Youth Unrest in India | UPSC Mains Essay Preparation PDF Download

Youth Unrest in India

Youth is characterised by raw vigour, contagious enthusiasm, a burning idealism, great expectations of the future and above all a boundless amount of energy, if these attributes and energy are not channelised in the right direction and if aspirations of the adolescent mind are not understood by society then the social fabric will be subjected to immense strain by the unbridled power of youth. Such a phenomenon is called youth unrest and it is assuming alarming proportions in developing countries.

In India youth unrest is primarily an urban phenomenon. Youth unrest seems to have a significant association with the tempo of social change and modernization and since this ‘tempo’ is concentrated in urban areas or at any rate it is much higher here as compared to rural areas therefore youth unrest has confined itself largely to urban locales. Moreover it is said that young age bypasses rural areas therefore the question of rural youth being restive does not arise. The exigencies of agrarian existence and the perils of poverty ensure that the child gets sucked into the rigmorale of supplementing the family income as soon as possible.The child is thus transformed into an adult without experiencing youth or even a complete childhood for that matter. One might argue that the same is true for urban poor too. Moreover, it is the educated section of youth which hails mainly from middle-class that is prone to unrest. Therefore when we refer to youth unrest we mainly refer to the educated urban middle class youth. Of course a section of disgruntled poor, urban and rural youth may also be linked to this phenomena but their reasons are different.

The causal categories of youth unrest in India can be looked at in two dimensions, youth unrest caused by the ever widening inter-generational gap and student unrest precipitated by political instigation.

Every society faces a situation in which the values, normative systems and the mode of living of one generation are pitted against the corresponding newer strands espoused by the next generation. This juxtaposition has always brought about a change over a period of time. However, this conflict between young and old is particularly acute in the contemporary ‘developing world’ countries like India. The roots of the Indian urge to develop and modernize can be traced back to Western contact. Historically, this was a contact between a pre-modern and a modernizing structural and cultural system.

In a way our endeavour to bring our level of existence at par with that of the West was a sort of a short cut. We tried to compress centuries of developments in the West into the life-span of an individual here. As the value and normative systems of older generations are already coalesced the compulsions of modernity are much more on the part of the youth. The pace of modernization and the flux in social systems causes every youngster to experience tumultuous personal and social tensions. For example, at the personal interaction level there is a conflict of perceptions; the younger generation tends to anticipate response according to modern structures of social  

interaction while the older generations still tend to establish relations based on familial, kinship and jati traditions.

Thus, the conflict situation that is being faced in the form of youth unrest and inter-generational gap is the result of social change and the forces of modernization which have been unleashed and are gaining in power with the passage of time. Though,as already mentioned, differences between generations are natural and they symbolise the ever-moving cycle of time and progress; yet inter-generational gaps were markedly minor in the historical evolution of the traditional lndian society. The traditional Indian society had a system of a ‘built-in mechanism’ to dilute the divide between generations,

The systems of social structure and tradition cover the entire gamut of the Indian social phenomenon and its realities, The four stage ‘ashrama pranali’ was an important pillar of our tradition which ensured the gradual movement of a generation from one stage to another thereby minimising the scope for clash and conflict. Traditionally, we have had a largely joint family system in India. In the joint family, the head enjoys unquestioned authority over the affairs of the members. The earnings of members are pooled together and spent by the head in the best interests of the family. Thus, the joint family system provided social security and a minimum basic subsistence to all its members and therefore a continuity of perception over generations.

Indian economy was predominantly agricultural and occupations were hereditary. Common occupation over generations engendered a common outlook over family members. Our rigid caste system, though reprehensible had a functional role too. By prescribing a way of life, it reduces the possibilities of individual deviation and also the chances of strain caused by differences within the family.

The traditional Indian value system went a long way in ensuring a relatively smooth relationship between generations. The Vedas and the Epics imbibed respect and reverence for parental authority.lndian value system helps the continuance of the joint family by minimizing speculation in matters of religious operative. Brahamanic Hinduism, especially, emphasises ritual correctness. The criterion for ritual correctness is to be found not in reason but in recourse to past practices. This decreases the possibility of differences among family members.

Thus, traditional Indian society prescribed all the important things like social status, occupation and inter-personal relationship for the individual. However, the traditional society was subjected to change, thereby sharpening the intergener-ational differences.

