Albert Einstein once said “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything”. As the most talked about Jallikattu protests and their aftermath start to fade away from the focus lights, the impact they created are here to stay in our hearts forever, for they were the instruments of displeasure which the public was hesitant to bring out all these years. The world has clearly seen the phenomenal success of the people’s movement, mainly pulled together by the Youngsters and the students of the Tamil Land.
When the success story deserves a celebration, we must not turn a blind eye to the other areas of concern. Widely, every other person holding the microphone, called out to the Youth to lead the country. The rising question is ‘Are we ready?’. The protest grounds themselves seemed to answer with a big ‘No’! The fact that the future leaders were misled by certain events is inevitably unacceptable. There were multiple instances to prove the point: When the crowd drifted its rage from the Centre to the State Government, after knowing the Ordinance making capacity of the latter; When the crowd went mad, after the ‘Real Organisers’ called to quit; When memes started pouring in, to make the protest-standouts, the leaders of Tamil Nadu; When Mr.Lawrence who had been throughout, was abused for asking to disperse; When slogans demanding separate nation status to Tamil Nadu were heard; and so on.
Lack of awareness among the protesters, about the fundamental laws and provisions of the Constitution, were indeed clearly visible. While it is true that we lack even the slightest knowledge of the basic laws governing the country and the Indian Constitution – the ultimate rule book which keeps our lives running in the Indian Subcontinent – itself, thanks to the beautiful Educational structure, it is high time this generation is taught the basic laws. We have remained so ignorant that, the people in power kept exploiting that ignorance and building their roots stronger, while we kept wishing for a change in the governance.
Mahatma Gandhi once voiced “Be the change you want to see in the world“. No power equals the Students’ power. But when they get influenced by every other person’s ideals, they undermine not only themselves, but the whole cause. While this event is a success in its own way, what we take home from it for future, is what is the matter at hand now. Social media has taken the recent events to a point wherein the phrase ‘Udhyogam Purusha lakshanam’ can very well be replaced by ‘Protesting Purusha lakshanam‘.
Social media, no wonder a powerful tool, is as destructive as it sounds constructive. Recent campaigns promoting an Indian Cool drink at the place of Cola & Pepsi, were indeed the very examples of how the internet generation are misled, for it was later propagated that the Indian company is no different from its Multinational counterparts, and that it exploits the underground water so much as they do. Had the Youngsters avoided being blind followers of all that’s being propagated, the protests would have been much more mighty, as there were several accusations of diluted demands. In the land of misleading Media, corrupt Politicians and self-gain motivated society, a Youngster in order to be a leader, has to learn not to succumb to influences and stand out stronger with his/her own agenda.
Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others. Another concern was the rising intolerance among the Youngsters, which built its base in the social media platform, and expanded its roots in the protest grounds. With every slogan against the Government and every abuse against the Opposing parties, they let their thoughts be conquered by the emotions, which is no good sign for a leader. A true leader is one who is decisive to achieve goals and shows great sign of resistance to emotions. When the whole State is waiting for the emergence of such a person, it truly becomes the duty of every individual to step forward and get equipped, aftermath a massive movement which created history being leaderless. Are we still going to let us taught Algebra and Trigonometry, which find hardly any use in our daily life, instead for the Fundamental laws, Employability skills and Moral values, and keep awaiting the change we all wish for? Isn’t it the high time we drew attention towards the infertility of the current Education system and make the future better for the coming generations?
By showing the world, of the opportunities in hand, for creating a better future, the Youngsters of the Tamil Land are now heavy with responsibilities on their shoulders, to strive hard to meet the expectations and to undo the stains spread over the soiled reality. In the historical land of great leaders like Gandhi, Netaji and Kamaraj, when we equip ourselves with the necessary skills, Dr.Abdul Kalam’s vision of “India 2020“, is not merely a dream anymore.
Jai Hind!
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