12th january : National youth day

National Youth Day is celebrated in India on 12 January on the birthday of Swami Vivekananda

In 1984, the Government of India declared and decided to observe the birthday of Swami Vivekananda as a National Youth Day every year from 1985 onwards.

This great saint was born in Kolkata on 12 January, 1863. He was named Narendra. His father was Vishwanath Dutta, a respectable figure and his mother was Devi Bhuvaneshwari.

Swami Vivekanand was a great disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhansa, a great saint who believed in humanism and urged the people to imbible the spirit of equality, liberty and free thinking. Vivekanand founded the Ramakrishna Mission in 1896 after his return from America to propogate the teachings of his master Ramakrishna Paramhansa.