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The way towards tomorrow

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by Swatee Jog

It is a common concern expressed across the nation that today’s youth is a spent force. People rue the fact that in spite of having a vibrant youth power, we cannot leverage the same for nation building. The world over, it is the youth who have brought about any change. History testifies that many a revolution would have been a damp squib had it not been for the power lent by the youth of the nation. The past week has shown the world that India’s youth is a power to reckon with when it comes to issues close to their heart and those that affect their lives. The overwhelming response by Belgaum youth to Anna Hazare’s campaign for the Jan Lokpal Bill for the last few days has definitely made every citizen proud. When students barged into institutes shouting slogans and force shutting classes, it created a sore impression of the same old students’ tactics of avoiding classes. However, these very students, joining in from the streets like water from tributaries and forming one huge surge of strength on the main roads.mk2

RPD Cross, Bogarves, Channamma Circle, Hutatma Chowk, there were people everywhere. Social networking sites were abuzz with the happenings on in the city and as rightly pointed out by Mr. Sameer Majli – “The logic of crowd magic often defies convention. Sometimes numbers need to be seen rather than just be there. It’s (an)exaggeration on some fronts but revolution demands a bit of overdoing things in order to attract sufficient focus. Not trying to justify the means but I guess, like I said, protests should also look like protests. Apparently they have had enough effect to make the Govt. think (of a ) plan and I guess that’s a beginning in itself…Work hard and none will notice, scream hard and you are ….Guess this is what is the way of the day for the present….”mk7

For someone like us who have never witnessed the Pre-independence fervor, it was revisiting those golden days of nationalism, when the whole country had stood for a common cause. It is only in India that such peaceful protests are possible in spite of such massive numbers on the roads. Although many students were blissfully unaware of the difference between the Lokpal and the Jan Lokpal bill, although they thought Anna Hazare was fighting to end corruption, and although a lot of productive time was lost, it still made sense. For it showed how our future generations want clean and effective governance. It showed that they wanted positive change. And it also reaffirmed their faith in the power of peaceful persuasion, years after it was expounded by the Father of the Nation!

It is ray of hope that the youth understand the importance of and the nuisance caused by corruption since they face it at every corner in their lives. Driving license, Ration Card, Admissions, Loan Sanction, PDS, Traffic Police, you name it and it’s there. Watching students from close quarters, it made us think is this generation thinking that a bribe is a cure-all? But, no. If anyone has seen Belgaum erupt last week, the youth along with housewives, professionals, students, even the retired gentry joining in, it was amazing. All the nervous energy has been channelized into something that will have long standing repercussions in the nation’s history. And all this without troubling anybody, in a disciplined manner, with a glint of hope in their eyes. It made it amply clear that all the youth require is a guiding force and they will leave no stone unturned to support for a cause.

 

mk5Only supporting a watchdog bill is not enough, not being part of the whole rot of giving and taking bribes, publicly reporting any instances and above all, knowing that corruption has never taken a nation forward, is the key to uphold this campaign. Watching a frail Anna Hazare speak with enthusiasm moistens our eyes but invigorates each Indian. The spirit of Anna Hazare’s campaign must live on to steer India as the No. 1 Superpower. That, and not just a bill, should be our ultimate motto.

All Photos courtesy Team Anna (Belgaum) a group of youth who started this Facebook page to get the youth of Belgaum together.

12 thoughts on “The way towards tomorrow”

  1. I have paid a price for the same thing, but i still endorse what u say issue, we have to leave all our political affiliations and join as non partisians. I am with you on it

    Reply
  2. Thanks for the kind words,Swatee mam,your feature has come as a shot in arm for us youth….who not long ago were branded off as good for nothing…thoughtless…irresponsible….thriving on parents’ money and what not…the difference that is evident has been because we chose to act!…not long ago we used to ignore things around us….maybe we thought things will get better themselves…or maybe elders will take care of it…or maybe lack of awareness… But with greater awareness…largely by the social media and better communication,team anna belgaum on fb,also aab… and maybe to counter the increasing stupidity in the society!…we had to stand up…and we did well…not that im a doodh ka dhula hua…i wish to confess i had been to rpd yesterday morning,to find 5guys and a girl singing at d venue dats all….and i didnt…i repeat i didnt join in…but i have been in every rally there…i have promised myself to be better than yesterday…and i will be…

    I am proud of the way the student community of belgaum has responded to the movement…it was really heartening to see our youth catching up so quickly after a couple of indecent events…but we are happy that nothing went beyond control and i dont think we’ve done a bad job….we recovered in time…and recovered good…three cheers to all of us…everysingle person who walked in the movement…regardless of age/sex/gender…its heartening to see all this…

    We youth are full of energy and need proper channeling at times…in the form of appropriate guidance from elders…

    We the youth,want back the belgaum of 90s…the non congested roads…the nice eateries…the smiling faces…the brotherly sense in talking to strangers even….i miss my belgaum of childhood!we dont need more and more of more stores!,reliance fresh,levis,reebok and what not!we were a happy lot even without them shopping in khade bazaar or buying groceries in konwal galli,kaktives road or kelkar bagh!!!we don wanna be pulled up by 1st gate civil police station police to extract money for driving a ‘new bike’ with no ‘license plates’….and tortured to extract 300 rupees!….we don want corporation parasites to demand ‘fees’ for doing their work ‘on time’ for which the goverment Pays them!we dont want to be despised upon and given disgusting looks when we smile at others…or be pushed away like rapists when we offer help to someone we think is in need of help….this was not the belgaum i grew up in…this wasn’t it!all our belgaumkars who had to take care of it are in u.s doing m.sc…which dey cleverly call ‘m.s’!!while termites are eating up our sweetheart of a city!it even doesn’t rain like it used to!!damn…got a bit carried away…sorry…but i don think anyone would disagree with me…well…

