By – Dr. Dhanabir Laishram
Youths are those youngsters who are always in romantic revere with full of hope and desire to lead meaningful life. They always dream for brighter future and meaningful life. They know that to come on earth is only after getting one way ticket; they were not borne in the past and not born again after they were passed away. So it is very much valuable and bounded to do something. But if there is no clear vision they always associated frustration, anxiety and even depression. That is the result that some are drug edicts, some are misguided youths and some are earning money antagonize to welfare society. They are very far away from wealth and welfare. They can’t see the meaningful world of them through the windows of parents, teachers and ruling elites. This is the fate of maximum numbers of Indian’s youths in general and Manipur in particular.
CONTEMPORARY ISSUES:
The main issues confronted by our youths are unemployment and poverty. Why we are talking about poverty, because of shortage of income, shortage of income means unemployment. In other words both the main issues are related each other. In India our youths come across twelve plan periods since 1950. However one analyses the plan periods by two important parameters that decreasing of people who are living below the poverty line and decreasing of unemployment, one comes to understand that both of them are increasing more and more. In this case the victims are the youths of the nation. Since 1992 after India followed new economic policy Liberalization, privatization and globalization more than two lakhs and seventy thousand were committed suicide because of unable to repay the loan and starvation. These are not good news to the youths of the nation. Most of them are their parents. In short both educated and uneducated youths are confronting this issue in this contemporary India.
India as developing country in the world maximum number of youth is educated. Some are in technical course and some are computer engineering but maximum are general line. They are all victims of neo-liberal economic policy. The Indian state capitulated under pressure from western financial institutions into policy formulation and running of state. Liberlisation is primarily beneficial to upper and middle classes. An estimated forty million Indians are living the life styles comparable to their counterparts in advanced industrial economies. Another sixty millions are on the threshold of comfortable middle class living. This middle class is going to proliferate because of the increasing of the service sectors and white-collar jobs. There is a fear that it may further aggravate the condition of rural and urban poor. The Indian state has been ineffective in creating human base for development. The Indian state could not filling the voids of basic education, gender rights, health facilities and employment opportunities for a big chunk of the population does not go well with the goal of economic justice. So the youth are not organised and are not in a position to pressurise the state to fulfill its welfare commitments.
The imperatives of economic liberlisation are identified with an aggravation of conflict between economic and political interest of the disadvantaged. Liberlisation is creating avenues for business and white-collar jobs to I.I.T and I.I.M. professionals. This suits the interests of the upper and middle class because they have the resources like capital to benefit from new business opportunities opening up as part of liberlisation package. The youth from this section are more likely to walk away with jobs in multinational corporations with excessive salaries because of their access to quality education. With privatization and disinvestments becoming order of the day the numbers of jobs in public sector are going to be lesser and lesser. The benefit of reservation is available only in government jobs. That is why many tribal youth look at liberlisation as a conspiracy to deny them the benefit of reservation. Economic development so far has failed to create enough jobs to absorb the landless and rural and urban educated. These people have to suffer deprivations of various kinds. Youth of agricultural labourers, marginal and small peasants with small or no patch of land are the most deprived section of society. They suffer more than others from poverty and lack of education, health and housing facilities. That means the youth who belong to such families are more sufferers.
PROBLEMS IN THE AGRICULTURE:
Under the impact of neo-liberal policies landlessness is increasing and this is adding to the number of agricultural workers which stood more than 14 crore in 2012. There is no statutorily fixed minimum wage and no comprehensive social security measures for agricultural workers in many states. They are the worst hit by rise in prices of essential goods. In short the new economy policy and its strategy of withdrawal of state support to agriculture and increasing trade liberlisation through FTAs and tariff cuts are meant to drive the small peasants out of agriculture. The way is being paved for the takeover of Indian agriculture by foreign and domestic big corporate, as has happened in many developing countries under globalization. Resisting this offensive is the principal class challenge before the Indian peasantry. Here one may cited the recent case of Mizoram that one MNC gave loan to farmers for producing palm oil after Planting that trees, it will take round about ten years. But the adjustment had been made by that time’s market price after ten years. At this time the price should be more triple times than when they fix price of that time. In this case how a farmer could repay the loan and regain his farm. Unfortunately lees were already made. He should be landless after ten years.
