Men, Men—these are wanted : everything else will be ready; But strong, vigorous, believing young men, sincere to backbone. A hundred such and the world become revolutionised. Ages ago, even before the advent of democracy, great masters all over the world had acknowledged the potentially of the youth in shaping the destiny of a nation. These masters, within their respective social and cultured back ground, very carefully sow the seeds of wisdoms in the mind of children to nourish them with their experience, and Herculean efforts. They tried to make the maturation as youths not only a biological but also an intellectual, emotional, imaginative and spiritual one and above all blessed them with a vision for the future. The whole exercise was based on mutual trust and respect; those who showed the way were sincere and those who followed were trustworthy. During the second half of the nineteenth and earlier half of the twentieth century, the current of freedom struggle swept the entire energy of Indian youths. When Swami Vivekananda proclaimed to the entire world the richness of Indian culture, Young Turks like Bhagat Singh and Udham Singh showed the bravery of Indian youths. Inspired by the modem education, many of them had participated in social reform movements to fight against the inequalities and superstitions. When the euphoria of the independence subsided, a great void of uncertainty encompassed the entire subcontinent about the future strategies. Till then the entire energy was channeled to regain the independence, but when the long cherished goal was achieved, the entire momentum had to be transformed to pursue a hitherto unknown path. The failure of the Indian intelligentsia in substituting this zeal for freedom with a national vision contributed a lot to this feeling of uncertainty. Many of the British policies were continued as such and most important among them that had contributed to this cultural setback was the irrational continuance of the education policy. Though the Western education had its own advantages of exposing Indians to unknown culture and newer developments in the world, the method of its application was in such a way, as Lord Macaulay himself had professed, so as to create a class of persons—Indians in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect. Merits of Indian culture were given only passing references and the demerits, if any, were coloured with utmost exaggeration. Thus the native scenario faced by the youths had much to make them ashamed. Though the sixties and seventies witnessed hectic political activities in the institutional campuses with energetic participation of youths, this political influence also waned away in course of time and youths today even hesitate to cast their votes. Now, at the dawn of a New Millennium, with our burgeoning population crossing the one billion mark, the present day culture of the younger generation is worth analysing. In contrast to the monolithic viewpoint in the pre-independence era, youths today represented diversified ideas. Some of them nourish great values and ideals and an concerned about themselves and the society. But most of them are over ambitious and confused. They lack a vision for the future and are driven by momentary pleasures and passions. Though all the aspects of the problem are interrelated and a clear-cut demarcation is not so easy, some of the characteristics of the present day youth culture are salient. A country with a borrowed culture or one which has sold her culture has no right to exist. Pro/. K.N. Panicke Human life flourishes only when the individuals rise above their selfish and sectarian interests and discharge their duties as integral units of the society. But the youths today critically lack this social consciousness and have become increasingly selfish. They have compromised a lot on value like honesty, hard work, honouring the family and its traditions and morality. They do not cherish a national vision and are unaware about the true values of their tradition, culture, history and religion. This has made them puppets in the hands of politicians and pseudo-religious leaders who suitably rewrote those values for their selfish motives. But the most important pitfall of this lack of self awareness was the substitution of their culture with the Western one. Hence, this borrowed vision and culture have become the guiding principles of the present day younger generation.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 16:42:20 +0000
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