-By Atharv Joshi
If you have arrived here, thanks to the clicks and taps on your device and are reading this piece on TEDx ILS Law’s blog, you are someone who certainly cares about ideas. This blog is full of them. Let me tell you my idea.
I am a young Indian living at the start of the third decade of the 21st century. In 30 years, our generation will be leading the nation. But India and the Indian state of affairs are not in the condition that anyone from my generation or I would have wanted them to be. We (my generation and I) have inherited systemic problems such as corruption, poverty, pollution, inaccessible education, lack of infrastructure so on and so forth. In addition, we are creating new ones such as social media addiction, confusion, drug addiction and many more. But I'm not writing simply to rant. I want to advocate how we can come up with solutions for it.
Standing in the United States Congress in 1985, the then Prime Minister of India, Rajeev Gandhi had aptly summed up the mood of young Indians today:
“India is an old country but a young nation. And like the young everywhere, we are impatient. I am young and I too have a dream. I dream of an India that is strong, independent and self-reliant….”
As a nation, we are entering a very exciting era of upheaval and disruption, strapped with the currency of youth. Many developed nations such as Japan and Germany are staring at a bleak future thanks to their aging population. Today almost 50% Indians are between the ages of 15 and 44 years. This human resource is invaluable.
We must recognize this national asset; which is us. What we do today will define the course of our national and personal life for the next 50 years. Swami Vivekananda very famously said:
“Give me 100 energetic youth and I will transform India.”
Our generation is packed with talent and immense potential. For an individual who is truly ready, sky is the limit! Therefore, we must keep in mind, that crossing the threshold of worldly success will neither be difficult nor time consuming. Of course it is needed. But it’s not the only thing that’s needed!
Tweaking the famous dialogue from the film Deewar, let it not be you asking yourself years down the line, “Aaj mere paas building hai, property hai, bank balance hai, bangla hai, gaadi hai…. Par iske alawa kuch hai mere paas?”
I believe, it is the unwritten duty of every young person to ask themselves “What are my priorities?” An honest introspection is needed to answer this question. We need to find our calling.
If all of us do what we love and care about, we will change the future of our country and solve the many problems that plague it.
Being a youngster myself, I know that somewhere in a dark dingy corner of our minds, we ask this question. But the din inside and around our heads seldom allows us to hear the answer.
Dear reader, I implore you to ask this question to yourself and keep asking it until you get an honest answer. If you don’t find any, seek help from the wise and seniors of today. It works!
ABOUT ATHARV.
Post graduation, Atharv aims to teach law and contribute in his small step and measure to create a better breed of lawyers. Through his thought forum 'India@2050', he seeks to raise good awareness for himself and his generation.