Missing, Bro! The Lost Youth of India - Dr. Ashutosh Javadekar

You never know what your social media feed will conjure. The other day, an Instagram Reel surfaced, likely a remnant of the Nag Panchami festival. In it, a live cobra was presented with a birthday cake, encircled by a dozen or so ecstatic youths. They celebrated as if they had won the lottery, lustily singing "Happy Birthday, Nagoba!" Following the song, the most zealous of the group lifted the cake towards the snake. The cobra, which had held its hood erect and poised, suddenly plunged its head violently into the pastry. The crowd’s excitement erupted. "It’s the Don’s birthday!" they screamed in unison as the video ended. I scrolled to the comments. A handful of animal lovers urged that the incident be reported to PETA. However, a vast majority of the youth had given the Reel a roaring endorsement. I can appreciate enthusiasm, and I can even forgive the follies of youth. But when I repeatedly witness the young generation of India wagering their futures on such mindless pursuits, I am filled with a profound disquiet. These are not isolated incidents; they are vignettes of a creeping decay, moral and intellectual, that is visible everywhere. In my friend's housing society, there is a gentleman who sits by his window all day, staring at a tree. He is silent. He lost his young son, and with him, his will to live. But his son did not die in an accident or from an illness. When the boy first became hooked on an online game, his parents were likely oblivious. The notion that gaming could be a fatal addiction probably never crossed their minds. The devastating reality struck them only after their son took his own life. The seventeen-year-old began by spending his pocket money on the game. Soon, he was borrowing from friends, then taking loans from any available source. When he couldn't repay a loan from a local slum-based gang, they began threatening him. After months of living in terror, he ended his life. Recently, while jogging in Pune's upscale Prabhat Road area, I sat on a bench to rest. I overheard a young girl behind me utter a profanity so vile that my head involuntarily snapped back. We have gradually become accustomed to the current generation’s brazen use of expletives, but her language was so foul it was still shocking. She was unbothered. The boys around her were equally unfazed. Their conversation continued without a flicker of shame. In Mumbai, I overheard young men at a five-star hotel casually planning an orgy with hired escorts. It echoed another scene in Pune, where youths celebrated a birthday by cutting a cake with a sword, after which one of them made a sinister, threatening remark about a girl. The nonchalance with which they discussed such depravity left me unsettled for days. Over the past few years, my travels in Europe have offered a stark point of comparison. Yes, there are negatives—rampant vaping, instances of racism, and casual obscenity. But I also saw countless young people engrossed in classic literature on the Paris Metro. I saw them jogging for fitness in Switzerland, even in the cold of night. At every such moment, I couldn't help but ask: What are the youth in India doing? In which direction are they hurtling? The first glaring change is this generation's obsession with volume. Whether it's a small birthday party or the innumerable annual processions with deafening DJs and laser shows, there is a vast difference between mischief and mania. The mania we see today is becoming unbearable. A young fan once messaged me, "Dada, the next two days will be chaos at the Ganpati immersion. I’ll be right in front of the DJ wall, dancing." When I asked if he enjoyed it, he replied, "A lot! The sound is so loud, you forget everything." It struck me then: when you have much to forget, noise becomes a necessity. In India, young people face such unrelenting competition that many simply lack the mental fortitude to accept failure. What remains is to amplify the noise and dissolve everything in it. This brings to mind a reflection by the eminent playwright Mahesh Elkunchwar, an observation so fundamental it requires no further comment: "At the slightest pretext of happiness, these people raise their right fist and let out a cry of 'Yessss!'... This is very American. And America is not some ancient, classical civilization... Then, someday, it dawned on me that there is no joy in their hearts to begin with. So, external reasons have to be found. And as if that's not enough, they have to shriek to convince themselves that yes, they are happy. And that they have shown it to the world!" This performance of happiness is most potent on social media. A new generation is being forged before our eyes, one that measures its entire existence by its follower count. These platforms are not charities; they operate on an addiction model. I once joked with a young friend, "In our day, we used to check out girls. You guys only check out Stories!" Jokes aside, the previous generation had real-world activity; this one has screen-based activity. This is a generation that often doesn't distinguish between intimacy and sex. For those now in their forties, virginity until marriage was largely the norm. Today, that concept has all but evaporated. Consequently, 'sex-freewheeling' is rampant, often funded by parents' money in parents' homes. Whether gay, lesbian, or straight, a common thread is the avoidance of commitment. They believe in "night over, matter over." But the imprints of intimacy do not simply vanish. Neurology tells us they stay with us for life, unknowingly shaping—and breaking—us. Relationships produced like items on an assembly line often leave behind a profound emptiness. And when a young person finds himself utterly alone, does he seek solitude in nature? No. He seeks a party, a pill, and a crowd. This is a generation that struggles with solitude, seeking refuge in the herd. They may be followers in a crowd but remain deeply isolated in their hearts, making them vulnerable to every kind of addiction, from gaming to drugs. The unrestricted use of profanity in OTT content has normalized it to a dangerous degree. For many, it's no longer friendly banter but a performance of dominance—a power discourse masquerading as 'cool'. Watching this generation sprint from values to visibility is disturbing, but I am also aware that some of the blame lies with my own. We, too, often confuse the laxity of freedom with the discipline that true liberty demands. Of course, there are exceptions. Many young people are engaged in excellent social work, are dedicated to fitness, and use social media to discuss books and life goals. But when I look at the broader landscape, their numbers seem terrifyingly small. Can this be changed? The prevailing ideal for today's youth is to get rich and famous on Instagram. It is incumbent upon us—the government, educators, and the media—to present better role models than just politicians and entertainers. We must learn from the West's positive traits: their sense of individual responsibility, their comfort with solitude, and their profound commitment to physical fitness. A nation's youth is its most vital asset. The trajectory of our country in twenty years will be determined by them. And let me state this with all seriousness: a generation weakened by addiction to substances and social media, steeped in a herd mentality and street-level intimidation, cannot lead our nation forward. I want to end with a quote from Roger Federer: "There is no way around hard work. Embrace it." For the youth spending their parents' money in shabby cafes while dreaming of millions of followers, it is time to blast this quote as loud as any DJ's wall of speakers. Dr. Ashutosh Javadekar

( This article is the translated version of the original article बेपत्ता ब्रो! - हरवलेली भारतीय तरुणाई  written by Dr. Ashutosh Javadekar published in the Sahitya Chaprak Diwali Ank 2025 )