THERE is a perception among the people at large that the youth of this age are not active or rather they are passive on the issues pertaining to the nation ,albeit they are passive even to what is happening next door.
However this perception was given a go when youth in large numbers came out in unison to support the Delhi gang rape victim. It was a spontaneous movement with which they took to the streets in Delhi and other cities. The police had to order curfew in order to prevent them from indulging in destructive activities. This movement which arose out of nowhere opened the eyes of those who had dismissed the youth of our time as dormant and mostly interested in technology, glamour and movies.
This one incident which shook the nation, may lead to more thinking on why youth power has not been channelised. The answer is simple-the youth of the day is watching and waiting and with easy accessibility to communication tools, are aware of what is happening around the globe and in their country, in particular.
When one goes through the social networking sites, one can find the youth actively involved in heated discussions on topics which pertain to the nation and to the very existence of the country as a unified Bharat.
The youth of the day are keen observers on what is going on in today’s India. They knew what has been happening in the past few years with corruption mounting with several top people involved in scandals and the ruling party not having any answer to this. With top ministers and bureaucrats behind bars,in cases of gross negligence of their duty and indulging in corrupt practices for serving self and their string pullers who are ruling behind the scene for amassing wealth to the tune of many lakh crore, creating an atmosphere in the country where it leads to a situation where policy makers and international watchdogs paint our country as one of the most corrupt nations, where democracy has become a sham.
However, there are indeed a silver lining in this country with several youth who have been enjoying the materialistic comforts of the western world, with high pay packages and top class education deciding to quit and to come back to the land of spirituality- Bharat.
They have come back to this country to serve the nation in whatever way they can. This has resulted in several youngsters starting up their own service models-be it feeding hundreds of people on the street, or educating illiterate children. They are also involved in giving proper health care to individuals in remote tribal villages. There are also cases of highly qualified IITians taking up electrification projects in rural villages with the motto of giving back to society that gave them so much. There is hope that all is not lost yet.
There are also entrepreneurs who have opened several start-ups in small towns of this country and are being role models for the youth and society as a whole. A start-up company in Kerala opened by a few students of Government Engineering college, Thiruvananthapuram, while still in college is now listed in Bombay Stock Exchange, giving inspiration to several others to begin their own business, making themselves the engine of change, and create employment opportunities for several people around the country, thus creating a self respecting and welfare society.
Of late there is a spurt in sporting activities in the country with more and more youth participating actively in games and the country winning laurels in games like chess where Vishwanathan Anand is the world number one. Saina Nehwal, a girl from Hissar in Haryana, from a purely middle class background stormed the world badminton scenario, winning a bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympics and is presently World number 2 in badminton. The Indian cricket team won the cricket world cup in 2011; hockey also seems to be looking up with professional league matches in the pipeline. Wrestling also seems to be becoming popular with an Olympic medal to boost and medal winning performances in Asian games , and then women boxer Mary Kom winning an Olympic medal for the nation. Volleyball and basketball are also being revamped; more and more youths have begun playing kabaddi and kho kho in villages and urban centres. All these show that Indian youth are now ascending the global sporting arena. This is a welcome sign as Swami Vivekananda had rightly pointed out to the youths to have a strong body for a sound mind.
India is now in the process of becoming a military superpower with a strong military budget. India, it may be recalled, had stood up to the Western embargo after the Pokharan test during the tenure of Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee. It has shown it would not be a pushover, but would stand up to protect its interests. However, there have been disturbing reports with even the Defence Minister of the country admitting to corrupt practices during the procurement of arms, which shows the country in poor light.
The presence of role models is a major challenge faced by the youth of this country. While there are several spiritual gurus spread across this ancient land, such as Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Baba Ramdev, Sadhwi Rithambara, who are into service and preach spirituality with a positive frame of mind bringing in the youth into their fold in large numbers for the good of this country. There are inspiring role models in the form of the world’s largest social organisation in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) which has brought forward some of the more vibrant inspiring models to the country and to the country’s youth in the service of this great land of rishis and gurus.
There are political personalities who by their sheer determination and will power have transformed their states with their administration and governance, with others looking on in admiration. One look at the social networking sites gives us ample evidence as to how the youth are longing for these leaders to lead their nation onto the world stage. These leaders have transformed the landscape of their respective states through several programmes and policies which is leading to the eradication of poverty and illiteracy which will be beneficial to the country in the long run.
There have been some disturbing trends coming up with the never ending terror attacks on this country with tacit support from outside forces to try to destroy the communal fabric of India. A classic case is the number of petitions written on behalf of Sanjay Dutt in the infamous case relating to the harbouring of assault rifles at his Mumbai home. After the apex court sentenced him to five years imprisonment some people have taken up his cause which included a retired judge and his actor colleagues and even some leaders from the ruling party; this shows how people are giving their support on the basis of who he or she is rather than what he or she has done. If something untoward had happened during post Mumbai blasts of 1993 then there would have been riots which would have left the country bleeding and this actor whom several people have now identified as “innocent” knows very well as to why and for what purpose this weapon was used .This is a lesson to the youth of the country as to who their role models are. Is glamour the only criteria for the youth to emulate or should they look upon people who are doing yeoman service to the nation and the society in which they live on their own by sacrificing self and bringing up new methods to serve this great nation?
The enthusiasm shown by highly educated youths in the service of this nation and their active participation in all sectors mentioned above shows that the youths are ready for the challenges faced by the society at large. This is a positive aspect which once again proves that the youths of this country have risen to the emerging challenges and channelized their energy for the development and upliftment of this great nation and to be engines of change for a vibrant Bharat.
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