(ANS – Dimapur) – On September 5, in a ritual that in its wording resembled a religious profession, 24 young people committed themselves to serve their community. These young people, called Takars, have undergone training in discipline, community service and spirituality for two years. All the 24 young people belong to the Mising tribe.

Of these 13 belonged to the 12th group of Karsang Takar, the school dropouts’ training centre of the Institution for Culture And Rural Development (I-CARD). Since the ritual had  not been performed for 5 years, another 11 young volunteers, belonging to earlier groups also joined the commitment group.

The 24 young people stood around the fire-place, symbolic of religion in Mising tribal tradition, while songs of prayer were sung by the assembly. The president of the ritual, Fr. Mulayinkal Thomas, from Don Bosco Amguri, exhorted the candidates to make the commitment a real one by their life in the villages.

Then came the solemn moment of the commitment, the words of which they repeated after Fr. Thomas, the director. They committed themselves to live a model life and to work for their community. They invoked the assistance of the saints to help them on their life’s journey. In the final part of the ritual, each candidate was given a medal, with the words, “shine like stars, bring life”.

The ritual itself was the climax of five days of preparation, a sort of spiritual revitalization for the young people who hail from different parts of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Two of them are married. As for their religion, some of them follow the tribal traditions and others are Christians. This is a new concept of consecration as volunteers for young people who live in villages, following the rules and demands of I-CARD. It does not matter what religion they follow. They come together every six months for re-orientation, and are engaged as the need arises in the various project activities of I-CARD. “They are the leaven in the world for other young people”, says Fr. Thomas, the director.

Published 18/09/2014