By Sanjay Krishnan and Harsh Agarwal
Edited by Anandita Malhotra, Senior Editor, The Indian Economist
Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die.
-Herbert Hoover
The surpassing clouds of dictatorship and brutality, the canons of blood and tears are being driven by the power packet YOUTH. The young generation had bravely come up to deal with this menace. It is a clear observation around the globe about sense of discontent, urgency and impatience among the youths everywhere. Recent youth participation in protests and movements have brought a significant revolution in administration and political views.
Hong Kong, a colonial territory under British rule till 1997 and since then under Chinese rule wants more autonomy. Can you imagine an 18-yr old suffering from dyslexia is leading the protests? Yes, 18-yr old Joshua Wong is one of the most prominent faces of these protests. Nobody ever imagined that what started off as a mere class boycott could lead into a massive pro-democracy protest. Introducing the new protest symbol a visible-Mobile flashlight. An innovative and young idea, settling down candle march protest, these mobile flashlights are used asMASHALS.
To defend tear gas shells, umbrella was used as protection. Thus brought up-The Umbrella Revolution!!!
The students defied their parents advice and joined the protests by their own conscience.
Taking our focus to middle-east, each one of us is now familiar with ISIS. Gone are the days when uneducated youths were recruited as Jihadis from mainland Islamic countries. But what has changed all of a sudden? Why more and more people from developed countries like US, UK, France, Germany, Australia and Japan want to join as jihadists and fight for an Islamic State. There has been a range of motivations, a sense of adventure, a misplaced sense of duty and idealism. While only some of the recruited are well-versed in ideology and the politics of their radical cause, a majority of them are ignorant about the purpose. Even in country like India, when two engineering students in their early twenties from Maharashtra, both belonging to family of doctors disappeared and nobody in their wildest dreams could have ever imagined them fighting for a cause thousands of miles away joining ISIS and having death as the only end. According to their parents, they were not fanatics, not even religious. So what ignited their emotions and passions all of a sudden?
In the last week of September, something unusual happened in Kolkata. When the students of JU sought help regarding injustice meted out to them, the entire student body from all schools and colleges came together as a single force to protest against the atrocities of the administration. More than 50,000 students from all over Kolkata gathered to join a rally which is unprecedented in Kolkata’s history ever. That’s the power of youth, you give the clarion call, they will assemble as soldiers of change!!!
At Madison Square Garden in USA, Narendra Modi proudly claimed that more than 65% population is less than 35 yrs of age. Somewhere down the line, he knows that if he fails to engage these 65% in some productive work for development of our country, India can be seen as sitting on a potential time bomb waiting to explode! The bugle of change to better has been blown, and now we need to set our chariots to do something. The thirsty world is demanding for a chalice of peace, brotherhood, equality, awareness. Youth has power to do much we can just imagine. The only need is individual participation. Wake up and make this world A PERFECT PLACE TO LIVE IN.