‘Real-life achievements matter more than reels’

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday urged young people to read biographies and autobiographies of eminent personalities to draw inspiration from their lives, saying books could serve as important guides in an era when people spend hours on social media.

Speaking at the launch of the Hindi edition of former president Ram Nath Kovind’s autobiography, ‘Triumph of the Indian Republic: My Life, My Struggles’, published by Rupa Publications, Adityanath also said that instead of making reels for likes, living one’s real life would be more useful.

“If a person can save even one or two hours from the five to seven hours spent on social media platforms on smartphones and devote that time to reading books, it would be far more beneficial,” he said.

“Young people should spend more time reading books. Instead of making reels on social media for likes, living one’s real life would be more useful,” the chief minister said. He also said the Uttar Pradesh government is working to promote reading by establishing libraries and digital libraries across educational institutions and gram panchayats. Under the initiative, 57,600 gram secretariats have been established in the state, each with a dedicated room for a library, Adityanath said.

The chief minister also highlighted the growing public interest in book fairs organised in Lucknow and Gorakhpur, recalling that sales at these events had exceeded expectations. The National Book Trust was initially sceptical about the public response to book fairs, but it witnessed encouraging participation and book sales in both cities, he said. “We should provide people with a platform and a means to access good books,” he said, urging publishers to make quality literature widely available.

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The Hans India