<p>In an ironic twist of fate, just 11 days before being accused of assaulting a man at Farzi Cafe in Bengaluru, N A Haris' son Mohammed Haris Nalapad was at a TEDx event speaking enthusiastically on the "power of youth" in politics.<br /><br />The former general secretary of the Bengaluru Youth Congress is now prisoner no. 1756 at Parappana Agrahara Jail. Nalapad talked about two major challenges that he faced while entering politics -- "selling of electoral votes for money" and "youngsters going in the wrong direction". <br /><br />Calling drug addiction a black mark on Indian society, he said that he felt the need to act. He credited his family saying, "I come from a family of administrators, my grandfather and father both were politicians. I saw them dealing with different issues every day." <br /><br />Saying that he always wanted to contribute to the betterment of society, Nalapad started an anti-drug campaign with a group that he called Team Nalapad. Initially, he was warned not to get involved with the anti-drug drive as it was a controversial topic. But he went ahead, saying, "I live once, I die once, I will not die every day and follow my heart." <br /><br />Nalapad said that youngsters from the age of 14 start consuming drugs, which is alarming. To curb that, he began conducting anti-drug drives in schools and colleges. "I started interacting with a lot of youths, explaining to them what is right and what is wrong," he said.<br /><br />Fun for this generation starts with partying, then escalates to smoking a cigarette and then goes to consuming weed and much worse, he said. "The youth must be aware, and on your guard," said Nalapad. He said the drug menace is a topic that is not discussed openly by families and stressed the need to address the issue.<br /><br />Nalapad said that he could relate to the partying youth, "I party too," he said. "I have my whole circle but I know what is right, where to draw the line and what I am supposed to do." <br /><br />Nalapad also suggested Googling drugs to get a clear picture of how destructive they are. He said he hoped that the youth of today realise their true potential. He offered a piece of advice to the young audience: "I have not achieved great things yet but I will, that is my confidence or overconfidence, whatever you want to call it, I will achieve them because I dream of big things." <br /><br />Nalapad exhorted the youth to build a great nation by saying, "By 2020, India is going to be the youngest country, to which direction, the decision is in your hand whether you build a great India or you build a nation of 1.2 billion useless people."<br /><br />Nalapad concluded his talk with a quote from his father: "A person who lives for himself is an okay person, a person who lives for himself, family and extended family is a better person, but a person who lives for the society at large and the country is a great person."<br /><br /></p>
<p>In an ironic twist of fate, just 11 days before being accused of assaulting a man at Farzi Cafe in Bengaluru, N A Haris' son Mohammed Haris Nalapad was at a TEDx event speaking enthusiastically on the "power of youth" in politics.<br /><br />The former general secretary of the Bengaluru Youth Congress is now prisoner no. 1756 at Parappana Agrahara Jail. Nalapad talked about two major challenges that he faced while entering politics -- "selling of electoral votes for money" and "youngsters going in the wrong direction". <br /><br />Calling drug addiction a black mark on Indian society, he said that he felt the need to act. He credited his family saying, "I come from a family of administrators, my grandfather and father both were politicians. I saw them dealing with different issues every day." <br /><br />Saying that he always wanted to contribute to the betterment of society, Nalapad started an anti-drug campaign with a group that he called Team Nalapad. Initially, he was warned not to get involved with the anti-drug drive as it was a controversial topic. But he went ahead, saying, "I live once, I die once, I will not die every day and follow my heart." <br /><br />Nalapad said that youngsters from the age of 14 start consuming drugs, which is alarming. To curb that, he began conducting anti-drug drives in schools and colleges. "I started interacting with a lot of youths, explaining to them what is right and what is wrong," he said.<br /><br />Fun for this generation starts with partying, then escalates to smoking a cigarette and then goes to consuming weed and much worse, he said. "The youth must be aware, and on your guard," said Nalapad. He said the drug menace is a topic that is not discussed openly by families and stressed the need to address the issue.<br /><br />Nalapad said that he could relate to the partying youth, "I party too," he said. "I have my whole circle but I know what is right, where to draw the line and what I am supposed to do." <br /><br />Nalapad also suggested Googling drugs to get a clear picture of how destructive they are. He said he hoped that the youth of today realise their true potential. He offered a piece of advice to the young audience: "I have not achieved great things yet but I will, that is my confidence or overconfidence, whatever you want to call it, I will achieve them because I dream of big things." <br /><br />Nalapad exhorted the youth to build a great nation by saying, "By 2020, India is going to be the youngest country, to which direction, the decision is in your hand whether you build a great India or you build a nation of 1.2 billion useless people."<br /><br />Nalapad concluded his talk with a quote from his father: "A person who lives for himself is an okay person, a person who lives for himself, family and extended family is a better person, but a person who lives for the society at large and the country is a great person."<br /><br /></p>