Essays

The problem of unemployment is a world-wide reality. The developed countries like the U.S., England. France, Germany, Italy etc. also suffer from this problem, but it is more pronounced in India. With the passage of time it has become worse. It has become a threat to India's economic well-being and social development.

It is one of the major causes of our poverty, backwardness, crimes and frustration among the people. India is the second largest country after China in terms of population and man-power. But because of large scale unemployment there is a large waste of this manpower. There are capable and willing hands but there is no suitable employment for them. They are forced to remain idle.

The ever increasing number of Job-seekers on the live registers of employment exchanges shows how alarming and serious this problem has become in the recent years. The number of the unemployed people registered with the employment exchanges in the country, just gives a rough idea of the problem. Because all the job-seekers and unemployed persons do not get themselves registered with the employment exchanges. Moreover, there are no employment exchanges in the villages and rural areas of the country.

There are millions of young men and women waiting and waiting for job opportunities. This chronic problem of unemployment is not confined to any particular class, segment or society. It is all pervading. There is massive unemployment among educated, well- trained and skilled people and it is also there among semi-skilled and unskilled labourers, small and marginal farmers and workers.

Then there is underemployment. The jobs being created have miserably failed to keep pace with the ever increasing number of job-seekers. It is a problem which presents a great challenge to our leaders, thinkers, planners, economists, industrialists and educationists.

In the far flung areas, villages and towns the problem is all the more acute as there are thousands and thousands of workers and farm labourers who do not have their own piece of land to cultivate. Majority of our farmers too, have very small holdings. Consequently, they remain idle for many months of the year. This has resulted in a mass exodus from villages to the cities and large towns. It is because of this limitless unemployment that the majority of our population has been living below the poverty line.

The problem of unemployment has also given rise to many other serious problems like those of extremism and terrorism. We should not forget that an idle mind is a devil's workshop. Many young man takes recourse to lawlessness, violence, antisocial activities, terrorism and extremism because of frustration arising out of prolonged unemployment and lack of proper job opportunities.

A frustrated and unemployed man or woman can prove a very dangerous person. He or she will never allow others to live in peace and happiness. Many of our law and order problems are directly linked with this problem of unemployment among our young men and women. They are full of energy, drive, and initiative. If not property oriented, these are bound to explode into harmful and antisocial activities. Therefore, it is the need of the hour that the youth is suitably employed and its energies, capabilities and skills are harnessed for fruitful and nation-building activities. If this problem of unemployment is solved, many other problems would be solved automatically. For a democratic country and a welfare state like ours. Unemployment is a big curse, which can be eliminated to a great extent by proper manpower planning and creation of job opportunities at a large scale.

If the rise of our manpower cannot be reduced. It becomes imperative that the demand for it is sufficiently increased by proper short and long term planning both in public and private sectors.

There are many reasons that are too obvious to be ignored as far as this problem is concerned. The rapidly increasing population, defective education system, slow growth of industries, neglect of cottage Industries, backwardness of our agriculture etc. are some of the major causes of the problem. Defective, long and short term, manpower planning is another factor helping this problem to have a new dimension. There are a few more factors. Which have contributed in worsening the situation, but they are not as major as the above ones.         

Our education system should be reviewed and changed according to our present needs. Like factories our universities, colleges and schools are still producing on a large scale, a rich crop of graduates fit only for white collar jobs in the offices.

These graduates are fit only for such jobs as those of clerks, assistants, officers and bureaucrats sitting at tables in the offices. These matriculates, graduates and post- graduates have created a spate of unemployment. These educated but unemployed youths numbering millions and millions are a source of great anxiety and concern. Our education should be work- oriented. It should be such as enables a person to stand on his own feet instead of depending on others. It is really an irony that our highly educated and trained personnel like engineers, doctors, scientists etc. run after the government jobs. They are not willing to start their own workshops, laboratories, factories and businesses.

It is perhaps because of the education system started by the Bruisers long, ago which has totally lost its relevance and still prevails. Out educated young men and women instead of facing the challenges and creating suitable job opportunities through self-employment are wasting themselves in I he pursuit of routine and easy to perform government jobs. They depend too much on the government and lack the courage and inspiration to stand on their own feet. There should be more and more emphasis on vocational education. There should be more and more technical institutions and training centres. Indiscriminate and unplanned admissions in colleges and universities should also be checked. Higher education should be reserved only for those who really deserve it.

It is really shocking that our Five Year Plans have consistently increased the number of unemployed persons. It is because our planners have failed in taking a proper long term view of the problem. Because of defective planning and poor manpower management there are jobs for which we have not sufficient number of proper hands and on the other hand, there are thousands and thousands of hands for whom there are no suitable jobs. This has given rise to brain-drain and flight of our talented people to other countries in search of greener pastures. Our manpower planning should be based on objective analysis, facts and figures and such other relevant factors.

Our wrong priorities, planning and policies have resulted in dangerous gaps and holes in our various employment schemes. Because of lack of proper manpower planning the graduates and post graduates of various disciplines are forced to settle down for the jobs quite different to their education training and aptitude.

The rapid growth in our population is another major cause of this problem. Every minute there is an addition of 40 or more people to our already unmanageable population. Consequently, the creation of job opportunities has not kept pace with the rapidly increasing population. Besides unemployment among educated young men and women, it is there among uneducated labour. Every year there is an increase of over 4 million people in the labour sector. The rural unemployment is increasing rapidly resulting in great pressure on the land cultivation and cottage industries.

The ever declining trend in village industry and handicrafts has further worsened the situation. Our prevailing education system is also to blame for this problem. Our colleges and universities are still producing, on a mass scale, graduates fit only for office jobs like those of clerks, assistants and officers. The indiscriminate expansion of education facilities at college and higher levels of education is a sheer waste of national resources.

Our education should be totally restructured to make it work oriented. We need more of technical education than liberal education. Education should be such that teaches a person to stand on his own feet, instead of depending on government for a job. It should imbibe in the student a sense of the dignity of labour to start his own factory, workshop or business. The much prevailing education system started by the Bruisers long ago, has lost its relevance and so should be suitably changed. Indiscriminate and unplanned admissions in colleges and institutions of higher learning should be checked.

Our industries too have lagged behind. It is also a big factor which has aggravated the situation. We have invested on a very large scale in public sector industries, which have low employment potentials, neglecting small and village industries. Indiscriminate automation and computerization have also contributed to the worsening of the situation. Any expansion in industries should be closely related with the immediate needs of the community.

Without keeping it in mind any manpower planning can be effective and successful. The emphasis should be on proper planning and utilization of our vast manpower. It is imperative that we seek people's solutions based on our ground realities instead of solutions based on abstractions. There should be maximum utilization of our industrial capacity but based only on these principles.

Recently there has been much talk to make 'right to work' as one of the fundamental rights, but nothing concrete has emerged so far. Moreover, it does not seem to be practical in a country like India with its vast population and dwindling natural resources. To alleviate this problem of unemployment and under-employment in villages a progressive employment scheme called Jawahar Rozgar Yojana was introduced in 1989. More such schemes are needed to create gainful employment opportunities for scheduled tribes, scheduled castes and other backward classes and communities in the rural areas of the country.

The rural unemployment has been a major contributory factor of this highest incidence of poverty in spite of our efforts towards development and industrialization.