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Voices of GEN-X
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For every Westward bound youngster, there is at least one other who is keen to stay back. Despite what many believe, their main focus in life is not fashion, Net-chatting or pub-hopping. They are the voices of tomorrow bringing in hope and cheer to the country on the eve of Independence Day, finds out USHA RAMAN.
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GEN-X, the "Me-Generation", the "MTV Generation", Children of the Info-Age. Call them what you will, but there's no getting away from the fact that the future - and indeed, a good deal of the present - belongs to them. The ageing politicians might lay down policies and laws; greying executives might shape the business agenda, but it will be up to this generation to develop or destroy that structure. Their ideas, their preferences, are already driving many fields of enterprise, from mass media to fashion to food and the leisure industry. They're a market that is feted, wooed, and won over but they also represent a formidable productive force in the making. They are tomorrow's thinkers, teachers, farmers, engineers, doctors, lawyers, and parents. They form the fabric of a new India. Their ideas, dreams and convictions will dye the warp and weft of that fabric.
Nookaraju
"I believe that the future belongs to India and youth," says Lakshmikanth, a student at Hyderabad Central University. "In the fast-changing scene of world politics, India has a key role to play-we're at a crucial period in history, and we need young minds to meet the challenges of the day." Despite the pessimism of the daily news, the corruption, the unemployment, the pollution, the communalism, the hunger, the floods and drought, young people like Lakshmikanth are positive about the country's future. They feel that there's a lot of hope, that things can only get better, and, best of all, that they can make the difference. "Except in politics, in almost all fields the youth will take the reins of the future," says Nookaraju, an MA student at Hyderabad Central University. Divya Amarnath, who has just entered engineering college and hopes to ultimately go into architecture, feels "very positive about the future." She says, "there's a lot of development, and a lot of job opportunities - I think things are looking good for the country." Pranav Reddy, a 22-year-old graduate of IIIT, who works with a multinational software company, says, "I think India has an extremely bright future. For instance, after September 11, a lot of factors came into play, some of which have benefited the country. The outflow of people has somewhat decreased, and in a sense, the brains have stayed in the country." We are past the downturn and have survived it, and now there's a lot of promise, he feels.
"We are more competitive, many young people are willing to take risks and start their own businesses, and many of us believe that there's a good chance we will succeed," he adds.
"I would say [the future] would definitely mean more opportunities in terms of career, better pay packages. Those who sell themselves well will get better returns," says Vailarose Pereira, a student of communication at Central University. She is however "sceptical about governance and civic amenities--these would get worse perhaps--at least for urbanites like myself."
From Left: Pranav Reddy, Lavanya, Swathi and Divya.
Aditya, another Central University student, believes that the influx of transnational companies is a good thing for the country, "new openings in IT-enabled services, biotech and the availability of technically skilled man power and other resources will definitely improve our prospects further." The will-and opportunity--to succeed and make good is not restricted to the IT sector, thinks Lakshmikanth. "In general, persons of my generation are more conscious about doing well in their careers-for instance, people of my parents' generation probably first thought about getting married and settling down but my friends and I think first about establishing ourselves as professionals before thinking about settling down." Swathi, who also plans to enter architecture college soon, attributes the changed mindset to the "greater exposure" her generation has, in terms of information about the world in general. "Many of us have more open-minded parents, who are willing to discuss issues with us," she says. This, she feels, has made many educated, urban teenagers more conscious of the choices they make.
Lavanya, who is preparing to go abroad to enter a doctoral programme in social work, believes that her generation "is much more prudent" about the choices they make. "We think carefully about what we do, and are prepared to face the consequences of our actions - that's how we interpret freedom," she says. Pragmatism seems to be a theme that comes across very strongly in conversations with these eighteen-to-twenty somethings. While they may not be into the protest mode of the Sixties and Seventies, they know what they want, and are determined to follow a well-considered path to get it. And despite what the `youth-oriented' glossies would have us believe, their main focus in life is not fashion, Net-chatting or pub-hopping. Working hard and playing hard is the thing, and, as Lakshmikanth says, "many of those who party are those who have been working hard the other six days of the week." Vailarose feels that the "21st century Indian generation is always looking ahead of their present." She continues, "we are innovative, open for competition, very ambitious and perseverance is our trademark. And like all other young adults in today's world, we're concerned about having a better tomorrow." However, Aditya is somewhat cynical about the level of social consciousness among his peers: "They seem to be more concerned about their own lives than about issues related to society - they have no reactions and responses for things that don't concern their own lives." Swathi agrees, to some extent, "that's true - many of my classmates in Intermediate were focused only on studies, they were not really interested in the issues of the country or anything else." Nookaraju echoes this: "To most people of my generation life is like a second-hand gadget," and consequently, he feels, they treat it with little respect.
Lakshmikanth, however, insists that his generation has struck a `perfect balance' between different areas of activity, that there is a high level of social awareness and commitment among many young people. He finds that many of his friends are actively questioning the system and its ills, and trying to do their bit to resist the corruption, for instance.
Lakshmikanth
There is a higher level of volunteerism, for instance, among educated young people these days. Even as students, there are many who look for ways in which they can get meaningfully involved in projects for social change. Whether it is by contributing a few hours a week at the local spastics society, or making audiotapes for the visually impaired, or working with community initiatives for the environment or peace, they find ways to be involved. For every Westward bound youngster bent on striking it rich in the United States or Australia, there is at least one other who is keen to stay back and be an entrepreneur on home ground, or work with a socially relevant project. For every teenager whose icon is Bill Gates, there are others who look to Sanjay Pandey, Medha Patkar or P. Sainath as role models.
And whether they see themselves as social activists or future czars of the economy, they have their own set of dreams for the country. In a globalised world, does a national identity still mean anything to these young people who are so keen to "become a part of the global economy?" "Yes, of course," says Lavanya, "we have to work to create a stronger sense of national identity, in our schools, right from young children, and this identity is tied to our long heritage of spiritualism." "I'd like to see a decrease in the levels of hatred among different communities," says Lakshmikanth. "Maybe this can happen only if there is more dialogue and discussion right from the school level." "I think we'll do well - globalisation will not harm our sense of national identity, or our culture - our culture has survived through the years, and we'll be able to take the good in it with us to the future," says Pranav.
"I'd like to see an India where there is no violence, where problems like dowry, poverty, and overpopulation have disappeared," says Swathi. And Vailarose would "love to see uniform economic development occurring in all the different regions of our country - but all this calls for so much responsibility on our part".
There's a lot in society today to make the young angry and frustrated, so to see that hope lives -and along with it, some amount of determination - is encouraging, on this eve of the anniversary of our Independence. And what does the day itself mean to them? Gandhi and the others are too far back in the past to matter too much today, even though to some, like Pranav, "the thought of independence means a lot." Swathi laughs, "well, really, it's just another national holiday." It's a generation that certainly doesn't have time to dwell on the past and its meaning. Their mind is focused on what they need to do today, and perhaps, on where that can take them - and their country--tomorrow.
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