YOUNGSTERS ARE NOT ONLY PLAYING A ROLE OF INNOVATORS IN OUR COUNTRY BUT ARE ALSO COMING FORWARD TO JOIN THE PROCESS OF PUTTING THE NATION BACK ON THE PATH OF DEVELOPMENT
For long youngsters in our country have been identified with their ‘I don’t care’ attitude, pointing towards the absence of any sense of responsibility among them. Undoubtedly, youngsters today spend more time on social networking sites than with their real life friends, talk more about their latest gadgets than their career plans and worry more for their looks than their grades in exam. Even then, youngsters can’t be summarily dismissed as irresponsible or careless. They might be wrong in their attitude but not in their objectives and aspirations. We must acknowledge that they have the enthusiasm and innovativeness to bring about the change. Thus the power of youth must be harnessed properly to set the society on the path of change. As India’s former president and youth icon A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has rightly said that the great challenge of transforming India can be achieved only through youth which has got the power of thoughts, aspirations and ability. Particularly for a young country like India, youngsters are crucial for its future growth.
Building blocks for the future : To fully utilize the potential of youth what is needed is to strengthen and empower these youngsters. India is at an advantageous position as a greater proportion of the population is in a productive age and will play a more active role socially and economically in the near future. This resource of the youth is an important building block for transforming India into a developed nation.
The working population of India is expected to grow by more than 47 million by 2020. This gives us a great opportunity, but the opportunity can be capitalized only if the power of youth is harnessed properly. The youth can contribute to India’s success and progress only if they are equipped with skills and knowledge. The average age of India is only 24 and in 2020 the average age will be just 29. Whereas during that time, the average age for China and America is going to be 37, for Western Europe it will be 42 and for Japan it will be 48. So we have a tremendous advantage in terms of having a large and young population but we need to harness this in the right direction. To harness this demographic dividend, we have to put our education and skill development sector in order. If we don’t do that, we will only be adding mouths to feed and not hands that work. And if that happens, unfortunately not only we will be giving up the opportunity that comes in the life of a nation only once, but we would also be doing grave injustice to our future generations. And if that happens then what could have been a demographic dividend will turn into demographic nightmare. It is really up to us to make sure that this doesn’t happen. This is our opportunity. This is the time to do it. Better late than never,” he said.
Change makers Youth are no longer silent spectators in India. There presence has steadily increased in the debates and discussions on several important national issues including corruption, Jan Lokpal Bill, eve-teasing, RTI, etc. The presence of large number of youth in the recent Jan Lokpal movement launched by Anna Hazare is not just a matter of chance. They are there because they associate themselves with this pertinent issue and have the ability to take this movement forward. The movement has successfully galvanized the youth of the country and they are going to lead it from the front and will play the role of change makers in the future.
New vistas Given a chance today’s youngsters prefer dabbling in widely different streams, exploring new avenues and identifying their own future path. Be it academics, extra-curricular activities, hobbies or any other areas of interest. While this helps them in identifying their area of interest for a society or a country it helps in channelising the energy of youth in a positive direction. “Though I am from a management background, I have strong interest in doing something in the field of social activities, environment.
Innovators Youth are known for new ideas and these ideas when applied can change lives of millions of people to a great extent. India just does not have one billion mouths to feed, it has one billion minds that can think. An interesting example here is of a rural washing machine that can work without electricity because it is pedal driven. A Kerala school girl, Remya, developed it because she had this incredible combination of constraints coupled with her aspirations. Her father was down with cancer. Her mother was perennially ill. She had to change three buses to go to the school. She had to come home, wash her clothes and do her studies. She created this washing machine, so that she could read, while the clothes were being washed, while she pedaled away. There are millions of Remyas in India. What is needed is to spot them, pat them on the back, take their ideas forward by prototyping them and scaling them up, and finally demonstrating that the creation of ‘inclusive India’ can be accelerated by using the nation as a laboratory.”
The need of the hour is to focus on constructively using the ideas, power and abilities of the youth for the development of the nation. It’s only by empowering our youth that a better future and a brighter tomorrow can be ensured.
