It was encouraging to listen to Rahaul Gandhi, the youth icon of India, spilling his heart out at CII annual meet. He truly seemed to be representing a billion energetic Indians, unlike worn out politicians who often use the podium to push forward their political agenda.
Not many parliamentarians appear interested in channelizing the energy that India is filled with the way he was. But, is that going to work? For me, he was too optimistic to derive all positives out of his interaction with a poor group of migrant laborers seeking jobs.
Though he was full of praise for the courage with which the young men saw their chance of survival, I wish he had rather contemplated on the situation which forced them to leave their villages to seek a job somewhere else.
But even that could not have solved everything for them. There is a lot beyond an individual’s energy and courage to face the outside world that determines his fate.
I would rather narrate a different story. A young boy envisaged a big dream in his school life. Such was the commitment to his dreams that he almost achieved everything under the sun that he could.
After graduating from one of the IITs that Rahul Gandhi talked about, he followed it up with a PhD in Computer Sciences, and then top it all, he got an MBA degree too.
An ordinary engineer would satisfy himself with a bag full of prestigious degrees to his name. But this boy still had an extraordinary appetite for more.
So, he worked hard to crack one of the toughest exams in India to become an IAS officer. And, that is where the dream run ended for Ashok Khemka.
Such was the end of his dream that he could never sleep ever after, let alone weaving new dreams.
Having got transferred almost every six months, there is hardly anything worse that he could perhaps expect. The myriad of questions that arise are quite predictable. I wish you had answers to any of those, Mr. Youth Icon.
Granted he was humble enough to accept the structural disabilities of our system, be it political or education system.
While seeking the involvement of each and every section for inclusive growth, he did not make false promises that the government can fulfill everyone’s dream on its own. I appreciate him for realizing the potential of our country.
But realizations are not enough. They have to be put into action. And actions need conductive environs, for which we look up to our policy makers.
For India of our dreams, most radical changes are needed in our political system where there is a solution to every other problem. We agree that government alone cannot put everything in place, but neither can the aam aadmi.