The MNREGS is being diluted and the workers are being denied their rightful wages. Agricultural workers live under precarious conditions and in most states there are no efforts to provide houses sites and houses to them. In Manipur maximum houses of fisher folk which were constructed on the fumdhi were almost burned down without proper compensation. It was really driven out them from their habitats, resulting in the loss of their livelihoods.
The condition of youth agricultural workers is really worsened day by day. Indebtedness is increasing among agricultural workers and they are facing a crisis of survival. Government policies are forcing the rural poor to migrate and work under dismal conditions to other areas or to urban centres. The number of urban centres has increased remarkably. Accessory and ancillary buildings, government offices, roads, railway tracks – all require various kinds of skilled and unskilled workers. They come from backward villages. The non-availability of jobs in rural areas facilitates the continuous supply of youth workers to urban and other big towns. Rural youth are mad in urban areas. These unorganised sector labourers remain in a fragmented state, which does not allow them to bargain or air their voice against injustice. Neither their job nor their work at a particular site is permanent. They are bereft of social security and labour welfare benefits. The central Government has refused to bring in a comprehensive legislation for the fixation of wages and social security benefits for agricultural workers.
The neo-liberal strategy of withdrawal of state support to agriculture and increasing trade liberlisation through FTAs and tariff cuts are meant to drive the small peasants out of agriculture. The way is being paved for the takeover of Indian agriculture by foreign and domestic big corporate.
In the last year, the farmers of Assam were crying for market-price for their grains due to lack of FCI procurement centers. The minimum price fixed by the Food Corporation of India for procuring rice grains is Rs. 1020-1080 per quintal. But due to the lack of FCI procurement centers in the State, Farmers are left with no other choice other than to sell the grains to unscrupulous middlemen for less than half of the FCI fixed price.
The land Acquisition & Rehabilitation Bill proposed by the Government does not adequately protect the farmers in term of the compensation and rehabilitation criteria and does not make its provisions mandatory for private land acquisition. Mineral rich tribal areas will be opened to corporate, adversely affecting tribal rights on land.
Let the ruling elites understand poverty means shortage of income, shortage of income means lack of employment, lack of employment facilities means because of more and more state deregulation. Measures: Priority should be given to good governance in order to utilize human resource and natural resource properly, More state regulation rather than more privatization, Large scale automation should be checked, Effective programme of self help groups, Appropriate loan to the small scale industries workers, Government should fight protectionist measures taken by European countries and America in this globalization process, because they have opened free market and Downsizing, instruction given by World Bank and IMF should be checked, not followed hundred percent.
CONFLICT SITUATION AND ITS IMPACT ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Conflict situation in Manipur means contradiction between recolonisation and decolonisation. In a simple language, non state actors claimed that Manipur was colonised by India after occupying coercively without the consent of the State Legislative Assembly of 1948, the members of the house, who were elected by the people based on adult franchise. After that Armed Forces Special Power Act 1958 was imposed to Manipur and deployed army, Para-military, border security force and CRPF. All the characteristics of colonization like accommodation of surplus population, extraction of raw materials, captive market economy, and violation of human rights could be seen in Manipur. So they are in the process of decolonization by waging war against India as resistance movement with arms. So robotically unwanted incidents and worsen atmosphere of political violence and political crudeness as lawless state are coming up.
As impact of this political violence it severely hurts to the students of both lower and higher education in Manipur. So long time academic calendar could not be followed. Attendants are low owing to bundh and strikes, maximum number of students is in the outside of the state, maximum of them are going down in the drug abuses and some of them are counting the days for death. These are part of counter insurgency measures taken by both the union and the state government. So now the students are sandwich in between state and non state actors. They are facing a lot of problems including wanton human rights violation. Even students were killed by security personnel with their school bags. They were detained at the roadside, lining on the ground in the combing operation, detained in the army camp if the security forces suspect them. In this environment no one could imagine better education for them. It was happened and would be happened again because of continuing political violence in the state. Even during their exam they have heard sound of the guns and blasting of bombs. In this situation they are compelled to study by hook or crook.
