Arvind Subramanian: To subject youth to violence only adds to their sense of hopelessness about the future
It is bad enough that our higher education system has routinely been failing our youth. It is bad enough too that their prospects of getting decent, well-paying jobs are becoming more grim. To heap violence and physical and psychological insecurity only adds more hopelessness to their educational years
We speak of creating a $5-trillion economy by taking advantage of our demographic dividend. But if our universities become war zones rather than sacred sanctuaries of learning, we don’t build human capital. We make carcasses of the hopes of our students. Just as the psychological burdens of poverty and hardship narrow cognitive bandwidth (according to research by Sendhil Mullainathan and Anandi Mani), the psychological burdens of violence on students could impair their capabilities and turn the demographic dividend into a demographic wasteland. Indeed, since building human capital, maintaining social peace and creating strong institutions are key determinants of long-run development, recent actions triply undermine achieving sabka saath, sabka vikas.
It is bad enough that our higher education system has routinely been failing our youth. It is bad enough too that their prospects of getting decent, well-paying jobs are becoming more grim. To heap violence and physical and psychological insecurity only adds more hopelessness to their educational years and to their sense of the future that awaits them.
And why are these students being attacked? For exercising their right of expression, their right to articulate their concerns and opinions about a set of measures they fear might consign many Indians to second-class citizenship, if not deprive them of their identity altogether? Are their fears exaggerated or misplaced? Regardless, they must be heard. How else will we be able to understand and address their concerns? And to be clear, address them we must. As the images of violence on India’s university campuses have streamed on screens and phones across the globe over the past months, the poet Yeats’ dark evocation keeps coming to mind: “The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere/The ceremony of innocence is drowned.” So, too, does a climactic scene from Mira Nair’s movie, Monsoon Wedding. The character played by Naseeruddin Shah confronts a relative who has abused a younger family member, saying: “These are my children. I will protect them from myself even, if I have to.” We too must ask: Aren’t these our children, who need to be protected from ourselves, from our instincts to hate and harm? ....
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/citizenship-amendment-act-caa-protests-jamia-milia-jnu-amu-6210499/
We speak of creating a $5-trillion economy by taking advantage of our demographic dividend. But if our universities become war zones rather than sacred sanctuaries of learning, we don’t build human capital. We make carcasses of the hopes of our students. Just as the psychological burdens of poverty and hardship narrow cognitive bandwidth (according to research by Sendhil Mullainathan and Anandi Mani), the psychological burdens of violence on students could impair their capabilities and turn the demographic dividend into a demographic wasteland. Indeed, since building human capital, maintaining social peace and creating strong institutions are key determinants of long-run development, recent actions triply undermine achieving sabka saath, sabka vikas.
It is bad enough that our higher education system has routinely been failing our youth. It is bad enough too that their prospects of getting decent, well-paying jobs are becoming more grim. To heap violence and physical and psychological insecurity only adds more hopelessness to their educational years and to their sense of the future that awaits them.
And why are these students being attacked? For exercising their right of expression, their right to articulate their concerns and opinions about a set of measures they fear might consign many Indians to second-class citizenship, if not deprive them of their identity altogether? Are their fears exaggerated or misplaced? Regardless, they must be heard. How else will we be able to understand and address their concerns? And to be clear, address them we must. As the images of violence on India’s university campuses have streamed on screens and phones across the globe over the past months, the poet Yeats’ dark evocation keeps coming to mind: “The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere/The ceremony of innocence is drowned.” So, too, does a climactic scene from Mira Nair’s movie, Monsoon Wedding. The character played by Naseeruddin Shah confronts a relative who has abused a younger family member, saying: “These are my children. I will protect them from myself even, if I have to.” We too must ask: Aren’t these our children, who need to be protected from ourselves, from our instincts to hate and harm? ....
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/citizenship-amendment-act-caa-protests-jamia-milia-jnu-amu-6210499/