Inter-generational differences are becoming more and more pronounced because of an interplay of economic, historical, institutional and demographic factors.

Industrialization and urbanization are the most important economic factors. Industrialization brings a train of technological changes in agriculture, transport and communications and also changes in organisation of trade and finance. Industrialization leads to monetization and specialization. All these developments cause occupational differentials and differential vertical mobility within the same family. Simultaneously the process of urbanization accelerates the possibility of differentiation within the family because of its emphasis on individualistic philosophy of life.

Specialization, a sine qua non of industrialization, calls for increased and differential education which imbibes secular and in dividualistic ideas.

The onslaught of mass media and communication channels in India has imbibed the spirit of liberalism through mass education creating vestiges of a modern mass society. The youth of this modern mass society identify themselves with their counterparts all over the world and not with the older generation of the same country.

Historically, the policies, social institutions and spiritual-intellectual concerns of the British rule emphasised rationalism, liberalism, individualism and spiritual equality which were quite opposite to Indian beliefs. Moreover, the generational differences were unwittingly accentuated by our freedom struggle itself. The anti-colonial struggle evolved traditions of cohesive protest minded action and it became increasingly socially acceptable and fashionable to identify with the agitated youth rather than with  the elders trying to maintain discipline. Such traditions once established outlived their utility and the youth of today continue to identify the status quo as a depository of evil. When they revolt against their elders they essentially raise their heads against those who are holding positions of power and authority in the family and society at large.

There are differences in the bringing up and education of the older generation and younger generation. While the former attained education in the shadow of the British Raj in which they developed an attitude of subservience to authority (British rule) and respect of persons for their past services and sacrifices, the latter which grew in post independence India imbibed a spirit of defiance and judgement on present day achievement. The difference in orientation of generations is therefore galvanized by history.

Lastly, the scope for intergener-ational differences has waxed because of the widening span of life which in turn may be attributed to the expansion of medical-healthcare facilities and upgradation of civic amenities.

Thus the different mileu of upbringing and a flux in social order has engendered different value perceptions, between generations. Therefore youth unrest occasioned by  intergenerational differences is becoming more conspicuous.

  Student Unrest in India is a manifestation of the general phenomenon of youth unrest though it merits a separate treatment because of its certain distinct cogitative attributes, The problem of student unrest is partly socioeconomic as discussed earlier, partly academic and largely political as we shall presently see. But before we look at the academic and political causes of student unrest let us first look at the socioeconomic factors with special focus on student unrest. The earlier arguments of lnterge-nerational conflicts and alienation of youth do indeed contribute to student unrest but by far the most important socio-economic factor causing this problem is a sense of frustration in the minds of our young people arising from the bleak prospects of employment before them.

The academic environment in  India has been vitiated by a number of factors, increasing the desolation and desperation of students. There has been a general dilution of the standards of education and examinations with malpractices becoming an inseparable ingredient of both. Institutions of higher education have proliferated at an unhealthy pace and academic appointments have been made on consideration other than merit--mainly political considerations. As a result teachers are often not fit to teach--not to speak of motivating the student. Moreover some of them lack in integrity of character as well and as such they do not command the respect of students. On top of it, most of  our educational institutions are awfully short of library and laboratory facilities and the students concerned have no worthy reason to spend any time there. Naturally, things other than academic engage their mind.

The relationship between political considerations and the above state of affairs is not hard to establish. But politics directly forments student unrest too. A legacy of our pre-independence days is that political parties do not hesitate to exploit our students as pawns in their political games. It is not uncommon to find political parties which make regular payments to students--agents to brew up trouble. How else can we explain the phenomenon of middle-aged and much married ‘student’ leaders who remain registered in various faculties of a University for decades together? These ‘student’ leaders neither study themselves nor allow others to do so. Political parties work (through these agents) upon the noble impressionable young men and women and mislead them to carry on their nefarious activities.

A little amount of youth unrest (in all its manifestations) is not only unavoidable, because of the dynamism of youth and flux of social systems, but it is also necessary for turning the wheel of progress. However, this should not detract us from gearing our socio-economic and political institutions towards minimizing the disenchantment of youth if only to channelise their formidable power and minimise their suffering.