Hues of glory

The 68th Republic Day is here and Bengaluru is bubbling with activity. From schools and colleges to malls, the tricolour is spreading joy. Youngsters in the city are rooting for change for a better tomorrow and voicing their aspirations.

While on one hand education is seen as the biggest enabler, on the other, one can see children selling pens and goods on the streets.

Komal Prakash, a BA student of Jyoti Nivas College, says that educating these  youngsters is the first step towards a progressive nation. “The ‘Right to Education’ still needs a lot of advocacy. I have met parents of some of these street children and creating awareness among them is a Herculean task.

Not everyone is open to the ‘Right to Education’, but many like me believe that this is the best investment for a developing nation like ours,” says Komal. She aims to soon create a team and branch out into a project which will focus on education of children and their rights.

Many people are oblivious of their rights and creating awareness among the underprivileged about their rights is what Aparana Raturi, a student of The Oxford College of Law, aims to do.

“Apart from conducting small awareness campaigns with friends, I have tried to reach out to people to make them aware of their own rights. I have visited slums in the Kodihalli area and other such places where women face domestic violence but are not sure about what to do,” she says.

As a prospective lawyer, Aparana aims to do social work along with academics.
The youth have a huge contribution to make towards nation-building. Rama Udaseen, a BA student of St Joseph’s College (Autonomous), is a staunch advocate of battling discrimination at work.

“Apart from improving safety for women outdoors, I strongly believe in the need for better human resource policies for women at workplaces,” says Rama. Though industrial regulations can be seen in place in many big companies, not many smaller organisations follow the same, she adds.

“Once I step into the professional world, I will work towards bringing better HR policies in companies,” she says. ‘Charity begins at home’ is what Ankita Hait, a student of The Oxford College of Arts, believes.

She is concerned about the environment and wants to make people sensitive to waste segregation and waste management.

“Despite being a beautiful city, Bengaluru is still under the ‘garbage curse’. While my family and I do waste segregation ourselves, I also make it a point to subtly advocate the cause to friends and family. I also ask them to avoid using plastic and paper,” says Ankita, adding that she encourages the use of second-hand books.
“For every book we hold in our hands, a tree is cut down. Since we live in the digital era, it is easy to control the use of paper,” she says.

A better nation includes better job opportunities for women and treating them equally, says Akhil A, a student of St Joseph’s College (Autonomous).

“It might seem like a simple thing but respecting a woman’s viewpoint and freedom is something that is lacking these days. With all sorts of horrific incidents happening against women, protecting and standing by them is the first step forward,” says Akhil.

Youngsters like Mohamed Yasir, a student of Jain College (Bangalore University), voice that unity in diversity is the need of the hour.

“The politicians of our country have their own agenda and blindly following their views will take us nowhere. Most youngsters in our country do not read enough. I have decided to research more about a situation before commenting or acting on it and I tell my friends the same,” he says. Yasir adds that in acity like Bengaluru, standing together for a cause is a requisite.

“It is our diverse culture that is our biggest blessing,” he adds.