INDIA has largest youth population in the world today. Ours is a country of youngsters. In 2020, the average Indian will be only 29 years old, compared with 37 in China and the United States, 45 in western Europe and 48 in Japan. This implies that India would manage to create a large and growing labour force which may deliver unexpected spin offs in terms of growth and prosperity. If Indian youth make up their mind and work in close unity, they can hold the nation building power in their hands. If the youths of India are strong, our country need not fear from any other world power. If youth are weak, ignorant, characterless and irresponsible they cannot safeguard the nation.
Youths are back-bone, real power or spark of a nation. Youth is like a clay which can be moulded in either shape one wants. They can be exploited or utilised in the destruction or construction of the country. It is therefore imperative to mobilise, motivate and generate sufficient opportunities for all young people to participate fully in development process. Youth must realise and individually shoulder the responsibility of resuscitation of India in every field viz, social, economical, political, administrative etc. Development of a strong, prosperous, peaceful and harmonious nation demands youth possessing steely willpower, mighty determination and tremendous grit.
Perhaps that is why Swami Vivekananda said that “youths should rise, awake and never stop before achieving the goal.” Young people are also regarded the social actors of change and as the saying goes, “youths are not only the leaders of tomorrow, but also the partners of today”. In Indian history we find number of examples when many great people contributed their best to the society in their younger age right from Shri Ram to freedom fighters like Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh.
Youths have, undoubtedly, very big power, they can break a rock. But without good direction and with misdirection they can also misuse their power and can create problems for the society. Today we can see that many misguided young people are working against the interest of the country as naxalites, terrorists and separatists and many more are engaged in social crimes. Hence if we want that our nation become strong and grow then we must utilise our youth power in a constructive way.
India has a tremendous storehouse of knowledge, intellect and potential which rests in her youth. We believe that if all this is put to right use for India’s growth and development, India will soon outshine some of the major superpowers in the world. The youths can also play a vital role in the elimination of terrorism from the country. What is required is a joint and collaborative efforts. Young people are full of vibrant ideas. When properly motivated and sufficiently guided they can do wonders in their life. Crime and corruption have entered in every segment of the body-fabric of our nation. Hence it is the need of the hour that youths should come forward and take the commands in their hands to get rid of this stigma. The hopes of the youth are a nation free from poverty, unemployment, inequality, exploitation and discrimination, and also, a world full of creative challenges and opportunities to conquer them.
Most of the Indian youths are socially responsible and moreover are working dedicatedly to see India attain the developed status at the earliest. Educated youths have already realised the necessity of utilising their skills for the betterment of the society. At present Indian youths are performing remarkeably in the fields of IT, BPO, KPO, management, banking, financial sector, health services and science and technology sector both in India and abroad. But at the same time many youths are also misguided and afflicted by some evils and are experiencing many problems such as stress, anxiety, harassment, depression, unsafe and extra-marital sexual behaviour, drug and alcohol abuse, suicidal attempt, crime, corrupt practices, poor health, conduct disorder etc. Moreover they are forgetting their culture and moral values. Hence somewhere along the way youths are feeling lost, confused, let down and alienated. In India we do not need careless, drunken, indifferent and rackless youth, we need responsible and responsive youth who can make the society good and noble and improve the community and culture of the society.
In order to perform the task of nation building optimally and efficiently certain things are urgently required. The first and formest requirement is an intense spirit of patriotism-complete devotion to the cause of motherland. The sole criterion of all actions and activities should be nation’s interest-nation first, everything else afterwords. Fear, pressure, greed and allurement should not deviate youths from their path. The youth should resolve that no force on the earth can stop them to march towards their goal of national development. Thus if we can unleash the immense latent patriotism among youth, it will lit the fire of responsibility and will dedicatedly involve them in the upliftment of the nation.
Youth should rise to the occasion and they have to prepare and develop themselves to serve the cause of country and the society should also help them in this preparation. Youth means to place your firm confidence in yourself and exercise your hopeful determination, resolution and good intensions in this beautiful task of self-culture. Practice virtue, prepare in virtue and become established in virtue. It signifies the creation of noble personality, in a way it is the path of Atma-Vikasa and Atma-Nirmana. In this regard our youths should adapt and adhere to certain virtues. For instance, they should understand the value of time and hence should be punctual for doing every work, should stick to high ideals, should maintain discipline, and should learn to work with patience and tolerance.
Character building is an essential element to prepare and to mould youths for nation building. Character enables one to overcome any difficulty that come in his way to reach his objective. The main motto of the youth should be “to nip the evil in the bud.” The eminent jurist Nani Palkhiwala writes “A major mistake of our government was to completely insulate the people from our ancient culture and keep them totally ignorant of the priceless heritage which has never been equalled by any other country.” Hence tremendous efforts are required to inculcate the values and virtues of character and culture in our youths though educational, social and religious institutions, media, government and youth organisations. Many young people need to have good examples to follow. Positive role models could be the key to success. With the right motivation, inspiration and determination, every youth can accomplish anything they desire. Young age is the stage of preliminary preparations for right and successful living. Let your preparations be wise, correct and of such kind that will lead to your ultimate goal. Difficulties will come but so what; Swami Vivekananda said “Struggle, struggle, struggle is the since qua non of life and stagnation is death”, Vedas proclaim this as Charaivaiti, Charaivaiti Charaivaiti.
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