YOUNGER AGE-GROUP
An age full of vitality
An age full of agility
An age wherein you’re constrained to be careful
In knowing that you’re internally resourceful.
Our efforts ought to be to tap those resources
And make it an add-on to already acquired knowledge
And not to let this internal invaluable treasure
Unnecessarily to be leaked and frittered
By keeping a check on tendencies most puerile
Like seeking reasonable information
With a unstinted mission
That whilst at younger age
You’ve to have hunger for knowledge
From any sources you find accessible
From your educator or your fellow student
In formal lessons based on proper syllabi
Or thru informal debates and discussions amongst fellow beings
Experience your daily lessons practically
Soaking yourself in the sea of knowledge – completely
Whilst doing so many difficulties will be experienced
Surmount those complexities with mind most determined
With thinking that nobody will give you on platter anything
You’ll have to put in your best efforts what you want getting.
Educators ought to chip in whenever required
To drive out from within the young minds which is required to be explored
Sometimes with love and other times with a little rebuke
Lest these impressionable minds do not get disillusioned
By the immoral elements most detestable
And colour them in myopic vision so undesirable
God help draw out the potentials that is dormant in your young minds, so vibrant
So that they weather the storms of life with elegance & resilience.
ON OUR YOUNGMEN IN OUR COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES
Youth is the period between childhood and adulthood when one is mature enough to distinguish between good and bad besides a period when one has vigor to take on life’s various activities with optimism. There is no specific age or fixed age – but it is generally taken from 15 – 25 – 30 years even from certain regions. It is also an undisputed fact that at this stage, the individual is dependent on others for meeting his/her needs (financial security etc), the need is that he/she has to take into cognizance the various limitations. The individual youngman has immense untapped energy but this energy has to be tapped suitably. Here culture of different youth and family background; economical and emotional maturity too plays a stellar role. When one is young – neither childhood nor adulthood rather in between. It is a fact that the energies of our youths should be directed for nation building and not frittered away. Here how best to exploit the energies of our youth in relation to JNU is moot point.
ENERGIES IN OUR YOUTH
Our coming generations should always keep in mind that their main stress should be academic excellence and channelized their energies to get knowledge and not get influenced or embroiled in unnecessary controversies thus spoiling their potentialities and energies including their most precious time thus adversely impacting their academic pursuits. While studying, there should be healthy debates on variety of subjects including political environments in the country or what is happening around the globe and impact that happening will have on us all; but these debates should be within the confines of freedom of speech and fair-play. What happened in JNU s a case in point?
FREEDOM OF SPEECH & YOUTH
Freedom of speech and expression is sacrosanct till such time it is within the confines of our constitutional rights not unfettered. Frequent workshops, discussions, dialogues etc on variety of subjects including spiritual related topics should be there; where eminent personages in varieties of disciplines, of repute should be invited to the universities so that each young student gets motivated /inspired in creating something unique for themselves and for the nation as a whole.
ROLE OF OUR TEACHING FACULTY
Our teaching faculty should help create conductive atmosphere in their campuses so that all round development of the personality of students occurs because these young people are the futures of any country and if they fall prey to unwholesome influences then consequences would be disasterous. These universities should not be merely for churning out degrees but providing leaders for tomorrow who contribute their mite for the country and not create disruptions in the Parliament, future scientists, future doctors, future technocrats, future academics, future multi-disciplinary personages who could contribute for the nationally and also to the internationally because today due to fast communication the world has become like a global village. This is only possible when breeding grounds are fertile for producing these future great-minds.
Our youth are the important constituents of any society. It is a period between childhood and adulthood when a person is mature enough to discriminate and distinguish between what is right and wrong but it is also a travesty of fact that during the course of this period one is swayed and become a subject of exploitation by the vested interests. There is no laid down age group between which the period for youth is stipulated. They are the foundation of any country and if their basic education is not upto the mark then it will surely lead the concerned country to its doom.
Over the years, the students are involving in politics more than they are spending their energies in studies. This is not to say that they should not take part in politics but what should be the limit of their participation. Actually the political parties have a motive, they want to prepare a second line of leadership to take over. Different political parties have students associations affiliated to their respective parties and in order to capture hierarchy of posts such as President, Secretary etc of Student Wing of their parties they spend a huge amount of money too on electioneering.
POLITICKING & STUDENTS
Only politics and no studies will make the students more intrusive in politicying than inquisitive in getting knowledge in the streams they are studying. What happened in Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jadavpur University in West Bengal wherein the students crossed all limits of decency and freedom that they raised anti national slogans not to speak of this, the students espoused the cause of breaking the country; thus worked against the interests of the country.