    We youngsters have stood up well for the cause…but we still need support from the students as well as elders…please spare some time…atleast an hour each day…please all uncles and aunties…mamas and moushis…ajobas and ajjis…we need you with us…

    need you,our elders to support us in the movement…larger participation,uniformity and solidarity in support for the cause…for the cause…

    Reply
  3. Thanks for the kind words,Swatee mam,your feature has come as a shot in arm for us youth….who not long ago were branded off as good for nothing…thoughtless…irresponsible….thriving on parents’ money and what not…the difference that is evident has been because we chose to act!…not long ago we used to ignore things around us….maybe we thought things will get better themselves…or maybe elders will take care of it…or maybe lack of awareness… But with greater awareness…largely by the social media and better communication,team anna belgaum on fb,also aab… and maybe to counter the increasing stupidity in the society!…we had to stand up…and we did well…not that im a doodh ka dhula hua…i wish to confess i had been to rpd yesterday morning,to find 5guys and a girl singing at d venue dats all….and i didnt…i repeat i didnt join in…but i have been in every rally there…i have promised myself to be better than yesterday…and i will be…

    I am proud of the way the student community of belgaum has responded to the movement…it was really heartening to see our youth catching up so quickly after a couple of indecent events…but we are happy that nothing went beyond control and i dont think we’ve done a bad job….we recovered in time…and recovered good…three cheers to all of us…everysingle person who walked in the movement…regardless of age/sex/gender…its heartening to see all this…

    We youth are full of energy and need proper channeling at times…in the form of appropriate guidance from elders…

    We the youth,want back the belgaum of 90s…the non congested roads…the nice eateries…the smiling faces…the brotherly sense in talking to strangers even….i miss my belgaum of childhood!we dont need more and more of more stores!,reliance fresh,levis,reebok and what not!we were a happy lot even without them shopping in khade bazaar or buying groceries in konwal galli,kaktives road or kelkar bagh!!!we don wanna be pulled up by 1st gate civil police station police to extract money for driving a ‘new bike’ with no ‘license plates’….and tortured to extract 300 rupees!….we don want corporation parasites to demand ‘fees’ for doing their work ‘on time’ for which the goverment Pays them!we dont want to be despised upon and given disgusting looks when we smile at others…or be pushed away like rapists when we offer help to someone we think is in need of help….this was not the belgaum i grew up in…this wasn’t it!all our belgaumkars who had to take care of it are in u.s doing m.sc…which dey cleverly call ‘m.s’!!while termites are eating up our sweetheart of a city!it even doesn’t rain like it used to!!damn…got a bit carried away…sorry…but i don think anyone would disagree with me…well…

    We youngsters have stood up well for the cause…but we still need support from the students as well as elders…please spare some time…atleast an hour each day…please all uncles and aunties…mamas and moushis…ajobas and ajjis…we need you with us…

    need you,our elders to support us in the movement…larger participation,uniformity and solidarity in support for the cause…for the cause..

    Reply
    • hey, you have written very soulfully boy. True, the Bgm that we grew up no longer exists. Trust between people is seriously missing.

      By the way, I am smiling at you :). Please smile back.

      Reply
    • Very well said ANP123 – GET SET GO & you can certainly make a difference. I do appreciate your passion & the zeal you have got to bring about a change.

      Everyone has a Anna in himself only one has to awaken it. The efforts we put in today will bring good time for us in future & a promising life for our future generation.

      Reply
      • @atul….yea i agree with you,what we do,the coming generation bears the brunt of it
        My heart doesn’t stop pouring out:)…some thing i want to tell all belgaumkars…’improvement’…’development’….we do it to improve and provide a better environment for the present and indirectly to the coming generations,else as we curse,the coming generations will also curse us…and the only cause for it is the indifferent attitude of we people to whatever happens around…take a look at the city buildings in what places and what sizes they have shaped up!who gave them permission to build like that???while it is becoming harder and harder to get permission to build a house,people from all over the world are coming here to set up malls and stores within matter of days!!!how do you think thats possible?nobody has questioned them…dats y,and dey have taken good care of our municipality officers!no wonder the word ‘municipality’ brings to our eyes only garbage and sewage!!!In huble when reliance wanted to start a veg/non veg eatery,all d people signed an objection letter and promptly reliance was kicked out without permission,but sadly dat wont happen in our city,cos the mama standing in front of ganpat pan shop,chewing on rmd thinks ”paisa deun kharidle aamchi jaaga,me pann khush,te pann khush,konacha baapacha kaay jaanar aahe??”…the same attitude that makes our blood boil…someday,with greying hair,the realisation will come to us,but then we’ll be paying to maybe even sit in belgaum’s fresh air to some corporate house which has fixed a time bound entry fee with vat and service tax to the place to sit in fresh air!!!Those days are not far if we don’t wake up…and nobody will disagree that its not a joke,especially if you have already tasted a Rs35/- vada pav which tastes worse than the 5rs vada pav at pop inn!!!

        Reply
  4. Well said Swatee..

    This wave of change has to spread everywhere.. Whether the JAN LOKPAL bill gets passed or not is a different issue.. But this movement led my Anna has definitely made an impact on the minds of people.. It has made several of us realise tat we should start the fight against corruption at the smalllest levels in our day today life.. It has strengthened our belief tat we the people are supreme in democracy and not the elected MPs or MLAs or bureaucrats…

    Reply
  5. Its very nice to see young boys and girls participating. Great job Anna, you have done something we thought was impossible in India.

    Reply

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