Now the pertinent question is that who architect this nasty social and political environment. The answer of this question is the objective of this paper. So my papers deals with some of the crucial issues like students in the carrot and stick measures, students in the Neo-Liberalism, depoliticisation and its consequences, role of students to bring another world is possible. The notable thing is that whenever we have any proposition in any issue no one can discard the neocolonial process of Liberlisation, Privatisation and Glovalisation. All of us including non state actors are in the process of LPG.
In any society the potential human capitals are the students, who try to see the world through the window of education for being social, political, economic actors, scientist, sports persons, peasants and workers. In other words they are the parents of tomorrow. So the young generation occupies a special place in social environment. They are vital part of society. The young and rising generation constitutes a representative of the future in the broadest sense; the future of any society depends on the practical politicising of the youth. They have to educate for understanding of general system and political awareness then in politics in order to understand policy. After that they should make interaction and reaction with the existing political system if the ruling elites deviate from the willingness of the masses. That is the real citizen in this modern society. There is no political formula to affirm that student should not join politics. That was British political formula applied to India for colonising so long time as they like. It should not be applied to India today particularly to Manipur also.
All societies pay special attention to the students. No challenges for possession of national characters can be victorious without the effective education, organisation and mobilisation of the youth into effective action. So my first attempt in this paper is to find out students’ role to our society and to education then conflict situation and its impact on higher studies. My proposition is that I don’t like to give generally sharing views on youths, mainly students and society instead it’s better to highlight the reality of their sufferings because of conflict situation and its significance in our country in general and NE in particular. My presentation is based on logical inquiry with observation and interpretation.
My first problem is to identify their roles whether it is positive or negative. Most of the outsiders conceived the ideas that our youths and students are anti Indian and even use the term anti social groups. But still I recalled some vivid events in which our youths had revealed more loyalty to nation rather than other Indians. What was happening in the Sino-Indian War in 1962? During that time more than one thousand youngsters were coming out to the polo ground and shouted – please recruit us as Indian army; we want to protect our motherland India. Then another notable practice, usually, of the youngsters was to respect national anthem which was sang at the backdrop of the screen in all the time at the end of any movie. That was very strange to me in the film of ‘Sangam’, the longest film in the world, having two intervals. They stood erectly and respect the national anthem inspite of having privacy for sitting long hours. But now the question is that where are them? Why they boycott Independence Day and Republic day of India. Who produce them?
During the early days of our education the political society was heeding in the process of nation building and national security instead of moulding national character and providing of social security because teachers are not motivated and they could not understand the objective of their mission. So a good numbers of student are at stake for their careers only and completely isolated from the social concerns. Now the positive role is being played by the drop out school children (after growing up), who are working in the fields and in the working places, generally, in small and scale industries have been protecting our society from degeneration. The brilliant youths are working in the Multy National Corporation for the better profit of billionaires not for the nation. Some are in the high ranking officers but he does not know who are paid for the service of people. He collects more and more money by claiming that Manipur is Money poor state, so Delhi should make money pour state. But still it could not fill the void of many pores of masses. These are the crux of the discourse to study our youths whether they could play vital role for the nation building and national security. That means some of them are challenging for radical society. It is compelled to them to do so otherwise how we can talk about the brighter future of the youths in this neo-liberal economic policy.
Neoliberalism and Society
People of India marked 2012 as more two decades of the initiation of neo-liberal economic reforms in India. During this period more than 2,56,913 (as per the National Crime Record Bureau )farmers were killed by starvation and committing suicide because of unable to repay loan amount. High cost monocropping of cash crops has become the most risky venture for Indian farmers in general NE in particular. On contrary, in the NE nearly 10 thousand people were killed as part of counter insurgency measures and suppose to be contradiction between recolonisation and decolonisation. Ails and accumulated discontentments of people of NE is different from other mainland India. Besides, there are violations of historical and democratic rights of the masses; they are also suffering a lot by the impact of neoliberal economic policy. Mention should be made such as – inflation and price rise, food insecurity, deteriorated agricultural workers, corruption and economic slowdown.
