Renaissance of the Indian youth

It took a movie like Rang De Basanti to tell the youth of India that its time to rise up and voice their opinion. Though the movie propagated an extremist mindset, it gave the youth a realization: of a voice that now needs to be heard. It gave them a sense of belonging to the homeland. Then followed what I call the “Renaissance of the Indian youth”, when they rose and fought for causes that might not even have affected them personally- like the Jessica Lal case. Or the one’s that did- like the Anti-reservation rally. The effectiveness of these movements can be debated on, but the exciting thought is that the youth of India today is gaining the popularity of a Vectored Individual- potential with a sense of direction.

The reverse brain-drain might be a testimony to it, or the fact the IIM graduates backed out of placement process to be social entrepreneurs. There was a time, when student politics or youth involvement meant nothing but a few odd strikes in “politically enlightened” states like Kerala. Today, IIT alumni have come together to start a new political party, NRIs have floated companies to fund new ventures by young entrepreneurs in India, the state governments are thinking of starting courses in politics & governance (some universities like the DU already have them). These are nothing but an indication that the thought process of the Indian youth has experienced a paradigm shift, and the system is merely reacting to it.

So what has caused this? Is it that today’s youth finds a mentor in business leader turned philanthropist like Narayan Murthy? Or it that he sees a bright future with the country being led by a scientist & two economists. Is it the figures of a soon to be 10% GDP, the booming services sector, the New Age Business Imperialism displayed by the likes of LN Mittal, which he reads in the news everyday? Is it because he sees no need to go to a foreign land to create wealth, because he is witnessing the whole world shifting base to India?

How do we sustain this dream run? Or is it a dream run at all? How does all this prosperity explain the fact that 83% of households in Orissa still don’t have an electricity connection? (Source: NCAER). How does it explain the alleged Maoist contribution in the situation in Nandigram, which is stalling the work of Tata’s prestigious one lakh car? One-fifth of India’s population still suffers from chronic hunger. The irony is best captured by what noted economist & Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen said, “The vision of India can’t be one that is half California & half Sub-Saharan Africa.”

There is still a huge scope for improvement. And this understanding I believe is creating a sense of ownership and responsibility in the minds of the Indian youth. Today it’s not the era of community service but that of social entrepreneurship, or the liaison of business and philanthropy. There is prospect of being self-less and standing up for a cause… or the possibility of adding business sense to it. Whatever it is… the end result is prosperity & a sense of independence. Something which I believe we snatched from the Britishers & gave away to our sense of apathy towards community welfare.

Let’s rise up…. It’s never too late!

Harikrishnan Pillai
harikrishnan.pillai@gmail.com