There is a lot that is broken about present-day India. It perhaps is not politically correct to say so any more, and we live in a time when slogans are supposed to fix problems that have their roots in history and economics. But to quote the hit song ‘Bad Blood’, however, “Band-aids don’t fix bullet holes.”
Unfortunately, recognising that there is a problem is a lot easier than actually fixing them. Most overweight people are aware of their problem, but taking the step to exercise and reduce that fat is another matter altogether. For a country of the size and population of India, fixing the problems can require intervention on an unprecedented scale.
The youth of India are very vocal about recognising that the country is not perfect. On Social media and in college canteens they are able to wax eloquent on the problems they face. Reservation, the failing transportation system, pollution, climate change, religious tensions and media bias, all are subjects of discussion and debate.
For all that, though, discussion and debate is where it ends for most. Few young people have the courage to try and fix a system even though they realise it is failing.
This is where the Youth of India needs to step and acknowledge that it is they who will inherit this country, problems and all, and therefore it is up to them to try and fix it.
The answer to reservation is in working to improve the primary educational levels of the underprivileged to the point where they no longer require a concession at the graduate and post-graduate level. The only way to solve the problem of an overly-commercialised and biased media is for the young people who work in that industry or aspire to do so, to take a principled stand and try to change it from within. Leaving the problems of the country to the politicians to solve is a little like hoping that tiger-poachers will solve the problem of the dwindling population of tigers in our country.
No, as we have mentioned in other articles on this very platform, one cannot fix the problems of India merely by pontificating about them. Outrage on social media has limited use, changing one’s profile picture to show ‘solidarity’ even less.
This answer, then, must be to get involved. Start a school. Write to your legislator raising the concerns you have. Join the Indian Forest Service. Take a job in a sector which you feel needs change. Make a statement on public platforms like ours, affirming your belief in the equality of all humans. Join politics if you feel strongly enough, but do so for your ideals, not to pass time or gain prestige.
And in whatever you do, remember that fixing problems takes more time than it does to solve a problem in your exams. Our rote-learning education system (another of the things that needs to be fixed) has made us too accustomed to trotting out formulaic answers to every question. The problems that really affect the quality of our lives are social or economic, and have no easy fix. So be persistent. For the youth of this country, far too used to quick fix solutions, the key shall be persistence and determination.
So yes, the youth should look to fix the country’s problems, not just by talking about them, but by acting with tenacity and resolve to craft solutions and implement them.
