“We do not need magic to transform our world, just carry all the power you have and rise up to open roads for generations”
Youth empowerment is an essential component for a brighter tomorrow, when we empower the youth, we empower the future of the nation. With an earnest effort by the authorities to shape up the lives of the youths of Kashmir and induce the spark of learning, developing and advancing professional will ultimately result in a brighter, advanced and hopeful Kashmir. The new age Kashmiri youth is energetic, optimistic, dedicated and motivated. The youth are continuously striding on the path of development and growth in education, sports, professional field, competing shoulder to shoulder in every aspect. The youth is determined to shape themselves for a better future for themselves, for Kashmir and for the nation.
Youth empowerment is a process, to encourage youth by all means. It is an effort towards making a course for them to sustain and adapt as per situations. Kashmir is a region teeming in youth, with over 65% of people up to the age of 40 years. Youth today, is a major resource for not only development of financial prosperity but for change as well. Their energy is still not channelized in the right direction. This is the challenge for the governing authority and the private sector as well. The empowerment is related to the financial elevation as well as improvement of the standard of living. Empowerment is imperative for the national and personal development. It can be ensured by promoting rights, youth activism and by propagating community decision making. Empowerment is a process of inculcating values to equip the learner to lead a life that is satisfying while being in accordance with the cherished values and ideals of the society.
Youth empowerment can curb poverty to a large extent in the whole region of Kashmir. One of the keys to empowering youth is with skill development. When a youth is equipped with essential skills, he or she can utilize them to feed, assist others, and even invest for future use, aiding the nation economically. Empowerment can help youth understand the importance of education that leads to social improvement of the region and country. The empowered youth can donate educational facilities to primary secondary and even to tertiary institutions. When the youth of Kashmir is empowered, they empower the masses, thereby paving path for a better future. To build a better tomorrow, we need to nurture the youth of today. Empowerment ensures that youth has the necessary skill to sustain a livelihood, preventing him to adopt the path of crime. Employment creation is important for youth empowerment. A youth empowered society will not suffer from the problem of unemployment that many nations are battling in the current time. A skilful youth is a job creator.
The Indian Army has well understood this aspiration and has taken the initiative to give it wings. Indian army has been in the forefront of the agenda to empower the youth of the state. The local population views the army as an answer to its problems. For the youth the army camp in their vicinity is a link to the world outside. These camps are carried out in close consultation with civil administration. The aforementioned activities are by no means the only one that have been organised for the benefit of the youth. It includes conduct of education and motivation tours, providing quality education in army goodwill schools, providing computer hardware and other infrastructural facilities to government schools and most importantly, facilitating employment for the youth in various organisations across the country under a scheme most aptly named Udaan. An atmosphere of trust and positivity among the youth in the region is required to be built. Identification of gaps and sensitivity towards the problems and needs of the youth and resolving them through various technological and knowledge based interventions is required.
The time is to synergize all the effort for skill development among the youth, to provide means of institutional social outreach to the young population to provide an institutional mechanism for psycho-social support to youth on scientific lines and to provide the youth an opportunity of livelihood generation, economic growth, social recognition, and systemic support, when required. An integration of the people with the rest of the India is important for achieving the set objectives and in this the important key is today’s youth. It is now important to maintain the pace the ways we have started this empowering league. When a youth is equipped with essential skills, he can utilize them to feed, assist others, and even invest for future use, aiding the nation economically. At present we can see the central government, Indian defence forces, the democracy of Kashmir has come together to build and making them stand on their own skills and learning.
Courtesy : Ali Fayyaz