The unemployment crisis has silently invaded the lives of the Indian youth, and is often conveniently left out of the political rhetoric centred around religious conflict, communalism, and various other priorities and promises. However, the fact remains that for a large section of society, a job is the only way to break free from the cycle of poverty, to support their families, and finally be able to give a better direction to their lives. The present lack of employment can perhaps be easy to ignore because it does not stare one in the face. Instead, to be able to grasp the extent of the situation one has to go to ghetto-like areas of squalor where youngsters, having left their villages in the hope of a better life, live in horrid conditions, waiting for vacancies to open up so that they can pull themselves out of poverty.
In one such region of Bihar, in Patna, the Bazaar Samiti area of Musallahpur, The Wire’s staff spoke to the youth that survives in those matchbox-rooms to hear of their conditions, their aims, and their hopes. Buildings like these, where almost 60 people are housed in 40 small rooms, can be considered the citadels and epi-centres of the hunger, the frustration, but also the hope of youth. The young men that live here have left behind their rural, often agrarian families, and put their faith in education and the kind of employment it could offer them. They persist amid the heat, the lack of light and ventilation, and the poor sanitary conditions, and get a bare minimum monthly allowance from their families. Often, two people live in the same room, sharing a bed, sleeping on a mat on the floor, or even on the terrace because it allows them to spend less money on rent. Many bring their ration from home, and eat rice and dal on a regular basis.
One of the young men from this building recounts that his father was a peon for the PWD and the whole family survives on his pension of 12,000 rupees, from which 3,000 is sent to him monthly. From that 3000, after deducting rent, food costs, the fees of getting entrance forms and application, and even the occasional auto fare, he is often left with only about a 1000 rupees which he must save in case he falls sick, or needs to spend on his study supplies. In the room that he shares with another young man of 22, they have only one table fan, because the ceiling fan needs repair and they do not have 500 rupees to spare. He admits that while waiting for job vacancies, many youngsters cross the age limit for certain jobs and, defeated, commit suicide. He says that even though the media often regurgitates the Hindu-Muslim issues on the news, he will cast his vote for the party that he believes will give him employment, the party that will ‘do something’ instead of playing political games in the name of religion and caste, and instigating conflict.
Another young man narrates his experience over the past 7 years and says that having missed out on a job opportunity in 2019, he is still waiting for another to come by. He claims that if the promise for 2 crore new jobs every year had been fulfilled, he would have had a job by now. According to him, many students in Bihar face an issue because of their English standards, and to bypass this they often aim for posts with the Railways. However, over the past 6-7 years, he says that very few vacancies have come up for the positions of JE (Junior Engineer), ALP (Assistant Loco Pilot), RPF SI (Railway Protection Force Sub Inspector), and even RPF Police. He admits that under the governance of Tejashwi Yadav, there seems to be a new era of policies which are finally addressing the issue of unemployment. Four people in his family have finally found employment under the recent Yadav government, amongst whom is his sister who now teaches and supports him financially, but there is still a long way to go.
To worsen the unemployment crisis, there is also a shocking disparity of annual individual incomes even within Indian states. The average youth from Bihar makes about 30,000 rupees a year, whereas the average annual income of a youth from Karnataka lies at about 1,68,000 rupees. This is the reality of India’s youth, this is the underbelly of the same India which seeks to become Vishwaguru. In 2021-2022, there were only about 4.5 lakh contractual and permanent government jobs in Bihar, mostly restricted to the fields of teaching, healthcare, and police work. It is evident and imperative now that whether it be through the government, new industries, investment, or other forms, the unemployment crisis must be addressed by whichever government that comes to power.
The young men who inhabit the Bazaar Samiti area of Musallahpur, are ready to vote for whom they think will finally offer them a hand out of the cesspit that they live in. Some of these youth had voted for the BJP in the 2014 elections. Now, however, many seem to have changed their mind. It is no more about the 2 crore jobs promised by the BJP, or the guarantee cards given out by the Congress, because promises are easy to make. The state of these young men calls for action not words.
Bihar has been known to vote along the lines of caste and religious groups, however, these youth want a change in government because it is no longer a question of caste or religion but the simple one of – who is more likely to give them jobs. They feel that not much has changed over the past ten years, and they are willing to give another party a chance to do something different over the next five years. The question remains, will the rest of Bihar also finally leave behind the shackles of caste and religion and vote in the name of employment?
