M.

Govardhan
MBA I year
University of Madras
Chepauk, Chennai – 600 005.

A report on “What ails the youth – Lack of Self confidence or external pressure?”

What ails the youth?

“Who cares?” or “Why do you care?” is the usual response from an average
Indian youth. Yes, the youth of India are not the ones of the pack with a mindset that
thinks something could be ailing them. But the elders are, as they have always been the
guiding beacon for the youth that deviate from their path, addressing the issue. This
national seminar arranged by the Institute of Public Enterprises and Public
Administration is a fitting example for the argument that senior citizens have always
assumed the caretaker role in shaping the society with all the youth in it.

A fitting setting

An awe inspiring setting was chosen by the event managers. Chettinad Health city
in the city outskirts is built and equipped with the state of the art technology and
facilities. The Sigapi Achi Convention center is one of its kinds and provided a
comfortable and cozy venue for the proceedings. Hospitality at the seminar was
unquestionable. There is no doubt that the seminar was a food for thought, and they also
provided tasty food to keep the appetite down and the mind active.

Day 1 of the seminar

The inaugural session of the seminar was held on 31st of july 2010 in the presence
of members of the prestigious Chettinad group. Kumar Rani Meena Muthiah lighted the
kuthuvilakku and Mr. Muthiah kick started the session with the welcome address. IPEPA
president Justice Thiru K. Govindarajan rendered the president’s address followed by the
keynote address by Justice Mr. Raju.

Inaugural Address by Thiru T. N. Seshan

That was a power packed speech by the former chief election Commissioner. Not
to undermine the wittiness that marked his speech, there was a furious disagreement
about the title of the seminar. Mr. Seshan strongly registered his thought that the youth of
the country lacked no self-confidence or external pressure. Amid the loud applause of the
enthused audience, the outspoken man continued to take a dig at the elders of the society
that he alleged, had failed to understand the youths of the nation that has succeeded in
their life with all the self confidence needed and defying the external pressures.

Day 2 of the seminar

The second day, August the 1st saw the Business sessions in full swing.
Intellectuals from various backgrounds were to deliver their speeches during the day.
Prof. N. S. Ramaswamy dominated the forenoon session with a long and informative
speech followed by Ms. Lalitha Balakrishnan’s presentation. Prof. Ganesh’s thought
provoking oratory and Mr. Ramanujam’s speech in the afternoon pretty much made it a
day.

Prof. N. S. Ramaswamy’s intellectual discourse

‘Values’ said the septuagenarian, is the reason for the current problems of the
youth. Padma Bhushan Prof. N. S. Ramaswamy is the founder-director of IIM Bangalore
and currently he is running the Cartman & Indian Heritage Academy in Bangalore. After
uttering some Sanskrit slokas, the elderly man started the information intense session that
was titled “The need for confidence building to face challenges”.

The need for confidence building to face challenges

As the professor is a deeply cultured and traditional person, he repeatedly

reiterated the need for cultivating moral and ethical values in the minds of youth and also
did his best to do so in the stipulated time. Highly praising India and Indians the
professor put forward the reasons for such a reputation. Culture seemed to be a important
topic in his viewpoint. Speaking more about the greatness of India, he quoted Mao Tse
Tung as saying to Panicker that he wanted to be born in India. Confessing himself as a
Vedantin and a Marxist, he asked the youth to get rid of 3Cs namely the Cell phones,
Cinema, Channel surfing (TV).

He defined culture as the concern for others. Indian youth must not leave behind
their precious culture in the look out for a luxurious living and modernization, he strongly
stressed. Blaming secularism as a perverted and distorted practice, the professor routed
for a much effective way of running the country. Labeling India as an inappropriate
political economy, the professor took a dig at the bureaucrats that are running the nation.
Spurring anger and dismay at the present political situation, he termed the democracy as
mobocracy.

