YOUTH IN CONTEMPORARY INDIA

USHA S. NAIDU

Every society builds hopes around its younger generation for inheriting and
perpetuating the values and traditions set by the society at a given point of time.
With this end in view youth are prepared for the tasks ahead. The provision for
their health, education, learning of skills are made so that they can get the em-
ployment and continue the social system at a higher level. This is also the process
by which the families and social groups transmit their social, cultural and religious
values to its younger generation.
In recent years the emphasis on youth participating in the social change and
contributing towards new society has grown. Hence, it is being advocated that
more opportunities should be provided to them so that they can make their con-
tribution in developing the country. It is felt that they should be given responsibi-
lity in political, economic, social and cultural spheres and be recognized as equal
partners for social change and nation building.
In this brief paper an attempt is made to analyse (i) how far the Indian youth
has been prepared for playing the future roles; (ii) in what way Indian youth have
been participating or may participate as contributors in bringing the social change
and development in India.
However, it needs to be pointed Out that there is considerable variation and
ambiguity in the use of the term "youth". Preceded by childhood on the one end
and old age on the other, "youth" seems to stand for the period prior to attain-
ment of full physical and mental maturity. But it is not always interpreted like
this. For example when one speaks of "youth" in relation to "youth problems"
one is thinking of an ill-defined age-period beginning with adolescence at the age
of 13 or 14 years and covers the age-group of post-graduate/professional college
or say, upto late 20's. As opposed to this in the domain of politics and statesman-
ship a person may be considered still "young" even though he has already cross-
ed his fiftieth year.
When youth is interpreted as a preparatory period for one's occupation or
job the duration of the term may vary according to the nature of trade one is
being trained for. For example in the traditional Indian context a Brahmin child
would require a relatively longer period of systematic preparation than the child
from the cultivator, business or the artisan castes. Similarly, the child from sca-
venging castes would require minimal preparation. In other words it is a relatively
flexible and ad hoc notion which assumes different durations in different contexts.
In the modern period members of the middle and upper class who seek entry to
white-collar occupations and learned professions have to undergo extended periods
of school, college and university education. Thus, they enter occupational life five
to ten years later than those who belong to lower strata and could not opt for
white collar jobs.
Similarly one could link the notion of youth with the various stages of life
as prescribed by one's religious scriptures/traditions, etc. For example, in the ter-
396 USHA S. NAIDU

minology of the traditional Indian society the period of "youth" is co-terminous

with the stage of Brahmacharya —at least for the Brahmin and Brahmanised
caste groups. This, notwithstanding the fact that the exact age at which the stage
of Brahmacharya begins is not fixed. Similarly the age at which this stage ends
is not clearly specified (Gore, 1977).
For women generally, it is the age of marriage and procreation which acts
as an important separator of the adult from the young status.
Hence in any society there is a variation in the nature and duration of "youth"
among the members of the group. But in India, one is particularly conscious of
the fact that depending upon sex, educational, occupational, caste, class and re-
gional characteristics the composition of the youth group changes.
For our purposes the term "youth" can be limited to age group 15-29 years.1
We are largely interested in discussing the role of youth in contemporary India.
For this purpose we view youth in India as a distinct social category which has
promise and potentiality for the future.
As mentioned earlier that society has to play dual role for its youth popula-
tion (i) to provide them opportunities to prepare themselves for the future roles
and (ii) to recognize their potentialities in involving them as contributors in deve-
lopmental activities of the nation, we shall discuss it in two parts. Part I provides
the profile of youth covering features salient to the preparation of youth for res-
ponsible adulthood. The situation analysis of Indian youth has been made in
three aspects viz., education, employment and health. Part II deals with the ques-
tion of youth's participation in developmental programmes pertaining to social
change and ameliorative activities.

PART I: Preparation of Youth

Education

As regards the literacy and education prevalent in the age group 15-29 years,
we find that only 44 per cent of the youth are literates. Moreover, 9 per cent of
them are matriculates while 1.9 per cent are graduates or have studied more.
Technical and non-technical diploma/certificate holders are less than one per cent.
Obviously, it does not present a bright picture as far as educational/technical train-
ing is concerned. If this group remains so poorly equipped, the development of
the country is likely to be adversely affected. More so when this is the group
which is required in technological development of the country.
The picture of female illiteracy and lack of training is far more disappoint-
ing as is clear from the fact that only 29 per cent of them are literates as compared
to 59 per cent male. Efforts have to be made in educating and training them for
future.