The thrust of the neo-liberal agenda is to undermine the role of the public sector and facilitate the unfettered exploitation of resources and profiteering by domestic and foreign big corporate. With the privatization of oil and gas resources, the private sector has already surpassed the public sector in domestic natural gas production. The largest private sector deals today are being struck over India’s oil and gas resources. Mining is also being opened up in a big way for the foreign and domestic corporate through changes in mining policy. The private sector already accounted for 63 percent of the 218.6 million tons of iron ore produced in 2009-10, over 45 percent of which was exported. Moves are also on to privatized coal mining. Looting of mineral resources through illegal mining and reckless exports has become rampant as a result of the opening up of the mines and minerals sector. In this trend who can safe mineral resource of NE like oil and gas in Manipur and Nagaland and uranium in Meghalaya.
The Government of India (GoI) is pushing legislations to increase the FDI limit in the insurance sector, deregulate the banking sector and allow pension funds to be invested in the stock market. These moves will make India’s financial sector vulnerable to speculative finance capital. Even a bill to allow foreign universities to open shop in India is also pending. FDI cap in defense is also at stake.
The cabinet of present government took a decision to allow 51 percent FDI in multi-branded retail during the winter session of parliament in 2011. This will affect the livelihoods of the 4crore-odd (40 million) small retailers and squeeze the farmers and small producers. Though, people reaction on large scale to announce a suspension of the decision, Prime Minister has declared that the decision will be implemented after the current round of assembly elections.
Another problem which is being confronted by the people regarding the FDI is concerned that is 100 percent FDI allowed in the pharma sector, MNC are buying out the domestic pharmaceutical companies and establishing their strong hold over the Indian drug market. Three of the top five drug sellers in India today are MNCs. The increasing concentration of the drug market is leading to phenomenal increase in the price of medicines. The government is unwilling to curb FDI in the pharma sector or extend effective drug price control.
Thirdly, the neo-liberal food policies of the government are responsible for high food inflation. Hoarding of food items, speculative futures trading, faulty export policy and the penetration of big corporate in the food chain combined with stagnant productivity and low growth in agriculture have contributed to spiraling food prices. Over and above maximum state of NE are hilly region. All these edible items including vegetable are brought by trucks on the roads, which are also not to repair well. That means how the people of this region got every food items in reasonable price. Among them, a state like Manipur got economy blockade on the highway for a continuous 120 days. Throughout this period of the blockade, the Central Government remained inactive and refused to intervene to get the blockade lifted because they wanted to see is there cocktails of Manipuri nationalism and Indian nationalism. But notable thing is that the people of this state remain silent even one liter of patrol was at the cost of Rs 200 and Rs 1500 per cooking gas. It is the indication of streamlining own nationalism of the Manipuris.
Here the important reason to see deregulation of petrol prices, successive hikes, is important factor to contribute inflation. What was happening in some months ago, the Central Government continues to levy a high level of taxes on petroleum products. There were hikes in prices by Rs.3 per liter for diesel, Rs. 2 per liter for kerosene and Rs. 50 per cylinder for LPG in 2011.
Fourthly, The Government’s policies have weakened the PDS and reduced its capacity to provide relief from food inflation. The APL/BPL division has led to large-scale errors of exclusion denying the poor access to cheap food grains. There was a national outcry at the planning commission’s fraudulent estimate of poverty quantified at only Rs. 32 per capita per day for urban areas and Rs. 26 per day for rural areas. But these estimates continue as the yardstick in all targeted policies.
The proposed Food Security Bill is highly cetralised Bill that not only retains the targeted system but increases the categories in the priority(BPL), general (APL), and excluded categories, further dividing the poor. All the entitlements are made conditional. The central government will continue to override the state governments in deciding the number of households eligible for subsidizes foodgrains. All entitlements are made conditional on state governments accepting the Centre’s framework of neo-liberal reforms, which include anti-people measures like cash transfers and food coupons. This will eventually dismantle the PDS and facilitate the takeover of the food economy by agribusiness and corporate retailers.
