KKR’s Rinku Singh, who found a place in the record books and the hearts of millions of cricket fans on Sunday by hitting five sixes in the last over and taking his side to victory, is just one example of what India’s youth can achieve by pursuing their dreams and developing their talent, rather than settling for a future decided for them by circumstances. The alternate that life had offered him when he made the choice to continue with cricket was a cleaning job that had the immediate prospect of earning some money. Like so many other Indian athletes, he struggled to develop his skills in adverse circumstances. Kudos to the system that provided him the opportunity to rise to the IPL level, regardless of his background, and the KKR selectors who recognised his talent and stuck by him!
And we have youths who have degrees in engineering and various other subjects applying for class four government jobs for just that ‘security’ that achievers shun! They agitate for reservations, spend their parents’ life-savings to buy stolen test papers, spend years in wasted efforts to get the job that pays for doing basically very little!
This is despite the fact that there are Rinku Singhs in every domain, pursuing their talent and making a mark. The ‘start-up culture’ is spreading vertically and horizontally and achieving success at the grassroots level. The examples are many and reported every day, which should become templates for youths wishing to make more of their lives than giving up their dreams for a regular salary and a ‘permanent’ job. Of course, there are setbacks on the way. Who has achieved success without encountering failure?
The entrepreneurial culture should spread to every section of society, rather than just the communities that have traditionally been of enterprising nature. This should be inculcated at the school level, with the curricula imparting real life skills than mere information, which is today available at the click of a smartphone. India’s New Education Policy is an attempt to do just that by aligning subjects on the basis of interest, talent and inherent skill. The ability to score high in tests that rely almost entirely on memorisation should not be the only skill to aspire for; it should also be outcome based and realistic. Inherent talent(s) should be recognised and developed in the appropriate way in an environment directed at benefiting from India’s supposed ‘demographic’ advantage. That is the only way forward.