1. United Nations (1980) definition of "youth" as being in the 15 to 24 age range was dis-
cussed by the Expert Group and there in it was stressed, since in ESCAP region the pro-
blems and peculiarities of youth do not occur merely within that age range, consideration
should also be given to those who were in the age group 10 to 14 and the 25 to 29 age
range.
 YOUTH IN CONTEMPORARY INDIA 397

Employment

Looking at employment situation, it is estimated that during 1981, 99 mil-

lion youth (age group 15-29 years) were in the labour force. Out of which 70
million were male and 29 million were females. It is distressing that the unem-
ployment in the country is mainly among the youth population. According to the
National Sample Survey 1972 there was 5.65 per cent unemployment among the
age group 15-19 years, 4.20 per cent in the age group 20-24 and 1.70 per cent
in the age group 25-29 years. Another serious feature is that about 9 per cent
of educated unemployed are youth. It seems that the waiting period to get an
employment has increased over the past few years.
In the coming decade the youth confront a crisis, of economic uncertainty
and deprivation. They will neither find jobs easily nor enjoy the security of earlier
generations. This would be particularly true in the case of urban youth. As things
are not likely to improve, what is scarce now will become scarcer in the future.
We need to examine seriously how the youth unemployment can be reduced.
Unless, we make a conscious effort now, society will not advance towards industrial
and technological development.

Health

As the data pertaining to nutrition of youth are meagre the nutritional status
of youth is difficult to ascertain. One can only use some illustrative data. For
example, the body weight of youth engaged in manual labour is about 20
per cent below the normal weight. Similarly, the calorie intake of youth aged 16
and above is only 1900 calories which is much less than the average required.
Some of these indicators lead one to conclude tentatively that average Indian
youth is under-nourished. This impression is supported by their demographic pro-
file. Nearly half of country's population lives below the poverty level and 25 per
cent of the total population is in the age group 15-29. It would be plausible to
consider that youth population is not appropriately nourished and looked after
as is desirable.
The major causes of mortality among youth population are accidents, poison-
ing and violence. One fourth of the total deaths among the youth population oc-
cur due to these causes. Particularly many of the female youth deaths are account-
ed by "burnings." However, fatal diseases also account for a substantial share of
youth mortality. As regards the nature of fatal diseases, 20 per cent of the total
deaths can be accounted by tuberculosis of the respiratory system and other forms
of tuberculosis. Seven per cent of deaths are due to heart diseases and another
5 per cent deaths are caused by pneumonia. In the case of females around 20 per
cent of the deaths are due to child birth and complications of pregnancy. It needs
to be noted that most of these causes of death among youth can be reduced as
the relevant technical know-how is available in the country. What is required is
the requisite amount of attention for this sub-group of population.
Another serious observation is that out of the total number of suicides occur-
ing in the population, around 45 per cent take place among youth. It is im-
398 USHA S. NAIDU

portant to study in depth why the incidence of suicide is so large among the young.
One needs to understand the reasons which alienate them to the point of sui-
cide. In some cases frustration due to unemployment has been reported as the
cause. If so, it is a frightening factor. The unemployment rate is not likely to dis-
appear in near future. And the gradual breaking down of the joint family system
is eroding whatever social support the unemployed have had. These and other
factors leading to suicide need to be understood so that relevant remedial measures
are taken and the youth of the country sustained in the mainstream of society.
(Naidu and Parasuraman, 1982).
The foregoing brief analysis on the situation of youth clearly shows that as
of now Indian youth is not satisfactorily placed educationally, occupationally and
health wise. Their situation constrains their capacity to play a significant role in
development. In order to facilitate the full participation of youth in development
it is essential to provide an infra-structure that ensures healthy, educated and
appropriately employed youth.

PART EL: Youth as Participants in Social Change and Development

Generally youth face contradictory situations. On the one hand they are
frequently reminded, by the elders, social leaders etc., of their enormous responsi-
bilities, potentialities and their right to eventual succession, on the other they face
the reality in which their voices are not given weightage or consideration. They
are often told to channel their curiosity and enquiry along some approved direc-
tion and are exhorted not to exceed certain limits. But quite often, youth witness
that their leaders do not observe similar restraint themselves. In such a situation,
it is not surprising that for most youth, it is a bewildering experience. Perfor-
mance of elders do not necessarily illuminate their sense of identity; on the con-
trary, they raise feelings of disquiet and a host of unresolved questions.
The situation has occurred due to several reasons. One of them is that elders
take youth for granted and there is a tendency among them to project their own
experiences of youthhood to the new generation even though the times might
have changed and the pace of social change quickened. The confrontation between
old and new experiences can, and often does lead to unhappy experiences for both.
The former may perceive the youth as impatient and overdemanding, while the
latter may perceive the old to be obstinate, unresponsive and reluctant to accept
changing "realities."
Sinha (1979) in bis study on the young and old found that there is ambiguity
of role-models and values in the case of Indian youth. Youth, when confronted
with a socio-moral dilemma, displayed considerable hesitation in judging it either
as proper or improper, and preferred to suspend the judgement. Sinha found that
young did not accept the members of older generation as their model, hence there
was, by and large, an absence of, what may be called, normative models for the
youth. He had also found that the elders who could constitute the role-models for
the young were themselves often perceived as presenting an ambiguous facade. It
is argued by the author while the elders of to-day when they were young could
easily identify and find role-models among their older generation of that time, it
 YOUTH IN CONTEMPORARY INDIA 399

