GUWAHATI: Influential indigenous organizations in the State like the AASU (All Assam Students' Union) and the AJYCP (Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva-Chatra Parishad) wield considerable power and can do what other stakeholders in the Assamese society cannot. But the million-dollar question is whether such organizations are out to create a future generation for agitations only, without infusing work culture into the indigenous youth
Assam has a registered unemployed workforce of around 18 lakh, including around 12 lakh who have passed Class X or higher secondary. While it is a Herculean task for the State Government to provide job avenues to this huge bulk, a large section of indigenous, work-shy youths among this workforce seems to have aggravated the problem. Now the problem seems to be an elephantine one.
No immediate solution to this problem is in sight while the limited skill development programmes being held in the State are inadequate to address the issue.
A scene glaringly visible in the State, including in Guwahati, is that a whole lot of indigenous youths shy away from doing petty jobs. They waste their time seeking some white-collar jobs but these jobs too elude them. The tragedy is that they cannot earn even to sustain themselves, let alone doing anything worthwhile for their aged parents.
However, the story is remarkably different when it comes to the youths belonging to religious and linguistic minorities in the State. Such youths, who cannot proceed further after matriculation and higher secondary standards, do not waste their time hankering after white-collar jobs. They keep earning around Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 monthly by doing petty jobs by working as green grocer, selling fish, pulling rickshaws, driving taxis, and even by doing construction works. According to a report, around 5,000 youths, 99 per cent of whom belong to religious minorities, are engaged in construction works in Guwahati alone.
But why are the youths belonging to indigenous communities reluctant to do such works? Needless to say, they are a huge burden to their parents as well as the society at large. This is what has been reflected in the findings of a survey on the jobless youths of Assam conducted by an NGO.
What is interesting is that a section of indigenous unemployed youths who are unwilling to do petty jobs in their own State do all sorts of jobs in other metropolitan cities like Bengaluru, New Delhi, Mumbai etc.
Influential indigenous organizations in the State like the AASU (All Assam Students' Union) and the AJYCP (Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva-Chatra Parishad) wield considerable power and can do what other stakeholders in the Assamese society cannot. But the million-dollar question is whether such organizations are out to create a future generation for agitations only, without infusing work culture into the indigenous youth. It's indeed high time such indigenous organizations helped inculcate work culture among the youths in question before it is too late. If this is not done, the day may not be far when the indigenous people of the State will have nothing to be proud of.
However, this gargantuan responsibility does not lie with influential organizations alone. The government at Dispur too has a role to play. True, the acute problem of unemployment cannot be solved overnight or by way of some miracle. But the government can play a pro-active role by providing the unemployed youths the required funds and other means so that they can start enterprises such as fish farming, poultry farming, dairy farming etc. Since the potential of such sectors in Assam has not been properly tapped as yet, crores of rupees continue to get drained out of the State to other States for importing goods every year. Here lies the irony. But here again lies a governmental responsibility, and it is here that the government can chalk out a pragmatic strategy not only to crack the problem of unemployment and unemployability but also to encourage entrepreneurship in small but steady ways. This is possible.
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