'BANGLADESH: The Next Generation', the report of a study conducted by the British Council on 2,167 young men and women, aged between 15 and 30, which was released in the capital Dhaka on Saturday, reveals some interesting facts and figures. According to media reports, the study has found 98 per cent of the respondents willing to engage in social services and 95 per cent of them interested to work towards redressing the many problems that plague their localities.
However, 74 per cent, or nearly three-fourths, of them are not interested to join politics, which, needless to say, is the most potent vehicle to ensure pervasive social welfare. Such aversion of young men and women to politics is disconcerting, to say the least; after all, they constitute a third of the population and are supposed to lead the nation in the days to come. Yet, undesirable and unfortunate as it may be, their aversion to politics is quite understandable.
Over the years, thanks to the self-aggrandising sections of the ruling class across the partisan divide, politics has been supplanted by a crude struggle for state power, which is high on rhetoric but low on result, high on partisan bickering but low on political discourse, high on idolisation but low on democratic ideology, and the list may go on and on. Such crude power struggle, devoid as it is of any democratic principles or political objective and, most importantly, of any concern or thought for collective well-being, needless to say, features pervasive violence and vandalism for territorial supremacy on campus, in market, etc, all in the name of politics, and for control over money-spinning criminal activities – extortion, tender manipulation, admission business and whatnot.
Moreover, the existing political camps have managed to inexorably divide society right down the middle and induce a climate of intolerance that precludes any space for constructive engagement. Overall, the two opposing political camps, two sides of the same coin as they have virtually become, actually have very little appeal to the conscious and conscientious sections of the youth. In other words, the aversion to politics of young and women, as revealed in the British Council study, is actually a damning indictment of the blend of politics that the existing political establishments are engaged in and that has contributed a to a dangerous de-politicisation of society.
While the reaction of the young minds to the prevailing political culture is understandable, it is unacceptable nonetheless. It is their increasing apathy, if not antipathy, to politics that has allowed some self-aggrandising politicians to call the roost. If 'rotten' elements dominate the political scene, it is because the supposedly sound minds have chosen not to do politics. If the young people expect healthy politics, they need to join politics and try to change the system from within; after all, criticism from a distance can hardly bring about any qualitative change in politics.
Ultimately, however, the responsibility lies with the political leaders of the day; they have to mend their ways and narrow down the gap between what they preach and what they practise. They need to realise that de-politicisation of society may serve them in the immediate term but leave the state and society irrevocably weakened. Educational institutions, especially the teachers, can also play a vital role in making the young men and women politically conscious through democratic indoctrination and orientation. On the whole, society cannot afford to have its youth completely de-politicised.
On 6/13/10, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
------ Forwarded message ----------
From: Javed Ahmad
They are 'happy' because they are not aware of many of the world trends and events that is taking shape and how they might affect them. And they 'want to leave the country' because they do not know what 'freedom' means as the world is gradually turning into a prison. Our present young generation are the believers of "ignorance is bliss". Soon they would come to know the truth and will be totally clue less. Perhaps then they would come to understand that this life is not a bed of roses.
--- On Sun, 6/13/10, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
From: Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Happy youth: 42% wants to leave the country
To:
Date: Sunday, June 13, 2010, 2:28 AM
Most youths are happy, but half of them want to go abroad
British Council survey reveals
Eighty eight per cent of young people in Bangladesh are either happy or very happy while 42 per cent young people want to go abroad, said a survey report conducted by the British Council.
On the findings of the study, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said: "The total number of young people in Bangladesh is around 55 million. Among this 88 per cent are happy or very happy while 1.6 per cent are unhappy. It's a positive sign for our country. As the young generation is happy they can bring a better future for the country."
She said 76.5 per cent of youth believe women should play a greater role in decision making affecting their community while 73 per cent of them own a mobile phone. Both are good signs as we are going on our way of fulfilling Vision 2021, she added.
The foreign minister said this while speaking at the launching ceremony of the survey report titled "Bangladesh: The Next Generation" at a city hotel on Saturday.
British High Commissioner Stephen Evans said: "This survey demonstrates the need and opportunities offered by mobilising one of the Bangladesh's greatest assets--the 55 million young people between the ages of 15 and 30 and pointed to the significance of active citizenship in building communities and improving livelihood to take Bangladesh forward."
British Council Director Charles Nuttall OBE recognised the transformational power of young Bangladeshis and added: "We hope the report will promote discussion on how the immense social and human capital that Bangladeshi youth have to offer can be harnessed."
The survey involved hour long interviews with 2,167 males and females aged between 15 and 30, which the British Council claims were representatives of the demographics of young people in Bangladesh.
The survey found that young people had an overall positive view of the country's progress - with 79 percent believing that "the country is heading in the right direction". However, 60 percent of the interviewees said that they felt that corruption will or may get worse in the next five years.
They ranked bribery as the second most important factor, next to education, in securing a job- with 12 percent believing it to be the major factor.
It also found that only 15 percent thought that student politics is a good thing. Another 36 percent said student politics has a detrimental effect on educational institutions.http://fe-bd.com/more.php?news_id=102985&date=2010-06-13
On 6/13/10, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
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> British Council survey on bangladesh youth
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> http://www.dailyjanakantha.com/news_view.php?nc=15&dd=2010-06-13&ni=21648
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