Today's society is failing to deliver on its promise to young people. We said that if they worked hard, stayed out of trouble, and attended school, they would have a prosperous and fulfilling life.
Our youth are not failing the system; the system is failing our youth. Ironically, the very youth who are being treated the worst are the young people who are going to lead us out of this nightmare.
The society we are passing to today's young people is seriously damaged. Most of the institutions that have served us well for decades – even centuries – seem frozen and unable to move forward.
It is young people who are bearing the brunt of our failures. Full of zeal and relatively free of responsibilities, youth are traditionally the generation most inclined to question the status quo and authority.
Asking for democracy, for employment, for the right to dissent, for a better standard of living and freedom of political prisoners convicted without evidence. The youth of India, well-educated and rational, is all geared up to demand freedom from oppression, to exercise the right to dissent and to carve out his own identity.
History shows us that generations with an exceptionally high youth ratio create political movements that shake up their systems and leave a profound impact on history.
Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change. Today the youth is not ready to be oppressed anymore. The youth is ready to question, debate and dissent and march out in masses to make its voice led.
The secret message communicated to most young people today by the society around them is that they are not needed, that the society will run itself quite nicely until they — at some distant point in the future — will take over the reigns.
Yet the fact is that the society is not running itself nicely… because the rest of us need all the energy, brains, imagination and talent that young people can bring to bear down on our difficulties.
For society to attempt to solve its desperate problems without the full participation of youth is foolish.