India's youth are not just leaders in waiting — Union Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju made that point in action on Saturday, 26 September 2026, when he engaged with student participants at an International Moot Court Competition and joined them in a tree plantation drive under the government-backed #EkPedMaaKeNaam initiative.

What Rijiju saw at the moot court

The minister described the experience as 'enriching,' saying platforms like moot court competitions teach students to 'think critically, express their views with confidence, understand diverse perspectives and develop the skills needed to contribute meaningfully to society and to the nation.' The setting — young law students arguing before a simulated court — is precisely the kind of civic rehearsal that Indian ministers have increasingly sought to spotlight, recognising that legal reasoning and structured debate are foundational skills for public life.

Rijiju's broader message was pointed: 'India's youth are not just the leaders of tomorrow, they are active participants in shaping the India of today.' That framing shifts the usual intergenerational platitude into a present-tense call to engagement.

The EkPedMaaKeNaam sapling moment

After the courtroom energy, the minister stepped outside for something quieter. He joined students in a tree plantation drive under the #EkPedMaaKeNaam ('One Tree in Mother's Name') initiative — a government-backed campaign that asks citizens to dedicate a sapling to their mothers as a gesture connecting personal affection with environmental responsibility.

Tying a plantation drive to a moot court event was a deliberate symbolic stitch: the same students debating legal and civic questions were also asked to take physical ownership of a greener future. Rijiju called it 'connecting the spirit of youth participation with our shared responsibility towards a greener and more sustainable future.'

A pattern of campus-to-cause outreach

The dual engagement — education event followed by environmental action — reflects a now-familiar playbook among senior ministers: anchor a campus visit in a skills-oriented competition, then layer in a sustainability message that travels visually on social media. Eight photographs accompanied the post, giving the event significant visual reach. For Rijiju, whose constituency base in Arunachal Pradesh sits in one of India's most biodiverse and forested regions, the plantation optic carries an additional layer of authenticity.

He closed with a direct wish to the competing students — 'the very best for the competition and their journey ahead' — a reminder that beneath the policy messaging, the afternoon was, at its core, about young people arguing their best case in a room that took them seriously.

If those students argue half as well as they plant, India's courtrooms are in good hands.