Samjho Toh: Young voices unite communities through dialogue

Bhubaneswar (12/09/2025): "Samjho Toh!" is an expression that people may have used countless times in daily interactions with family, friends and other groups.

At the root of this expression is an invitation for empathy, dialoguing, collaborating and co-creating a shared idea of India, premised on Constitutional values. To celebrate this spirit of dialoguing, the Grand Finale of the Samjho Toh National Championship was hosted on 12th September, 2025.

Over the last 2 months, 40 teams of young changemakers from Rajasthan, Odisha and Chhattisgarh have played 56 matches, out of which the Top 3 teams made it to the final match. Ekta Samvidhanik Lab from Rajasthan bagged the Samjho Toh Fraternity Champion 2025 with Shrujan Shala Lab and Yuva Jagriti Lab in the run up.

The Grand Finale was a powerpacked event where 300 stakeholders from academia, media, donors, civil society organisations and young changemakers come together to celebrate these young changemakers and ideate on how to take these spaces into the mainstream.

The celebration was joined by key influencers and youth allies from Padma Shri Dilip Tirkey (Former Member of Rajya Sabha and India Hockey President) and Padma Shri Prahald Singh Tipaniya; Funding ecosystem like Rishabh Lalani (Kohmorebhee), Puja Bajad (Porticus), Sunil Kumar (ACG Cares Foundation), Vaibhav Raut (Bridgestone); Academia like Asim Siddiqui (Azim Premji University); Media Practitioners like Aparna Apte Gupta (The Modern Narrative); Musicians like Kavish Seth; Civil Society leaders like Neeru Mulhotra (Pravah), Vasudha Kapoor (Mera Gaon Meri Dunia), Gopalkrushna Thapa (Jeeta), Monisha Vemavarapu (Rubaroo), Malavika Pavamani (Pravah), Waseem Iqbal (AAs), Dipanshu Rathore (ComMutiny - The Youth Collective), along with many young changemakers and youth facilitators.

Celebrating Young Champions of Fraternity: Young people from varied backgrounds championed fraternity in their communities—building empathy, dialogue, collaboration and harmony Powerful LIVE performances that build harmonising narratives: Young changemakers co-created positive stories with real-life examples of their own turning points in creating positive stories Committing to mainstreaming dialoguing: Key stakeholders and young people ideated on how to move dialoguing from margins into the mainstream As Padma Shri Dilip Tirkey (Former Member of the Rajya Sabha) said, “Youth are leaders and captains who are living the Constitution.

They must carry with them the resolve to lead their families, the society, and India into the future.” The Samjho Toh National Championship is part of a 9-month learning and leadership journey experienced by 1690 young people across Rajasthan, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh with mentorship from 40 youth facilitators.

Through the course of the journey the young changemakers brought community members from different castes and religions together to talk about shared local concerns like gender, caste, class, religion, undertaking action research to bust fake news and superstitions etc.

Together they fostered friendships, inspired joint action, and shifted narratives on the ground.

“I used to be a shy person.

With this journey, I have got he courage to speak up against child marriage.

I have started tutoring children and I also helped 20 dropouts children enrol back to school.” P.Laxmi Reddy, Young Changemaker, Bhubneshwar, Odisha.

A National Movement Samjho Toh - Samvidhan LIVE! Dialogues and Fraternity Labs was conceptualised by ComMutiny - The Youth Collective, The vartaLeap Coalition and Pravah.

It is co-facilitated by AAs in collaboration with 23 civil society organisations with 1690 young people from Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

These experimental spaces co-created with young people were sites of dialogue and collaboration, transforming thousands of polarising narratives of personal, community, and national significance to bring alive the value of fraternity in the everyday lives of citizens.