Presentation given by Manvendra Davar of NIT Kurukshetra in the final round of Symposium-the youth parliament, at IIT Roorkee in February 2006 organized by SFIH.

1. THE YOUTH OF INDIA
ON THE QUEST FOR
TRUE FREEDOM
BY: MANAVENDRA DAVAR
N.I.T. KURUKSHETRA

2. THE PARADOX WE CALL INDIA !

3. INDIA vs. INDIA
 IMPRESSIVE GDP  21% RURAL POOR
GROWTH RATE ARE SEVERLY
 OVERFLOWING MALNOURISHED.
FOREX RESERVES  5.1M INDIANS ARE
 ON THE ROAD TO HIV+.
BE A REGIONAL  150M HOUSEHOLDS
SUPERPOWER. HAVE NO ELEC.
 IITs, IIMs  100M HAVE NO
RESPECTED THE WATER SUPPLY.
WORLD OVER.

4. VALUE OF HUMAN LIFE

5. WHAT WENT WRONG?
‘EGO OF THE EDUCATED’.
ALL THAT IS NECESSARY FOR EVIL TO
SUCCEED IS THAT GOOD MEN DO
NOTHING.
AN AGE IS CALLED DARK,NOT
BECAUSE THE LIGHT FAILS TO SHINE,
BUT BECAUSE THE PEOPLE FAIL TO
SEE IT.

6. A THREE-PRONGED APPROACH
BUILDING A STRONG,DEDICATED AND
EFFICIENT NETWORK OF THE YOUTH.
PROMOTE ‘VARNA VYAVASTHA’.
WORK AT THE GRASSROOT LEVEL.
INDIA NEEDS FOOT SOLDIERS.
FOCUS ON LONG-TERM.LETS NOT
EXPECT INSTANT GRATIFICATION.

7. CORRUPTION :
THE HYDRA-HEADED MONSTER
 Monetary value = Rs.
21068 crores.(TI intl.)
 Police most Corrupt,
followed by Judiciary.
 Kerala least corrupt,
Bihar the most.
 Lack of citizen
participation,
transparency and
grievance redressal
mechanisms.

8. COMBATING CORRUPTION
 DAVID vs. GOLIATH?
 CVC – we can help.
 RTI – a sigh of relief.
 Need to further further e-governance.
 A strong network of the youth would resist
political pressure, provide a platform for
exchange of ideas and would provide
encouragement & inspiration.

9. ILLITERACY
• Literacy Rate < 66% (males), 38%(females).
• EACH ONE , TEACH ONE ?
• High dropout rate. QUALITY?
• Child labour is a big barrier. Link with life skills.
Fine arts, anyone?
• NLM and Mid-Day meals : active citizen
participation needed.
• Literacy India, Shikshak Samakhya – leading the
way.

10. HEALTHCARE & SANITATION
 Only 18% of rural
population has
adequate sanitation
facilities.
 2.2 million infants die
every year.
 0.5 million die from
TB alone.
 5.5 million Indians are
HIV+.

11. THE COUNTRY NEEDS
VITAMINS
 MASS AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS.
 LETS REACH THE BOTTOM OF THE
PYRAMID.
 MEDICAL STUDENTS AND FACULTY
NEED TO TAKE INITIATIVE.
 VISIT A RURAL AREA EVERY WEEK.

12. UNEMPLOYMENT
 40M UNEMPLOYED IN INDIA.
 OUT OF 3.6M GRADUATES EVERY
YEAR, ONLY 0.9M ARE EMPLOYABLE.
 AGRICULTURE ACCOUNTS FOR LESS
THAN ONE-FOURTH OF NATIONAL
INCOME.
 CRUMBLING RURAL
INFRASTRUCTURE CAUSING
DISTRESS MIGRATION.

13. EMPOWERING THROUGH
EMPLOYMENT
 VOCATIONAL TRAINING NEEDED FOR
SUSTAINENCE. eg. Handicrafts, masonry,
agri-based businesses.
 LINK LITERACY WITH LIFE-SKILLS.
 NURTURE THE RURAL ECONOMY.
 MICROCREDIT,COOPERATIVE
FARMING, SSIs etc. NEED TO BE
NURTURED.

14. WOMEN IN INDIA
• FEMALE FOETICIDE
• DELHI : THE RAPE CAPITAL ?
• EVE-TEASING,MOLESTATION,DOWRY
DEATHS,CHILD MARRIAGES……THE
LIST GOES ON.
• WHEN WOULD WE LEARN TO
RESPECT THE MOTHER GODDESS?

15. WORSHIPPING ‘MOTHER’ INDIA
• NURTURING GENDER EQUALITY.
• SPECIAL SCHEMES TO PROVIDE
EMPLOYMENT AND NURTURE SHGs.
• EFFICIENT GRIEVANCE-REDRESSAL
FORUMS. GIRL STUDENTS OF THE
NETWORK NEED TO PLAY A ROLE.
• EFFICIENT RWAs NEEDED.

16. A FEW EXAMPLES
Leading the way

17. AMUL-THE TASTE OF INDIA
• A 2200 CRORE ENTERPRISE.
• ENRICHING THE LIVES OF 2.12
MILLION RURAL PEOPLE.
• WOMEN PLAY A MAJOR PART IN
COLLECTION AND DISTRIBUTION.
• TRENDSETTING COOPERATIVE
MODEL.
• e-initiatives TO EDUCATE FARMERS.

18. ITC e-choupal
• LAUNCHED IN 1999.
• FARMERS GET 2.5% MORE.
• ELIMINATES MIDDLEMEN.
• FARMERS GET TO KNOW OF
PRESENT MARKET PRICES.
• GENERATING LITERACY AND
MARKET-UNDERSTANDING.

19. “FIRST THEY IGNORE YOU.
THEN THEY LAUGH AT YOU.
THEN THEY FIGHT YOU.
THEN YOU WIN.”
-Mahatma Gandhi

20. THANK YOU !
NOW LETS GET TO WORK.