP, but also about values and habits. A student doing homework without depending fully on parents, or a child finishing her work on her own, is also practicing self-reliance.

The fourth measure I will encourage is individual responsibility. Every citizen should learn to face struggles with courage, relying not only on government help but also on their own strength. I will inspire my neighbours, friends, family, and people around me to instill this value of self-reliance.

The fifth and final step is creating awareness about unity. If we want a self-reliant India, we must work together as one.

As Mahatma Gandhi Ji said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

I would like to conclude with my self-composed slogan:

From fields of grains to labs of light,From villages small to cities bright,We build, we dream, we rise as one—Atmanirbhar Bharat, our journey’s begun!

In every child, in every home, strength is nurtured first at heart. Together we grow, together we stand—self-reliance begins with our hands!

By Divya Behl