What We Can Expect From Depoliticised Students/ youths.
Since the early years of the 20th century the people of NE tried to bring political transformation from monarchy to responsible government, from part ‘C’ state to Territorial council, then Union Territory, from union territory to Statehood. Even some districts of Assam became fully fledged states like Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland. Still to day most of the youngsters are in the movement of political violence. The socialist cause – the emancipation of humanity from the exploitative conditions of imperialism and capitalism – released tremendous energy within the youth population.
The same case was happened in the global context also such as the advance of the socialist movement, the struggle against fascism and the wave of national liberation movements sweeping the third world witnessed active participation of youngsters everywhere, often playing a key role in shaping the course of political events. Its impact could be felt in other spheres too like literature, art and culture.
This trend continued in the post-war period, especially in the third world, with the continuing triumph of anti-imperialist national liberation struggles and revolutions. The socialist project, however, came under serious challenge worldwide during 1970s. The post-war capitalist world itself was undergoing major changes during this period, with the social democratic consensus giving way to the ascendant neoliberal ideology of free markets. By late 1970s, momentum of movements too started weakening.
On contrary to global context, in the earlier phase of 1980s in the NE youths were driven to action not only to defend or secure their immediate and partisan interests but also instilled with larger causes like uneven distribution of wealth and development. Democratic system provided a vision and hope for democratic politics in future. It was this vision, which inspired a good numbers of youths around the NE to become politically active, participates in struggle and movements, play heroic roles in them and make commendable sacrifices. But response from the government was completely nil. So, violent activities were the consequence of it. Ultimately instead of democratic movement maximum numbers of youths are in favour of political violence with arms. That is why emerging of class contradiction by conceiving the idea that it is in between recolonisation and decolonisation process. The former phase of movement was redesigning the constitution and later it was reinvention of their own constitution. That means the conflict situation seems to be more and more spiral.
Even the civil societies when the mobilizations were on immediate issues related to government policies on education and employment, there was always an undercurrent against the system as a whole, a strong collective desire to transform society and transcend the existing system.
Radicalism had also led to major debates over the role of the youth movement in social transformation. The youths’ movement as a contingent of the larger democratic or revolutionary movement led by the oppressed people could give political direction of the region. Its role was envisage as one, which plays a supportive role in class struggle, providing it with intellectual and multi-class support and also serving as a recruiting field for future cadres of the oppressed people’s movement.
The political economic changes since 1970s, particularly the advent of international finance capital driven globalization, had profound implication on politics as a whole. The more advanced capitalist countries converged on economic issues; the desirability of free markets, withdrawal of the state, privatization and deregulation, the inevitability of globalization etc. In fact, the terrain of political economy itself became marginal to debates among the radicalists; the field of culture and identity became far more important in triggering ideological debates and determining political choices and outcomes. If that is in this direction instead of solidarity division after division will be coming up lastly creating enmity among the oppressed people and fighting each other will be the goal of them. Here also the youths are playing important role to minimize voluminous of internal contradiction.
The ideological impact of these changes on the students and youths since late 1980s was three fold. First, as far as fighting the ‘system as a whole’ is concerned, with the weakening of overarching ideological appeal of socialism, masses of students and youth became increasingly less radical or more status-quoist. Secondly, feeling of empathy for the exploited sections of society and sense of solidarity with their causes witnessed gradual erosion. Thirdly, collective activism and its reaction were replaced by growing individualism, careerism and competitiveness. So such powerful force is more and more approaching towards depoliticisation. In this critical days of our people how they dream about social security in the welfare state function of India.
Consequences of Depoliticisation:
While sarcasm towards democratic politics among the masses created a depoliticized mainstream, reactionary hate politics of various shades reappeared in our country more overtones to the states of NE, which are neglected in all sectors. This has been in keeping with the growing space of identity-based politics in the period of globalization. While globalization has widened inequalities, the section of society facing oppression and discrimination on grounds of race, caste, gender, language, religion, nationalism etc. have been at a greater disadvantage. Marginalization of these oppressed sections, in terms of economic opportunities, has been complemented by increasing instances of physical violence and hate crimes against them.
