What are young Indians doing? And are things going wrong?
I’d like to talk about people between 17 and 26 years of age. And the reason is that I work extensively with youth on issues ranging from gender sensitisation to entrepreneurship to social activism. And in the course of my work, I have realised that there are 10 things which I feel that Indian youth are doing:
Their Heads Are In The Clouds
Young people are day dreaming about their lives, but not putting effort into making their dreams become a reality. They wish to head a company one day or get a job, but know fully well that their grades and the quality of their spoken English matter during an interview. They don’t spend time and effort in upgrading themselves.
Unclear Goals
A lot of youngsters today have dreams which simply translate to vague statements like “I want to be Tata or Ambani” or “I want to own ten Harley Davidsons” or “I want a bungalow”. There is no time spent on planning how they shall work towards that goal. For that matter, they don’t even focus on what their actual goal is. The riches shall be incidentals! And, for them, incidentals matter more!
Judgements, Judgements
They have become very judgemental! Judging people and culture and society without having knowledge! This leads to some very brash and skewed views!
Not Knowing Where To Place The Onus
They know 100 ways of “how not to get raped”! Yet ask them 5 reasons “how not to rape” as a question centred on the behaviour of perpetrators, and they are silent
Their Limited Sources Of Information
They no longer read books and magazines and are very happy with the little that news feed give them through social media. This again leads to a very skewed view of the world at large.
Forgetting To Take Pride In Their Culture
They think that Indian culture is regressive! Young people are shocked when I tell them that LGBTQ laws were passed by the British in India, while ancient India accepted queerness fully.
Not Thinking Critically
Religion is a sensitive topic for all, including most young people. But again they don’t read religious texts. They don’t actually debate on the evolution of mankind or their own religions. This leads to angst!
Not Having Faith In Themselves
They want change and yet are lost when I ask them to be that change which they want to see. There needs to be a defined political science class for all young people. They need to learn about India and how to change it. They need to know their own power to change India!
Their Misguided Aggression
Their aggression is in all the wrong places. Rather than being aggressive in changing our country positively, we have young ones involved in road rage matters and pub fights! This is reflective of the fact that any slight (real or perceived) is considered an insult by them.
A Lack Of Real Independence
They want freedom from their parents while continuing to stay at home and being financially dependent on the parents. That’s impossible! In the West, by the time you turn 18, you start earning and you move out of the house and are, then, answerable to no one but yourself. Here, young people who aren’t working, depending on their parents for support, want their parents to stop imposing their beliefs on them! How can that happen? This leads to angst too.
These are some of the things that young people really need to work on!