Sit is also indisputable that the youth of the nation should be aware of the happenings not only within the country but also round the globe yet in their pursuite to get knowledge they should not exceed their limit of crossing the limit. On the pretext of exercising the freedom of speech and expression, the students in their youthful passion just blur their freedom; when they have transgressed and crossed the limit is no known to them.
Offshoot of negative politicking bordering or crossing all limits of decency and sometimes against the very spirit and foundation of the nation is really uncalled for. It is also relevant to point out that young people should have outlets for expressing themselves on variety of subjects, including of course, the subjects which a few years back were considerd as taboo and the faculty members should intervene whenever there is any transgression which may snowball into controversy.
As the young men are not able to understand the exact agenda of different parties and become handy cogs in the hands of political bosses. The cross-currents of politics enguls the young minds and puts them in dire straits from where they find themselves difficult to extricate.
PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITIES BY THE STUDENTS
The youth should participate in the debates, discussions, symposium, workshops and listen to different viewpoints on myriads of subjects under the sun but under the ambit of their constitutional obligations whilst holding allegiance to a particular party. For instance Student Union (SU) holding allegiance to moiest ideology will advocate will toe the line of their causes of breaking the country as they are doing now in different states of the union. Furthermore, various SUs, with different philosophies occasionally fight their battles in the University Campuses itself spoiling the atmospherics of the school and in the process bring bad name for the university itself subsequently embroiling the entire universty in unnecesary controversies. The anti national and anti social elements or people working enemical to the naional interests play their role in stoking the fires thus creating untenable situation in the universities.
TEACHING FACULTY AND YOUNG STUDENTS
The teachers of any institution are the torchbearers of any educational institutions. Teachers should command respect from the younger students. They should offer healthy criticism whenever required at the same time when appreciation is required to be given they should be very profuse in that.
Relationship between teachers – young students should be based on mutual trust and respect but at the same time the teachers should keep themselves apolitical – nationalistic to the core, leading by example command admiration. Teachers should never forget that they are conscious-keeper of the youngmen under their care and thus they should bring forth qualitative change in the characters of the students. The teaching community should also keep a tab of the outside elements entering the campus with their vested interests and agendas and interacting with the students and leaving a negative influence on their opinion and creating indiscipline including law and order situations in the campuses. It has also been observed that the Union leaders behave arrogantly and thus setting a bad example for the other students thus polluting the academic atmosphere in the entire university.
TRADITIONAL VALUES
Those young-men who are brought up with traditional values act in a manner which they should remain disciplined, exert to educational pursuits, take part in games and sports to keep fit, take part in debates & discussions on variety of subjects including our course discussions impinging on national and international concerns. But care ought to be exercised that discussions and debates should not exceed the limit of ethical values, moralistic values and even freedom of speech.
The consequences of politicking and self serving teaching faculty which impact the younger generation are:-
- Increasing politicizing our campuses leads to polluting our young men impacting not only the academic performance but also their career prospects.
Too much of politics and less of academics makes the students to forget their objective of getting knowledge from the course of studies rather than losing oneself in the din of controversies.
Too much of freedom in our campuses helps the anti social and anti national elements to not only make entry but also leaving a negative imprint on the young impressionable minds.
Not caring for the rules and regulations by the students leads to indiscipline in the campuses thus our campuses become breeding grounds for anti social and anti national activities.
Awareness is important constituent for any discipline to be followed in life but how to enhance this awareness about the condition in the country, in the world at large etc.
It is time when one has huge reserve of energy, but this energy has to be directed in right direction – in art, science, as per the aptitude to which that youth is having, not pressurized, not thrown in any direction,
Mind control. Young students should always keep in mind that unbridled ‘mind’ is essentially dangerous for their all round development. For this they should try learning everything and practicing good Karma for ultimate good with the belief in ‘cause and effect’.
Patriotism. Young people should always be taught about loving their country of their birth and afterwards loving all humans when they raise themselves above narrow ends.
Responsibilities of the teaching faculty. The teachers should educate in such a way that besides academics, the traits of being humane, benevolence/compassion, good deeds including shunning those who poisons the mentality of the young minds.
Finally Young people should keep in mind. ‘Whatever happened was good, whatever is happening is good and what all will happen in the future will be good’ and act accordingly.
INNER THOUGHTS 