The most common form of hatred politics witnessed in the NE as part of capitalist country is racial attacks directed against non-NE and immigrants – because they are stealing their jobs and spoiling their culture. Moreover neo-fascistic sectarian and communal violence of various kinds have witnessed a rise. Not surprisingly all energetic and potential youths have been at the forefront as well as at the receiving end of such violence. Majoritarian hatred politics has provoked its extremist counterparts within minority groups too. Terrorism of various shades, particularly those based on religion, is a complex phenomenon, which has several underlying historical, political and geo-strategic factors. However, a notable aspect of terrorism is that most terrorist – especially those who carry out dreadful attacks killing innocent civilians – are young people. While many of them sign up out of the desperation of poverty and unemployment, some educated youth, even middle- class professionals, have been drawn into terrorist activities too which points towards the ideological appeal of religious fundamentalism. This can also be seen as the most extreme form of depoliticisation, where both the status quo as well as any vision for progressive social change has been rejected in favour of a thoroughly reactionary ideology, which simply fills one with hatred towards other faiths and dehumanises their followers.
The final result of depoliticisation thus lies in barbarism induced by hate politics of various hues. Solidarity is far cry but enmity among the people of NE is more and more increasing. Some of them dream about supra state body instead of giving common aspiration of supra state organisation. So the two options – unite and perish are reflected in the minds of the organic intellectuals. Here also our youths open their eyes and try to give more political space to them.
Youths/ Students in the Neoliberalism:
As we know people are crying about their security, security of health, education, employment, food and lives. The whole range of oppositional movements developed during this period of LPG outside the ambit of the organised radicalisms. These new social movements were by and large focused on single issues either related to human security, environment, gender or racial equality, fair trade etc. They also shared the suspicion towards any kind of politics and political parties with the depoliticised mainstream. However, these social movements increasingly found themselves potholed against globalization and neoliberalism from their own point of view.
In the NE, dealing with diversity of opinions and views, democratic practice and open-mindedness had been found inadequacies. Even among the oppressed people they are fighting each other. Each of them tries to assert only the interest of them though reacted by other groups because of having other forms of oppression and discrimination based on ethnic politics. They never realized such uneven development and marginalized them are the outcome of capitalist economy. So some are talking about periphery from Delhi and other groups claimed that they are periphery within periphery. In short they didn’t try to see the whole system and its failure. That means they are in the trap of parochial political culture to follow the idea given by their community leaders and try to put it in to practice. Community chief means undemocratic. Even global village has also chief though many scholars emphasise this globalization as global village. But the problem is that some groups of people who are in the urban areas are influenced by participant culture and could act as political actors of it. However their new relationship with modern machines in day to day life create big barrier in between two individuals and people to people. Maximum number of remote areas in the hills of NE, people gets mobiles and its tower but not electricity, hygienic water and health care facilities. They could contact people living in abroad but can’t contact their nightbours.
The economic changes ushered in by the neoliberal regime also entailed major changes in the sphere of education as well as the structure of employment, which shaped the thinking among the youths. The thrust of education policies since 1970s was towards the withdrawal of the state and increasing privatization and commoditization of education. With the welfare state on the decline, state funding on education – especially university and higher education – tapered off. Student fees were increased substantially making higher education costly, thereby restricting access for the lower income groups. While further expansion of state funded higher education was halted, profit- making private institutions emerged on large scale. Conceptually, higher education came to be viewed by students solely as a vehicle for building their professional careers, on which they tended to narrowly focus. Comparative grades and percentages became the overwhelming concern, and not what was actually being learnt either inside or outside of lecture halls andseminar room. Moreover, increasing expenses on higher education also came to be seen as financial investments meant to yield returns after a given period, with students from middle or lower income families’ often taking bank loans to finance their studies.
The trend of narrow careerism among students was further shaped by the changes in the structure of employment in the liberalized economy. Secure public sector jobs became scarce everywhere, and the job market came to be dominated by the private sector. The private sector led neoliberal growth regime also restructured the labour market in fundamental ways. First, there was a slowdown in creation of secure organized sector jobs. Secondly, job opportunities witnessing growth were of the flexible variety with insecure tenure, unstable pay and no social security.
