"People who dwell in glittering cities are rarely aware of the hardships and humiliation that their brethren undergo in the darkness."
It was midnight on December 7, 2014. We had just had the good luck of darshan at the Bhawan in Vaishno Devi. The next 1.5 kilometres to Bhairon Baba Mandir looked quite daunting. My 7-year old cousin had fallen asleep. The poor child had walked all the way from Banganga to the Bhawan! We decided to hire a man to carry him on his back, locally called as the "Piththoo". This local set off at a brisk pace on the relatively steeper slope and I followed close behind. We covered the distance in no time. Obviously, by the end of the climb I was huffing and puffing like a steam train, while he hadn't broken a sweat yet.
While the elders were yet to appear in view, the local and I got chatting. He wasn't old, may be 27 or 28. He said that he hailed from Udhampur, a town situated not far away. We talked about the general benefits of living in the hills and other things. As time progressed, he spoke more about himself. He is a Post-Graduate! A Master of Arts (M.A.) from a state university! And here he was lugging children and luggage!
Why don't you have a job ? I asked stupefied by the revelation.
He had wanted to join the Army but his family had intervened and forced him to go for graduation. After having completed his P.G. he applied for government jobs but to no avail. Apparently, there is a nexus that has pushed down several of such deserving candidates. So, he is waiting, trying to get into a job. Meanwhile, one has to feed oneself, he says, so he works. About a thousand boys and men like him had come from Udhampur, with varying levels of education and are currently employed as menial workers in Katra and on the way up to the Bhawan. The old people working the route are mostly Kashmiris, he said. The younger ones are from the local region, desperate to find some work to sustain themselves as they seek employment.
I became uncomfortable. Here was a person, more qualified than me (I just have a Bachelor's degree) who was working day and night (It was past one a.m. by now) essentially as a labourer. I could not say anything more and was glad that the others arrived by then. The man disappeared into the crowds but left me pondering over a lot of questions.
The issue of unemployment and un-employability is one that has not seen significant improvement. Will the Skill India mission add anything? Where will the jobs come from? What about unemployed post-graduates? Where do they fit in the scheme of things? How does one contribute if possible to reverse this trend?
There are a plethora of questions that are yet to be answered and I am looking for answers beyond policies on paper, and in the areas of execution. It remains to be seen whether it turns out to be a demographic dividend that we reap or a demographic disaster that we suffer in the near future.
