Youth Is “Violent Struggle” For A More Equal Society

The Oxford University on 10^th jan announced a major study on how unemployment in India is politicising young people who then often turn to “violent struggle” for a more equal society. The focus would be on north India where, it said, unemployment was more acute and causing social tensions.
“Young people have invested time and money in their education and yet find there are very few salaried jobs for them. This has left them feeling short-changed and frustrated. Educational levels have risen rapidly but there is a big gap between their aspirations and the reality of the current jobs market,” said Dr. Craig Jeffrey who has worked extensively in India and will lead the study.
A Lecturer in Human Geography at Oxford and author of the book ‘Timepass,’ based on his research in north India, Dr. Jeffrey said scholars knew “surprisingly little” about the extent to which unemployment was pushing educated young people towards “political actions.” This had resulted in “media stereotypes” of youth. The study would strive to move beyond these stereotypes.
“These questions have been largely the subject of journalistic conjecture. We want to find out from our survey whether they feel globalisation is changing their lives for the better; find out whether their political views change when they leave school; and ask them why their protest groups are not longer lasting.