Lastly unemployment and under-employment grew in absolute terms at a time when state support for the unemployed dwindled, raising the cost of unemployment to very high levels. In our country, most of which do not have any form of unemployment allowance, there has been a proliferation of ‘self- employment’ and informal employment, mainly in the services sector. One of the most notable thing is that wage and salary differentials within countries have increased phenomenally, leading to widening inequalities everywhere. While executive pay in the private corporate sector has skyrocketed, even getting linked to windfall gains in the capital market, real earnings of the bulk of the employed population have either remained stagnant or have declined in many countries over the past three decades.
In that cases, all section of the people including youths and students, very energetic and potential groups are delink with social concern. Then the question is how the intrinsic population of civil societies including youths could be powerful to fight political society for their social security. Their youthful energy enables them to perform great feats in the theatre of battle; enables them to be the most active transmitters of ideas and skills; their zeal spreads into their surroundings like wild-fire. The youth acts as the motive force of all the changes.
Youths/ Students In The Movement To Bring Another World Is Possible.
In underdeveloped state like Manipur most of the students are working in various work sides with their studies. They earn their pocked money because of their parents can’t afford the expenditure of higher studies. These are mainly in the cases of rural youngsters. They didn’t believe for getting jobs after their graduation and even passing MA. They know the values of job market in Manipur. Without huge amount of money no one can get government jobs. So, one may tread them as workers though casual in nature. Political participation of them in the massive resistance of any issues, rural students are sharing as workers and urban students as students. They form the most consistent and reliable section of the movement ‘and when they join the struggle of the working class, they fight for their own cause, and grow and become stronger in the struggle’.
The links they have with the most advanced and radicalist groups, their common class interests and objectives with the working class as a whole, accords the working youth a leading position in the societal transformation youth movement.
We always need to examine the revolutionary potential of the working youth on the basis of a comprehensive and profound study of their socio-economic, legal and political status. Consideration should be given to the fact that their involvement in large-scale capitalist production is a historically proven phenomenon. It brings them face to face with their oppressors and this teaches them excellent lessons in class education.
Historically the section of student youth has been the organised and dynamic social force. The student youth have and continue to contribute and participate in the revolutionary struggle of our people. It is correct to recognise the necessity for students to organise themselves as students and to define their sector of struggle against the common enemy.
As an integral part of society, the youth section is charged with the specialised task of fulfilling the strategic objectives of the movement with the greater involvement of the youth. It has the responsibility of organising, mobilising and guiding all our youth into participation in the revolutionary struggle of our people.
It does not act as a separate organism but as a reliable reserve and shock force of the movement. Since the growth of the nation lies in the recruitment of new forces, mostly young, the youth section should act as a nursery of the revolutionary upbringing of those who come into the movement.
The youth in our country, like young people everywhere in the world, are searching for genuine ideals and values which they can live by, and for revolutionary ways to win them. Thus the Freedom Charter has become deeply rooted in the hearts of our youth.
Their involvement in mass democratic political actions and quest for revolutionary theory and grasp for the primacy of organisation, are features characteristic of the process of involving our youth in struggle. These are due to the objective conditions under which they mobilise, organise and fight.
The subjective factor is equally significant like the correct ideological and political orientation of the youth, the ability of the movement (and in particular the youth section) to impart to the protests by the youth a conscious and organised nature. Our ability to educate them in a genuine revolutionary spirit is a key factor.
The future of any movement or nation is dependent also on the integration of the youth in the political and other social activities. The grooming of those who have to ensure that the genuine aspirations of the people are fully realised demands a conscious effort on the part of the revolutionary movement.
The inexperience of the young provides the opportunity for a systematic process of political upbringing. This involves bold decisions in giving heavy responsibilities to the youth. We correctly say the future is in their hands.
