The agitation by unemployed youth in Uttarakhand
By Justice Markandey Katju
Unemployed youth in Uttarakhand in India are nowadays agitating over leakage of the lekhpal exam paper, and are demanding a CBI enquiry, and release of those arrested in the agitation
There has been a police lathi charge on the agitating students
But even if there had been no leak, how many candidates would have been selected and appointed ? Hardly 1 in 1000, since there are very few jobs compared to the applicants.
There is a record and rising unemployment in India.
See
( Why India Should Worry About Its Educated, but Unemployed, Youth
Unemployment in India has risen to its highest since the pandemic
Despite India’s economic growth, few jobs and meagre pay for urban youth
Rising unemployment in India: A burden on the economy )
Even engineers, MBAs, M.Sc apply for a sweeper’s job
(Engineers, MBAs among 3,500 graduates seeking sweeper jobs in Tamil Nadu)
In February 2019 4600 persons including many engineers and MBAs applied for 14 jobs of sweepers in Tamilnadu
(4,600 engineers, MBAs apply for 14 sweepers’ job in Tamil Nadu assembly)
In Madhya Pradesh, for 738 class 4 ( i.e menial ) posts 2 lac applied
(More Than 2 Lakh Youth, Including MBA, Engineering Graduates Apply For Jobs Of Sweeper, Watchman)
Even M.Tech and Ph.D holders apply for sweepers jobs
(Should India not be ashamed of itself when its M.Techs and PhDs apply for sweeper jobs?)
There is always a huge rush of youth whenever and wherever an army recruitment takes place.
(Army recruitment rally attracts heavy rush)
(Dehat aspirants slog it out in recruitment rally)
So it is evident that youth prefer a dangerous job, like that in the army, to the hell of unemployment.
Hence while I sympathise with the agitators, I also want to say that our people, particularly our youth, must now seriously start thinking of how to launch a mighty, united people’s struggle, which will culminate in a revolution, and creating a political and social order under which there is rapid industrialisation and modernisation, so that everyone gets a job with good income, nutritious food, proper healthcare and good education, etc, and destruction of our big curses like unemployment, caste and communalism.
Jobs are created on a large scale when there is rapid industrialisation, but presently the Indian economy is stagnant, or even in recession..
So to provide jobs for our youth we have to create a political and social order in which there is rapid industrialisation and modernisation. That must be our national goal.
