Hisham Barbhuiya for Hyderabad Youth Mirror #
The youth or naujawan are often referred to as the future of a nation, and ours is not an exception. It is for this reason that we have been instructed right from our childhood days, through our moral science classes as well as Bollywood movies such as ‘Roja’ and ‘Indian’, on how to make India a better and inclusive nation for all.
However, it has been observed in the last decade or so that terms such as ‘bachchey’ (kids) and nadaan (innocent) have been used more and more in order to describe youngsters, thereby giving them a sort of impunity in whatever they do – be it in the field of education or perversions.
These youngsters under the garb of ‘immaturity’ turn into an irresponsible lot, who feel that there is no need to be focused on any aspect of life, as this can be worked upon as soon as a job is secured or during the initiation of conjugal life.
Just as a river does not appear all of a sudden, out of the blue, but follows a pattern in – a source, flowing down highlands and then meeting the sea – so is a human life designed to go by a pattern. This concept may sound hollow to those who may argue saying, ‘we are humans and not trees, stones or animals’. Such folks need to be reminded that human beings are a part of nature and not the other way round as in the nature is a subject to our wishes and fancies.
There is a lot we can learn from our surroundings. Compassion The very first virtue which is needed for the successful functioning of any society is compassion. As youth, an individual gets numerous opportunities to interact with members of ‘other’ communities.
Thus this is the time, when almost every individual feels the universalism of existence via sharing of lunch boxes at school, helping each other out in academics at college, building the sense of cohesion via parties and picnics.
It is important for parents and elders as well to encourage such outing activities with the idea of building a strong pluralistic society. It is in such situations that the ‘others’ have the same interests, concerns and feelings for a wide range of issues – enough to unite us as a nation.
Owning Up
Responsibility comes with maturity. It has been noticed that time and again, children have proven themselves to be much wiser than elders when it comes to divisive issues put in place by the greedy sections of the society.
Even as adolescents in college, most youngsters realize what the truth is. However, they begin their slow yet gradual transition towards biased ideas at this stage owing to influences from parents and the society at large.
Perhaps the moral science lessons would never have been better suited other than these situations. If one is wise enough to differentiate the right from wrong (well many do), the nation at large would have been a better place to live in.
Keeping Perversions at Bay
Sadly enough, pornography is booming all over the world and no community is safe from it. Supporters often claim that such explicit materials are necessary in order to learn and prepare for the future. This in turn paves the way for violent crimes which plague our society.
A devout relative of mine I guess gave a befitting reply to this thought with these words, “Even a dog reproduces and learns out of natural instinct. That doesn’t mean he watches porn”. We should bear this in our minds that supply increases when the demand does.
It is high time that as individuals we take steps to reform the society peacefully and help innocents and the misguided from falling prey to evil ways. There are certain posters in cities such as Hyderabad which appeal youngsters to refrain from pornography as it is detrimental to one’s morals and health as well. Herein, a more vehement and logical form of oratory is needed in order to curb such a menace, as the nature of this deed is such.
Proselytizing
The idea of proselytizing, or preaching, is often looked down upon by cool dudes and dudettes as something boring and pakaaoo. However, if one were to embark on a small introspection, even if for five minutes, we should all ask ourselves, ‘Would I allow this to go on with my loved one?’ The answer provided by our conscience and inner voice will hold the key. If we do not go on to share and convey this to the ones who need it, we can assume ourselves to be plain ‘selfish’.
It is indeed not so difficult to make the world a better place to live in. All it takes is efforts coupled with concrete actions. There are bright spots in the society as well which force adamant parents to shed their biased racism when children intermarry. Such examples can be remodeled and worked upon by youths for the overall good.
[The author is a Content Writer, working for a company in Bangalore.]