By Namrata Nadkarni:
“It’s not Rocket Science, it’s Social Science.” -Â Clement Mok
The youth of the nation might well have just grasped the essence of this quote. With thousands of youngsters being socially aware and well equipped to deal with today’s problems in not just the political but also the socio-economic arena, one wonders what propelled the so-called dormant youth we once spoke of, to trigger off towards becoming an active posse of confrontation against the very reality questioning democracy.
Gone are the times when the youth had adjectives like languid and indolent associated with them. The youth we see today is nothing short of an omnibus of fervour, all driven to make, not just their immediate neighbourhood, but the entire globe, a better place to live in.
The Youth of today would have their socio-economic priorities well in place. Not only are they aware of the ongoing proceedings around them, but they are also involved and actively participating in them. What brought about this sudden transformation in the Youth making them “Yesterday’s Lethargic” to be “Today’s Energetic”?
Was it that they had had enough of the wrong on-goings in the nation? Was it the Anna Hazare campaign? Was it the various tools handy for them to be socio economically aware? Was it social media? Well, whatever it was, it sure happened to be a fuel competent enough to ignite the sleeping dragon within them.
With corruption raging all over the country and democracy being reduced to a mere nine-letter expression, the Youth sure has spurred up at the right time. Many claim the presence of Social Media platforms in the lives of the Youth to be a major reason for their interest. With Facebook having multiple events and promotion campaigns running viral everyday and with Twitter trending support drives, the average Youth spending 6-7 hours on these platforms remains well connected and well aware of what’s happening around. Also being a part of such campaigns might as well push their online presence a notch higher.
With socio economic issues meandering their way into the routine lives of the Youth, it seems like the ‘Can’t-Take-It-Anymore’ moment has been reached. From campaigns and drives to fasts and marches, everything seems to have been implemented by the Youth of today. The recent Anna Hazare support campaign saw thousands of college students mining in large numbers to portray their support for the Jan Lokpal bill. They held their ground for as long as the veteran did. Some news footage also showed them being beaten up and shoved away forcefully, but they still stood strong.
Many amongst the Youth write about the erroneous issues raging around. They blog about it, explicitly mentioning names of fraudulent personnel involved in crimes occurring in broad daylights. Such cases have often seen the guilty retrace their path back to the path of honesty. The use of technology is one of the evident forces which the Youth put to use while combating felony. Their battle against misdemeanour is not just restricted to India. Reports have shown that the Youth in suppressed countries like Tanzania as well, are quite driven to make positive socio-economic changes in their livelihood.
With Generation Next taking the reins of a better tomorrow into their own hands and that too on their own accord, the future sure promises to be a haven of optimism, liberty and pride for our nation.