is no longer the case with the contemporary youth in India. May be this is due
to value contradictions which may have occurred over a time (Sinha, 1962).
For the sake of analysis one could classify the role of youth in social change
and development under three broad categories, viz., catalytic, rehabilitative and
maintenance role (Seah Chee Meow, 1980). The three categories of involving youth
in nation need not be considered as separate from each other. There may be
youth groups which would assume different roles at different times. They may
set order of priorities of their involvement according to their perception of needs
of the country and the resources available to them.
The catalytic refers to the active and direct involvement of youth in social
development where in they are active determinants of priorities of social develop-
ment. Community-directed programmes, mobilisation of support, and active parti-
cipation as pressure groups on the government may be some of the activities. For
example, both young men and women actively participated in India's freedom
movement. In post-independent India youth groups have been involved in social
transformation and other developmental activities. There are several voluntary
youth groups which are working as catalysts in the society. The involvement of
youth in Gujarat movement in 1974 and Bihar movement in 1975 are some of the
examples. There are other youth groups which are formed to bring change in the
society and they are actively engaged in economic, social and political processes
of change. Some of these groups and their role in development has been described
by Krishnan (1980). However, the full account and exhaustive directory of volun-
tary youth groups working in the field is yet to be documented. At the govern-
ment level one such attempt has been made to involve non-student and normal
youth by opening nation-wide, Nehru Yuvak Kendras.
The second role, rehabilitative, refers to the attempts by youth to rectify
existing or generated social ills in the country. Among the programmes aimed at
reducing social deviance in the society such as school drop-out and juvenile de-
linquency could be included. The youth could similarly be involved in program-
mes aimed at assisting the aged, disabled and victims of natural and environmental
calamities.
The specific attempts of the youth involvement in such activities have been
made by the government through National Service Volunteer Scheme (NSVS)
and National Service Scheme (NSS). As regards the voluntary groups, they are
in large number and work locally as well as on national scale.
The third category is the maintenance role which refers to the activities of
youth mainly to the forming of specific groups which support the existing social
order. Among the activities that could come under this classification are for exam-
ple participation in police cadets, armed and para-military services, boys and
girls scouts, civil defence, etc. Government scheme in the country, like National
Cadet Corps (NCC) comes under this category.
The world is increasingly and rightly so, seeing young people as an asset
rather than a problem. They are receptive to new thinking. They are willing to
innovate. It is therefore, of overriding importance to erect structures within which
the resources of the young can be marshalled for developmental tasks in the
increase in crops, in introducing new crops, in the establishment of co-operatives,
400 USHA S. NAIDU

in terms of educating the masses, in the area of population control, in the delivery
of health care services, in the introduction of intermediate technology and in all
the broad activities of social change and development.

REFERENCES
Gore, M. S. : Indian Youth: Process of Socialization, New Delhi: Vishwa Yuvak
1977 Kendra.
Krishnan, P. : The Symbol and the Substance Indian Youth in Development,
1980 New Delhi: Vishwa Yuvak Kendra.
Naidu, U. S. and : Health Situation of Youth in India, Bombay: Tata Institute of
Parasuraman, S. Social Sciences.
1982
Seah Chee Meow : Youth, Social Change and Development in the ESCAP Region,
1980 Paper presented at the ESCAP Group Meeting on Development of
Relevant Indicators for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation of
Country Efforts For Promoting Youth's Role in Development,
Manila, December 13-20.
Sinha, D. : The Young and the Old: Ambiguity of Role-Models and Values
1979 among Indian Youth In S. Kakar (Ed.) Identity and Adulthood,
Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp. 56-64.
1962 : Cultural Factors in the Emergency of Anxiety, Eastern Anthropolo-
gist, 25(1), pp. 21-31.