The youth of India, the heirs-apparent of this vast and diverse nation, have contributed effectively towards the process of economic development and social transformation. They are the people full of energy, high ambitions and amazing abilities.
Today, in the twenty-first century, they promise to transform their nation (and the world) with their new thoughts, actions and passions. Let us take a look into their exclusive den that has myriads of shocks and thunderclaps in store for us.
A young person is restless, keen to learn, willing to try new flavours of life and finally, aggressive in behaviour. These four characteristics lead to the creation of a cocoon around the individual.
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Young people are gregarious. They interact with other boys and girls who are of their own age groups. Their cocoons interact with one another. After some conflicts and adjustments, a few young people from their cliques, gangs or groups which have a common culture.
This happens only when their cocoons are able to accommodate those of others and all these cocoons are in perfect tuning with one another.
Thus, the similar types of cocoons lead to distinct culture of each clique. It has its own norms; if a member of the group breaks these norms, he is either punished or is thrown out of the group. These distinct groups in every city, locality or region form larger groups or associations.
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These associations which may or may not have official support are able to create a distinct culture which is the sum total of the cultural influences of all the groups that form these associations. So, youth develop a distinctive and quite strange culture. It is different from the cultural norms of the society.
Such a culture has many good traits such as hard work, dedication, zeal to achieve coveted goals, career-building, adventurous spirit, physical fitness, etc.
This culture also contains some bad features such as drug addiction, violence, sex, eve-teasing, casual approach towards life and career, lack of direction, fickle-mindedness, inability to achieve concrete results in academics or in a job, strained relationship with parents and siblings and finally, working or enjoying under the Western influences, etc.
Those youths who are treading the right path deserve our praise. They make their parents proud. They also excel in academics and bring honour to the society or the nation in which they work or study.
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On the other hand, we cannot blame those youths who are treading the wrong paths. They are misguided individuals. Their teachers, parents and friends are squarely responsible for their moral decay which invariably leads to hampering personality development.
Thus, these young boys and girls become mental and physical wrecks. They must be brought on the right tracks so that they may be able to contribute effectively towards the growth of their families, society and nation.
However, it is easier said than done. We cannot dissuade the young damsels and dudes from dancing in the pubs and discotheques. Also, we cannot force them to quit their addiction to drugs.
If we use coercive measures they are likely to retaliate in violent manner. They can only be rectified through proper education and training. We should also create meaningful employment opportunities for them.
The prevailing culture of our youths supports the Western norms. They should be apprised of the benefits of our own cultural values and ethics. We should not try to eliminate the Western thoughts from their minds if these thoughts can help them grow mentally and economically.
Many young boys and girls are going abroad for studying and taking up jobs. Many of them are successful entrepreneurs, engineers, managers, doctors and programmers.
After all, these are the positive effects of the Western culture as well. The youth should be motivated to imbibe mores and values of Indian culture. However, they must not become slaves of the Western culture.
The negative characteristics of our youth culture are violence, sex and drug addiction.
Together these can destroy the bedrock of the great edifice that we know as Yuva Shakti. Lack of proper guidance and indulgence in the so-called pleasures of life has made them weak and prone to maladies of serious kind.
We may thus conclude that the present youth culture is doing more harm than good to our young men and women. In spite of possessing abilities, energy and zeal, most of them are treading the wrong paths.
These youths are the future of our nation and they have to shoulder major responsibilities in the future. Therefore, they must be trained, taught and persuaded to develop a “youth milieu”, which should enable them to become productive. Now- a-days the young minds think of destruction first and try to create at a later stage.
This attitude must be given a U-turn. Teachers, politicians and parents must help them to come out of the quagmire of crisis they are in. Vocational/educational courses would have to be made job-oriented so that after the completion of their education they may find a suitable for themselves.
Education would have to be given a punch so that the youths are able to develop themselves on pragmatic lines.
Negative Western influences will have to be eschewed. Family norms would have to be inculcated in the young siblings. Cultural festivals, highlighting Indian values would have to be organised throughout the nation. Our youths would have to be exposed to the beauty and richness of literature, sculpture, music, fashion design, dances and other fine arts.
During the training and education periods, materialism would have to be underscored. In order to lead our nation to new heights of moral and spiritual glory, the youth of India should realise the flaws in the culture developed in their own limited cocoons.