The able man told the gathering that serving others is the key to gather strength.
Repeatedly stressing upon Gandhian values he said everyone must practice simplicity in
everyday life. Character building is another topic that he mostly touched upon. He wished
character be instilled into humans in the school level so that the youth of the country
make miracles happen later on in their life. He managed to capture his message in a
nutshell:
“No need to be brilliant, just develop good character”
Prof. Ms. Lalitha Balakrishnan’s informative presentation

Professor Ms. Lalitha Balakrishnan who is the vice-principal of the MOP

Vaishnava College delivered a wonderful presentation bringing out the deficiencies in the
educational system of India.

Deficiencies in the educational system

Starting the presentation with the statistics that 32% of all Indians are under 15
years of age, the learned lady went on to analyze the Indian educational system. Value
education is the keyword, she said. Speaking highly about the Gurukula system where
knowledge is not only preached but also values are practiced, she said that the system
was not a mere transfer of knowledge as in modern schooling.

Attacking the secondary education in the country of one with poor standard of
students, thanks to the education provided to them at the lower levels, she said that
persistent government interference and lack of skill component made the situation much
worse.

The drastic changes in the higher education scenario did not escape the
constructive criticism from the lady behind the podium with its own share of deficiencies.
She remembered the exponential growth of the engineering institution as an example of
unplanned growth. She also said that lack of relevance between the institutions taught
skills and industry essential skills as a grave concern. She posed the question to the
parents who want their children to earn a engineering degree and work in a MNC:
“Mechanical engineer does coding in the back office – is it what the parents expected?”

Also listing the primary reasons for such deficiency in the higher education
system, she gave some solutions to address the problems. The main reasons are,

• Bureaucracy & Red-tapism

• Lack of qualified teachers
• Outdated courses
• Gap between industrial requirements & student skills.

She also offered a solution that included the concept of having a corporate person
in the academic body.

Access, Equity, Quality are the essentials for an efficient higher education system
in her point of view. In order to achieve such criteria, she said the government must take
up action. Tamilnadu becomes the first state to set up an accrediting body to ensure
quality in the higher education institutions, she informed.

About the skills set needed for a youth to find an employment, she said
communication, reasoning, decision making, crisis management and employability as the
primary skills. She also talked about the interpersonal competencies needed.
 “Be different, be Carefree and don’t be careless” she said as a way to induce
confidence among youth to face the world. She urged that it is most important to know
that “You are at the center of the universe”, hence saying everyone is important at least to
themselves. She concerned about the declining values and said that India has lost its
values. She, towards the end of her presentation said “Unless you are culturally rich, you
will find it difficult down the line in your life”

Prof. Mr. L. S. Ganesh’s intense oratory

The professor form IIT Madras gave a superb speech about the obstacles in
human resource development. His’ was a power packed oration.

Obstacles in human resource development

Character is the key, this professor stressed too. He gave a definition to character
that it is the competence to use the competence. Know yourself first, he told the audience.
He gave an example about a man eating ice cream. In that case, the man may think that
he is controlling the ice cream. But in real, it is the ice cream that is controlling him.

He moved on to list out the obstacles faced by the youth. Here it goes:

• First Obstacle – You

• Second Obstacle – Parents
• Third Obstacle – Teachers
• Fourth Obstacle – The System
• Fifth Obstacle – The Unseen Hand

He ended his speech with the famous Mahatma Gandhi quote:

“Be the change that you want to be”

In the final session, we saw Mr. Ramanujam, Former Chief Commissioner of

Income Tax talking about the need to bring urban amenities to rural areas and blaming
internal rivalry and caste differences as a threat to the development.

The seminar ended with the valedictory speech by Mr. Lakshmi Narayanan, Vice-
Chairman of Cognizant Technology Solutions Ltd.

So, what really ails the youth?

From the serious discourses by learned intellectuals in the seminar it is evident

that superficially the youth are not ailing. But they are suffering underneath, losing their
moral values and character. Both the reasons, lack of self-confidence and external
pressure must be playing a role in this. But this can be tackled by the culture we follow
and the education we provide to the youngsters. This is the concluding note floating
around everyone’s mind after the seminar.