Youth are back bone to the nation. They can change the future of the society with their well being and courageous behavior. They are here to show us that which we have not been willing to look at within ourselves. Unfortunately today we find the youth those who are more interested in other places which are not useful to them as well as nation. They choose to spend their days doing drugs and playing video games. They spend their nights partying and living it up, so to speak. More and more young men of this age group are sitting at home in front of their televisions playing games all day instead of bettering themselves or going to work. They have no vision and if they do have dreams they do not have the drive to make any attempt at achieving them.
We must get control of this. We must motivate our youth. We must teach responsibility and goal setting. I fear if we did not do so, we would soon be supporting an entire generation of homeless and needlessly on welfare families. Things have to change, with our schools, with the older generation being good role models, with the older generation being mentors, and with the youth who are right now doing nothing
Those of you are in age of teen, you have a choice. You can allow yourselves to stay your course and do nothing or you can rise above what the cynics around you expect and go get educated or get jobs. Show the older generation they are wrong about you. Let them know you have intelligence and skills. Show yourself what you are made of. You might be surprised at how proud of yourself you become with even the smallest of accomplishments. I can tell you that nothing can happen if you do not try bad or good. You will not become rich overnight either way but at least if you make an effort, then you have begun your journey to your dream. The role of the youth in developing a society is tremendous. Youth should be motivated and encouraged to make contribution to the society in the areas of societal, cultural, economic developmental issue and environmental issues. Youth can play their roles in preventing socially harmful production, form development groups that can undertake practice of savings, take initiative to organize various cultural programs that unite the youth group at large.
Education, the Best Agent of Political Socialization.
Lastly, one may conclude by saying that only through education we could bring them as attentive public and competent political actors in this democratic system, in which one could attain his best self. For this some of the important points needed to keep in our mind in order to put into practice:
Young people possess energy, but it should be channelized in the right direction. Misguided youth may do greater harm to the society than even the worst enemy can do. Moreover, it is on the shoulders of the young that the future of the country rests because they represent new values, new thinking and the new ways of life.
Society should mould itself according to the thinking of the young because it is difficult for the older generation to have new thinking. The young should always look with hope and confidence to the future. They must have the spirit to work among the masses and also give a sense of direction for the others to follow.
Political freedom gives duties as well in responsibilities. These are more important as the case of India because we want to be free from poverty, disease and all types of divisive forces. Our political freedom must create conditions not only for better life but also for peace for the rest of the world. The youth of India should be inspired with these ideas and make them as popular with the people as it is possible.
In fact the older generation becomes hardened in their thinking. So it is difficult for them to adopt a new path. The faith of the young people is never so rigid. They can adopt, modify and change their ideas according to the demands of the circumstances. So youth of India should take this responsibility on their shoulders.
The great ideas enshrined in our culture will help us to set the energies of nation in the proper direction. So if the younger generation does not take up this challenge, they would be almost the enemies of the future.
The Young people of India should try to give a practical shape to the ideals of democracy which have kept before us. An ordinary person is not adventurous enough to take up the challenges to adopt certain ideals which may be good for the nation. Generally the actions of the individuals are guided by the normal way of thinking and also by the normal conventions. It is only the young who can accept unconventional ideas with spirit and enthusiasm.
Various social movements which seem to be the basis of progress need the help of the younger generations. For example, for the older generation the idea of having planned families might not be proper and at moments they might consider it a political move on the part of the party in power. It is so because their conventional thinking does not agree with the new set up of circumstances. But the younger generation has vision of the future and is guided by that very vision. So “a nation is built in its educational institutions” through younger generations.
India is wedded to the policy of industrial development, but no industry can make progress till men are properly trained and technologists help in the development of the industrial complex of the country. Only the new generation can help. It may also be understood that the world is standing on the threshold of supreme catastrophe and measureless record. It is the young who can give appropriate direction to these forces.
Younger generation in India has always been depending upon the older generation. Our social set up did not allow them to have independent thinking and independent way of life. But now younger generation is to mould the thinking of the older generation. They will have to give proper shape and form to the policies which might have been out-dated and worn out. Only the young in India can seize the opportunities for doing something for the country. So they will give new enthusiasm and energy to carry forward the programme which has been chalked out for the country. We should not give only the changes from heavy school bags to big potato Bora (sack) on their back.
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(Concluded)
