NEW DELHI: They should encourage reaping the benefits of new national policies for skill development and self-employment.
During the election campaign in Rae Bareli and Amethi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are giving emotional speeches about their grandmother, Indira Gandhi, while launching sharp attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on the issue of unemployment faced by the country’s youth. Rahul Gandhi even claimed victory in the elections on 4 June, stating in rallies that “on that day, the government will decide to provide jobs to 30 lakh people, and the jobs will start being given from August.” This promise is being considered as both unrealistic and funny, as the process of giving government jobs is not easy, and many leaders have gone to jail in corruption scandals related to government recruitment. Investigation into the railway recruitment scam is also ongoing on Rahul’s new ally, Tejashwi Yadav’s family. Not only this, but Rahul Gandhi is also promising to give Rs 1 lakh to youth and women every year.
Such speeches reminded me of the speeches and statements made during the tenure of Mrs Indira Gandhi, who I used to closely follow as a political correspondent, at the time. I have checked the available records so that Rahul and Priyanka, or their capable advisors cannot prove us wrong if they do not pay attention to those matters. On April 25, 1980, during an interview with Mrs Gandhi, she was asked, “Everyone discusses the problem of unemployment. Is it the fundamental problem of this country?” She gave a brief answer: “Unemployment is found in every country in the world.” Then the question was asked, “Until people find employment, can’t cash assistance be provided to unemployed youth?” Mrs Gandhi replied, “We do not have the resources to provide such assistance. Wherever such assistance is provided, its impact is not good.”
Similarly, on September 27, 1980, during a program commemorating the founding day of Kolkata’s Scottish Church College, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi explained to the youth in her speech, “The first concern of students is whether they will get a job after their studies or not. This is natural. However, employment is one of the many goals. Countries with a significant population are not the only ones worried about unemployment. We see thousands of youth in resource-rich countries abandoning their country with a sense of emptiness. The lines of worry on their faces indicate how hollow the prosperity that our people here often covet is from a spiritual perspective.”
In this context, Rahul, Priyanka, or their advisors should not provoke the issue of unemployment in India, but rather show the way of positive solutions. Instead of creating disillusionment with figures and tempting with government jobs like in British rule, they should encourage reaping the benefits of new national policies for skill development and self-employment. Regardless of being in power or opposition, if there is no right direction in society, the danger of lawlessness will increase. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s New Education Policy emphasizes skill development along with degrees, which will be beneficial for every political system and state. By paying attention to the economic and unemployment situations in various countries around the world, rather than political prejudices, India is progressing in the right direction despite its limited resources.
According to recent international studies, the unemployment rate in Britain is 4.2%, in America it is 4.47%, and in India, it is 5.4%. The solution to unemployment is not only increasing government jobs in the world. Education has expanded, but making employment difficult by making only higher education accessible and creating millions of degree holders with general BA, BSc, BCom has become challenging. Some politicians have corrupted the entire education system by opening their schools, colleges, etc., or by recognizing fake colleges and universities, while staying in power. Some Congress leaders or their associates have earned crores in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh in the name of recruitment. The most corrupt example is the tenure of Congress Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, when he granted recognition to nearly 40 universities in Chhattisgarh, some of which were operating from a basement address. When we published the investigative report, later the recognition of those institutions was canceled by the next Raman Singh government. In Digvijaya Singh’s rule, private assistants opened colleges, took government land assistance, and earned crores in student admissions.
On the other hand, in recent years, thousands of youth coming out of skill development centres are finding immediate job opportunities in self-employment or small and large industries. Due to the communication revolution in villages, cities and metropolises, youth with technical knowledge are earning up to Rs 50,000 per month through freelancing. Improvement in the economic condition of the people working in the unorganized sector is instilling new confidence.
The growth of millions in the khadi industry over the past decade is evidence of realizing Mahatma Gandhi’s dreams. Sometimes, try to understand the reality by meeting ordinary women becoming self-reliant in villages and towns, rather than spreading illusions of jobs based on false temptations and caste in Congress-governed states or allied parties. Unrest and lawlessness will spread even in states ruled by the Congress or allied parties at this rate.