The Lt. Governor Shri Manoj Sinha while chairing the Governing Board meeting of ‘Mission Youth’ emphasized that young generation’s perceptions must factor in government policy at all levels viz, education, health, economy etc”. He directed establishment of youth clubs at Panchayat level and emphasized that in the first phase 22500 youth from 4290 Panchayats would be engaged in youth clubs. It was also decided to start two state-of-the-art coaching centers in Jammu and Kashmir to impart coaching for civil services and other competitive examinations under ‘PARVAAZ’-a livelihood generation scheme. The state also intends to establish fifty model community entrepreneur units by 2021-22. In my column I had pointed out that state managers need to have a post-pandemic plan for engagement and employment of the youth. The youth bulge in our region is projected to persist for at least another three decades and can either be an asset or a danger for the societies depending on how effectively we involve them in the task of reconciliation, reconstruction and rehabilitation.
Background:
Addressing a youth convention on march 7, 2017 the then Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister “sought the support of the youth for peace so as to create more employment for them”. Earlier, in a press conference a former chief minister attributed the electoral defeat of his ‘government to killing of youth in 2010 and the hanging of Afzal Guru”. He confessed that his ‘government had a total disconnect with the youth and lamented that highly qualified youth were joining militancy and it is a matter of concern. The youth bulge is directly correlated to political volatility and countries with 40 percent adult population aged between 15 to 30 years are more than twice vulnerable to outbreak of civil strife. This is not difficult to understand as according to F. Scott Fitzgerald (American Short story writer) youth is ‘a dream and a form of chemical madness’. Second, large youth population can give fillip to economy and re-energize society but poorly performing economies with weak governance structures may lead to violence. Third, anecdotal evidence collected by the author suggests that social disconnect and loneliness can make the youth psychologically vulnerable to many pressures. All three formulations apply to Kashmir situation. Therefore, institutions and individuals with responsibility need to listen the youth employing multilevel engagement process. An informal, indirect, and frank interaction with young people in Kashmir reveals that they have been ignored by politicians at home, caged by heads of educational institutions, abandoned/exploited by Pakistan state and disempowered by Indian state. Kashmir youth are partly suffering loneliness and are yearning for someone or something which is not there. But majority are in solicitude and are in communion with self and society. It is at this point that viable institutional intervention is needed to forge connect with them and build an architecture of hope and dignity for youth and their identity. The much touted Insaniyat, Jamuriat and Kashmiryat is a fairy tale to them and youth are in conversation with happenings at Dalgate, Delhi, and Davos. Therefore, there is need for a new road map for their empowerment and engagement.
Way Forward
First, primary role of the state is to liberate the citizen from fear and allow him to enjoy basic rights viz, life, liberty and property. On September 11, 2011 at the National integration meeting in New Delhi many state political leaders stressed that traders and students from Kashmir should not be treated with suspicion. The insurgencies are struggles for political space. Kashmiris have been at the receiving end of the anti-national label for too long and describing an entire population as being vulnerable to inspired influences raises questions not just about Kashmir but the depth of idea of India. The speeches were aimed at removing distrust in Delhi-Srinagar relationship and also bringing to the attention of state functionaries the hard task of reconciliation with the Kashmir youth. The youth have a sense of discrimination and also suffer religious and regional profiling in other parts of India. The drastic fall in violence in Kashmir must embolden state actors to think creatively about liberation of the civilian space from excessive militarization. There are many studies which have found that almost 60 percent killings in 2010 were avoidable. The response of the state has not changed with regard to stone, gun or legitimate democratic protest. The supreme court of India on April 10, 2013, in a case related to Manipur, ruled that unjustified killings were bound to occur if there is prolonged use of armed forces. As per an IMF report ‘youth inactivity rate in India is 30 percent while as it is 25-30 in other developing countries’. The latest economic survey points out that one requires fewer documents to buy a gun in India than to open a small hotel.
Second, according to Haseeb Drabu (former finance minister) ‘Kashmiri youth are to be made politically empowered, socially responsible, ethically aware and economically independent citizens’. One way to do that would be to give them sense of hope, purpose and direction. We need to integrate their dynamism, creativity and power and provide them space in the sun-rise arenas of new economy viz, banking, information technology, and infrastructure building etc. Equally essential is to rebuild the Kashmir society which has become harsh, punitive, withdrawn, fearful and extremely distrustful. This can not be done in isolation. In his novel “Blindness“, the Portuguese novelist Jose Saramago describes the ‘progressive blindness of an entire city’ and the consequent breakdown of social order. The youth bulge in almost entire South Asia should awaken us to develop progressive partnerships so that the danger of a foggy and black cloudy sky over the sub-continent is removed. The old adage that’ war happens only when the language fails’ is part of the statecraft. In India alone in the next decade over 100 million youth will move into the workforce. Already economic recession, the first and the second wave of Covid-19, have created a pandemic of joblessness. What should we do? Philosophers and armchair academics are busy in interpreting the world and the question is how to change it. The below-cited case study can be an eye opener for a policy planner aiming at a good public policy.
A case Study of proposed ‘Panzath Tourism Village’
Last month I had an extensive discussion with a group of young people in my ancestral village – Panzath – a historic site at a distance of one kilometer on the right side of Qazigund town, in district Anantnag. Some of these youth were school drop-outs and at least couple of them enrolled in colleges for higher studies. I found no smile on their faces, but found them deeply conscious of what is possible and how to move forward. They have some beautiful ideas about how locally new jobs can be created in the village if only the government makes initial intervention. The village has vast natural resources, and a uniqueness. It has good integration aspects as well. The village has quieter and cooler environment good for those who want to spend time in a rural condition. The village has a famous fresh water spring which is an aggregate of around 500 small springs. The Department of Fisheries has already established many latest trout farms and more can be developed involving local youth. The sky is the limit to develop this village as a “Tourism village” to give fillip to local jobs. The village can be a ‘Fishing Village’, also to attract local and other tourists. The youth have commenced the long forgotten celebration of an annual festival only to further widen the attraction of the site. The youth convinced me that nothing is going to happen of its own unless they take the first step. Some youth have established sheep farms and are successfully earning their livelihood. The area is green and there is no dearth of fodder and water. All this is adding to the tourism potential of the village. An idyllic rural setting offers people, like me, living in urban areas an escape from daily grind and allows people to reach out and get in touch with their roots. The issue involved is that governments need to make interventions in such areas so that we bring joy and purpose in the life of the young.
In the light of above discussion there is need for multi-stakeholder approach to create space for the young. The post-pandemic situation shall be more challenging. Resources of all sorts, already scarce, will get even more scarce. Before we run out of fuel we are running out of water. There will be greater uncertainty in our environment – political, social, and economic. The young people have time on their side but governments need to find time, to listen to them.
Professor Gull Wani is a Political Scientist teaching at the University of Kashmir.