“We cannot always build the future for the youth, but we can build the youth for the future.”
– Franklin D Roosevelt, former President of the United States
To look back at it in retrospect, one cannot but wonder at the universality and timelessness of the statement. Two decades into the twenty first century, the world has changed seamlessly: inventions that have pummeled exponential growth in sectors such as space, technology, agriculture amidst others. However, at the same time the civilized world saw the horrors of barbaric racism (Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Rwandan ethnic cleansing, etc.), the worst manifestation of technological advancement (the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki) and an unprecedented rise in global temperatures, a stark reminder of the impending climate crisis.
India is at a tipping point of change where the 600 million strong youth of this country make up the world’s largest cohort of young people. Half of the 1.3 billion strong population in India is under the age of 25 while a quarter of them age below 14 giving India an upper hand in terms of human resources, which if exploited diligently could prove to be the making of a superpower. Yet, not all of it is going to come by looking at the world through rose tinted glasses and riding on the self-glorifying wave of jingoism and hyper nationalism.
All India needs is a thorough introspection into its various institutions and their utility for understanding the power the youth holds. To put into action, the words of Roosevelt, the world’s largest democracy needs to sensitize and train its youth for the changing scenarios of the upcoming decade, among which awareness about climate change and changing skills to adapt to a digitized system are of paramount importance and not to forget the importance of building inclusive spaces across the gender and caste spectrum.
As a first, the Indian youth need to be exposed to a plethora of ideas right from the formative years that’d help formulate and develop critical opinions on various ideologies, systems and policies. To achieve this, a complete revamp of the education system which is presently rooted in archaic conventions is needed. Inclusion of basic sociology classes in the formative years would be a welcome step to expose students to the intricacies of gender and sensitize students for building up more inclusive spaces in the future.
Also, quite important is the exclusion of revisionist history from the curriculum and including chapters which build up a sense of self introspection and a logical knowledge base. However, exactly opposite to this, the Union government edited the NCERT syllabus and deleted crucial chapters on caste struggle, denying students the right to complete knowledge on the matter.
With World Youth Day around the corner, it is imperative that the country takes tangible steps to embolden the youth power. To add to the problem, the gender and caste disparity in the literacy rate is quite alarming and the apathy of the general public towards it, even more. Feminism has become more of a slur than an ideology, the concept of reservation a tool to reveal the inherent casteism and empathy stands opposed to hyper nationalism, a trend nowadays.
The youth of India is beaming with hope and possibility, holds the ability to make a mark in the world, yet the only rope that keeps pulling it back is that of blind sentimentalism (not to be confused with emotionalism), dogmas and a force fed fear of an unseen enemy lurking at the door. An immediate and efficient intervention at the grassroot level, in villages and suburbs to sensitize as well as make the youth skill sufficient along with creation of jobs in the formal as well as informal sector seems a good step in the direction.
In fact, the efficient implementation of schemes (like the MUDRA scheme) might go a long way in the realization of self sustainable youth power in various spheres.
The youth need to step up, and control spaces that affect their decisions. More effective participation in the politics and bureaucracy shall also prove to be a boon that might be India’s magna carta on the road to be a world power.
To sum it up all, India at this point needs to focus its energy and resources on the transformation of its education system towards a holistic, skill-development pattern as well as drive the growth of economy in a controlled yet meticulous manner so as to create more opportunities.