Don’t spoil the youths!

The first offspring of Nepal’s two great democratic shifts—in the 1950s and 1990s, the political opening and activism, and provisions of fundamental civic and human rights were heralded by none other than the then youths. The country has grown since then at a frantic pace for the post 52 years. The country’s massive poverty, inequality, rampant corruption at the highest political echelons, ever growing debt and social prejudices threaten to undermine the nation’s development. Recent history did not provide a "role model" as promised to by the namesake democratic leaders for the country’s youths to emulate. Despite more than two hundred plus years of the nation’s history the basic question for the "survival of people" remains unsettled. Nepal needs today a generation of the youth that will handle the nation’s historic task of maintaining democratic identity judiciously with greater respect for the rule of law, the universal principle of fairness and the idea of freedom.

The Nepalese media cultures rooted as they are in societal interest groups have miserably failed in inculcating youth in the ideals, institutions and practices of democratic aspirations and converting them into a "model citizenship" that is capable of discharging responsibility fallen upon them by the Spirit of the Age. Media as it stands today even failed to educate them about their civic rights and the accompanying duties. They unfortunately debate only on their prerogatives of the journalists, the owners of their papers and their exclusive rights underlined in the constitution. This is the reason "youths" of Nepal are looking for a "moral anchor" so that they can relieve themselves from the "behind-the scene-maneuver" types of political culture and help them enable to set themselves on a constitutional path. Negativism and passivism projected by the media of late into the delicate minds of the present day youths have contributed to the alienation of youths from the society, migration broad, resorting to fatalism and, even rebellion tendencies. These tendencies all put together are lethal enemies of democracy, modernity and human rights. How to overcome these deadly dangerous tendencies and bring the already derailed youths to "cognitive consonance", positivism and patriotism is the major challenge of the Nepalese media. How youths can become a part of the community and set the community work together are intrinsically linked to strengthen the cohesion and harmony of civil society and the state. Media as a cornerstone of modernity can also mediate the ties between "youthful idealism", and the "reality of the nation", between freedom of choice provided by the constitution in place and the anti-constitutional tendencies of Nepal’s totally corrupt elite and set off the process of reformative politics in the nation. We believe, the media have a positive role to play both to have transformatory potential and communicative and socially integrative content. The nation’s future lies on the youths of the nation which means they must engage in promoting social tranquility and peace.

With these keeping in mind, this modest newspaper in cooperation with the German Foundation, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung organized a media seminar last week entitled Youth, Media and Democracy with the primary objective of highlighting the role of our own sector in character building of the youths of Nepal so as to ensure democratic future of this nation; help overcome negative feelings among today’s youths by formulating a matrix of values to socialize the youths to loyalty to the society and have an abiding and deep sense of community; and finally to establish youth-media interface and position their responsibility not just remaining agents of bargaining and compromise their sectoral interests, but to the interest of the now the society as a whole.

The kind of scholars, mediamen and the youths alike participated in the said seminar and forwarded their comments on the topic of the seminar must now jerk the government to begin paying attention to the sector which has remained ever neglected from the very beginning of the 1990 for obvious political reasons. It is time that the political parties too who in one way or the other used the youths as their political tools should abandon in doing so in the larger interest of the youths in particular and of the nation in general. It is also time concurrently for the youths to ascertain as to which forces exploited their vast potentials till to date to get misused for achieving their political gains which in the process made them to deflect from obtaining their cherished career. It is time that the political parties come to their senses and allow the country’s youths to pave their fate on their own. No more interference please in to their career.

It is also time that the country’s youths converge and unite in safeguarding their career by summarily rejecting to become the tools of political parties.

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