Youth are the golden treasure of a country. The more they are polished the greater they will shine, the more they are trained the greater they will perform, the more they are skilled the greater and faster the country will grow, the more they are motivated the greater will be the output. Youth are not only backbone of a country but also a lifeline of the nation. It is therefore essential to educate them according to their strength and potential, with moral values so that they not only add more value to their motherland but also serve their country with profound care and humility, with dignity and pride.
Believe it or not, youth resemble the spirit of the nation and therefore it becomes responsibility of the government to provide all that is essential to harness their skill and potential so that they can work towards building a dynamic India where everyone live in peace and harmony with we feeling and sense of togetherness. With proper education, skill and definite objective and purpose of life these youth can change the course of human history, or at least, make India one of the leading nations of the world so that other countries crave to emulate, in order to be on the top of the civilization in the annals of history. In this article, we will analyse how Radiance has covered the issue of youth in general and Muslim youth in particular.
Radiance in its editorial, “Indian Youth: They need a direction” (13-19 February, 2005) has emphasised the point that despite all round development in the field of education, with mushrooming growth of educational hub and institution, yet it has not been able to raise the educational standard and moral behaviour of youth on the desired scale. Misguided youth are indulging in anti-social activities. Widespread corruption has become our national weakness. Sex related crimes and crimes against women are on the increase. Eve teasing is becoming favourite pastime of young people. Extra- and pre- marital sex is becoming more acceptable, and it is feared, may in future be as widespread as in the morally degenerated west.
What is the root cause of this moral crisis young India is facing? These questions are still valid and need to be addressed sooner to prevent youth from going astray. It is therefore essential that community leaders and senior people should set examples of moral uprightness, devotion and dedication for the right cause with high moral values and good character. If not then India can make progress materially but will lose morally.
Md Ziaullah Khan in his article, “Youth is strength – strength that works miracles” in Radiance (13-19 February, 2005) has attempted to define youth by how a 20th century writer, Mustada Al Rafi’yee has described youth. To him, youth is strength, for the sun does not brighten in the afternoon as much as it does in the morning. In youth, there is a kind of life with which death seems to sound like sleep and during its youth a tree brings forth its fruit, while after that it gives nothing but wood.
As we move to some other paragraph in this article, the writer has described youth as described in Islam. Allah says: ‘Allah is He who created you of weakness then He appointed after weakness strength, then after strength He appointed weakness in grey hair’. (Al-Qur’ān-30-54) This is taken to be the most concise and direct reference to the three main phases of a person’s life; childhood, during which one is weak, dependent and helpless; youth during which one is fully developed, free to act and think, and full of strength, vitality and energy; and old age, when a person reverts to helpless and depending on others, into a state of complete weakness, with faculties dwindling, energy fading away, vitality receding and falling rapidly.
In Islamic history too, youth have played a major role from where youth of today can draw inspiration and lead by example. Prophet Ibrahim challenged the non-believers of his time when he was only 20 years of age. Prophet Yusuf was appointed minister by the ruler of Egypt when he was 30 years old. Prophet Yahya was given “the wisdom while he was a young boy. Ibn Khatir had once said that it was youth who responded to the call of Islam. Notably, the first male to believe in Islam was a ten-year old boy, Ali ibn Abi Talib. Among women too, youth played significant roles in shaping the Muslim Ummah. Asma, daughter of Abu Bakr, played a vital role in the history of Islam during Hijrah. Her sister, Ayesha, who was one of the wives of the Blessed Messenger, emerged as an authority in Islam.
On 29 November 1981, as published in Radiance, a Muslim youth leader Mr Javed Habib had proposed the idea of celebrating the year 1982 as “Muslim Youth Year,” where emphasis was to be given to various measures by which they could raise their standard of living and preserve and promote values. During this period it was decided to hold All India Muslim Youth Convention and establishment of Muslim Development Centre and a job information centre at the centre.
Radiance covered a speech delivered by Dr. M. Nejatullah Siddiqi at the meeting of students during the 6th All India Ijtema of JIH in Hyderabad which can reasonably guide the youths of all generations and does provide a roadmap for them to play their part in a more convincing and productive manner. During his speech, Dr. Siddiqi said much progress can be made by the sincere and dedicating efforts directed at ameliorating the social and economic conditions of our people. Hunger and fear, poverty and disease, illiteracy and superstition, exploitation and discrimination, corruption and opportunism are all pervading. A group of people working sincerely to remove these ills and willing to make sacrifices for this cause is sure to evoke kind regards and sympathy. This is what you need to make people listen to you and to weaken their prejudices. I am afraid the young men from the other communities are not going to read your publications or attend your meetings in a big way unless they are first attracted by some substantial services rendered by you to the Indian society in general and not only to the Muslims of India.