Russian President Vladimir Putin recently met Madhish Parikh, a youth leader from Gujarat, at the volunteer forum “We Are Together” in Moscow. This encounter adds a new “people-to-people diplomacy” layer just before Putin visits India on December 4-5, 2025.
🚨VIDEO: 🇷🇺Putin meets 🇮🇳Madhish Parikh from Gujarat, founder of the BRICS Youth Alliance, during volunteer forum “We Are Together” in Moscow
❗President Putin promised that during his trip to India, he will inform PM Modi about his meeting with the Indian youth leader pic.twitter.com/HgF8PS8v0V
— Lisa Singh (@YakushinaLisa) December 4, 2025
During the meeting, Putin pledged to inform Indian PM Narendra Modi about their discussion. This gesture signals growing attention on youth voices as part of high-level international engagements.
Who is Madhish Parikh? Gujarat-Based Youth Leader Putin Met Before His India Visit
Madhish Parikh comes from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and is known as one of India’s most active youth leaders. He studied engineering but dedicated most of his life to social service, youth empowerment, and volunteer mobilisation.
He founded the Elixir Foundation, a volunteer-driven organisation that works in disaster relief, public health, heritage conservation, education access and community development. The foundation has supported over 100,000 vulnerable people across India, especially during the COVID-19 crisis, where Parikh’s team delivered food, PPE kits, oxygen cylinders and medical aid.
Parikh is a National Youth Award recipient for India’s highest civilian honour for youth service. He also became a global voice when he joined international networks like the World Youth Alliance and represented India at UN-linked events in Europe.
In 2025, Parikh won the BRICS & SCO Young Leaders Award as the Best Young Social Entrepreneur, chosen from more than 400 nominees across 13 countries. His work toward the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has earned widespread international recognition.
What is the BRICS Youth Alliance? Why Parikh’s Role Matters
The BRICS Youth Alliance (BYA) is a platform that brings together young leaders from the five BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa to foster cooperation, cultural exchange, youth-driven innovation, and global engagement.
As a founding director of BYA, Parikh helps steer initiatives that focus on:
- Cultural diplomacy and cross-border youth exchange
- Youth-led projects aligned with SDGs in education, health, climate, and social welfare
- Leadership development and international networking among emerging leaders
His global recognition (through international awards) and strong grassroots work in India offer a rare bridge between local activism and global youth diplomacy. This helps amplify youth perspectives in international forums — an increasingly valued dimension in global politics.
Did Madhish Parikh Meeting with Putin Bring Something New to the India-Russia Summit?
When President Putin met Madhish Parikh at the volunteer forum in Moscow, he sent a clear signal, this India-Russia engagement isn’t limited to government-to-government talks. It now carries a people-to-people and youth diplomacy element.
• Including a youth leader like Parikh brings soft power and public diplomacy onto the agenda.
• It opens scope for future cooperation involving youth in education exchange, social projects, disaster relief, culture, and sustainable development.
• Given Parikh’s credentials and international recognition, his voice adds legitimacy and diversity to bilateral discussions — beyond defence and trade.
For India, this shows a readiness to showcase young changemakers on a global diplomatic stage. For Russia, it offers a fresh platform to engage with Indian civil society and youth leadership — not just political elites.
What to Watch During the Upcoming India-Russia Summit?
With President Putin arriving in Delhi on December 4, and official talks scheduled for December 5, all eyes are now on whether youth-centric themes — such as education exchange, cultural diplomacy, climate cooperation and social welfare — get a place on the agenda alongside defence, trade, nuclear energy and tech.
If the meeting with Parikh influences the summit agenda, the outcome could include cooperative frameworks involving youth participation — possibly under the umbrella of BRICS collaborations, cultural exchanges, or social-development initiatives. That might broaden the scope of India–Russia ties beyond traditional geopolitics.
Why Putin-Parikh Meeting Matters? Youth Diplomacy Meets State Diplomacy
Putin’s decision to meet Parikh at a youth-oriented forum underscores a shift in how global diplomacy is being conducted. It blends formal state-level engagement with grassroots, youth-driven activism. This move signals that countries like Russia and India might increasingly value the voice of young changemakers when shaping future cooperation.
For India, this gives additional importance to the upcoming visit. The rendezvous with Russian leadership isn’t only about bilateral deals in defence or energy — it also touches on soft diplomacy, youth cooperation, and cultural exchange.
Parikh’s presence at the meeting reflects the growing international respect for his work and signals to other young Indians that their efforts can resonate globally.
