A group of enthusiastic youngsters made their way to Portcullis House on one of the wettest days of the summer. Despite the inclement weather, their spirits were not dampened. The exuberance of these youngsters is so remarkable that if we don’t channel and nurture it, in years to come we will only have ourselves to blame.
Parliament Outreach event organised by the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh U.K. and the Parliament Education and outreach team was entitled ‘People, Power and Parliament-How Parliament works’. What happens in Parliament, how Parliament works to make laws, debates issues, decides how monies taken in taxes are spent on our behalf to run the country were amongst the topics covered. The issues discussed and voted upon in Parliament affect us all and it is our duty to participate in Parliament and voting. An interesting fact was that the parliamentary seat of Fife North East was won in the 2017 General elections by just 2 votes. So, the message was, every vote counts. They learnt that the Queen cannot vote!
Anyone who is concerned about something can start an e-petition and often if the petition has sufficient signatories, it will be debated in Parliament. The youngsters were told about the journey of a Parliamentary Bill. It is a proposal for a new law or a change to an existing law and sometimes there is frantic toing and froing of the bill from the Commons to the Lords before it gets the Royal Assent and a bill becomes an Act of Parliament. Dhruv Kadam, aged 17 from Pinner asked if a bill has ever been rejected by the present Queen. The answer was ‘No’ as the queen acts on the advise of the Government. A video on views of young people about how crucial it is to vote and a video about the role of a Parliament Select committee was punctuated with interactive games and activities. Ishwari aged 20 wanted to know if Commonwealth citizens can vote in the U.K. general elections. They also learnt that qualifying commonwealth citizens can vote although strangely members of the House of Lords cannot vote!
Career opportunities for youngsters in government departments and Parliament generated interest among the young contingent. The youngsters were told there are positions for lawyers, Hansard Reporters, Social Media Officers, Economists, Parliamentary Assistant to an MP or a Peer, Curator and many more. Graduate Apprentice Schemes, internships, Sandwich Student Placements and work experience opportunities are open to all. On the Parliament Web Site https://www.parliament.uk/about/working/ one can find out more about opportunities in Parliament.
They also celebrated Rakshabandhan in parliament. Astha, at 12 one of the youngest attendees did tilak on Charlotte‘s forehead, tied Rakhi and gave sugar candy (misri) as a gesture of friendship and goodwill. They distributed more rakhis and all the attendees participated in the Rakhi tying ceremony and chocolates were distributed. Rakshabandhan is a festival where rakhi is a symbol of love and protection. Today in Parliament, a bold new generation of young Hindus pledged to protect our values, our voice by active participation in Parliament and the processes that govern us. May be someone from this group of youngsters may be the first Hindu PM?
So, ‘ , Arise Awake’ the immortal words of Swami Vivekanand from the Katha Upnishad are profoundly relevant for Hindus in Britain today.
