Educating , Empowering

actively involving youth to

uplift rural India
Author: K.Mohan alias Mohan Sanjeevan
Science and Science Fiction Writer, Poet
, Researcher, Project advisor, Planetary
sciences
Soul of India resides in rural India
Soul of India resides in rural India. The villages its
body should be well nourished to take care of the
soul. Youth is the energetic phase in ones life. It is
only fitting the youth is educated, empowered and
actively involved in the uplift of the soul and thereby
the rural India. It is a two fold step involving first the
local youth and then the outside youth.

Role of Local youth in the uplifting of

rural India

In every country youth should be involved in the

development of the country as youth are prime and
vibrant in their energy during this phase of life.
These days youth are being well educated. Once
educated they move to cities and towns for
livelihood, seeking progress in life. Youth should be
given the opportunity to remain in their villages after
education to uplift the rural India

The process of Uplifting rural India

The process of uplifting rural India is about retaining
the youth to remain in their villages and then inviting
outside youth too contributing to their growth and
making them prosperous. In rural India education,
medical care, economy should be brought within its
fold without moving to the towns and cities.

Setting up schools and colleges,

hospitals, banks other outlets like shops
and other amenities
Schools and colleges may be opened without much
compromising agricultural lands. For every 15 kms a

school may be opened and for every 25 to 30

kilometers a college may be opened to cater to the
village and the surrounding villages for which
portions of available lands may be set aside without
putting any farmer to hardship. Well equipped
hospitals, banks all may be set up which provides
employment opportunities for the educated local
youth. Shops and other amenities run by the local
youth may also come up avoiding the need to go to
the towns and cities.

- A village bank with ATM facility

-A small village shop which serves as a tea shop too

Agriculture the backbone of India and

the villages should be retained
Soul of India resides in villages and agriculture is the
body and backbone of the villages. Agriculture the
back bone of the village should be retained with the
sale of agricultural lands being stopped.

-green houses in the agri land intended originally

for use as school and college

In a recent visit to a village I have come across an

instance of an agricultural land bought with an
intention to build a school and college being given
up to take up agriculture which is welcome and
laudable promoting the village in its true form. In
that particular agricultural land green houses have
been set up to protect the crop from the chill weather
, snow and cold. Such attitude should be adopted

by all villages to retain the agriculture lands without

selling them and promoting them for better
agriculture.

Youth already educated in villages

encouraged to do agriculture and
educating others
The youth already educated in villages may be
encouraged to do agriculture. They may be given
necessary training in agricultural methods and
efficient management of water, power and other
resources if they do not have these skills already. In
addition they may educate the local illiterate
population. They may be given all facilities to
educate their local population including the lesser
privileged farm laborers educating them in their after
work hours in the evenings, night.

Alternative livelihood methods like cow

farms, bee rearing to produce honey,
power generation using cobar gas etc.,
focused and established

In addition to agriculture, alternative livelihood

methods have to be employed to support the
farmers and local population to earn a living besides
the basic agriculture. Such methods will not move
away from the basic agriculture and will remain,
retain village surroundings and atmosphere.
Alternative yet simultaneous ways of livelihood like
cow farms to generate cow milk, bee keeping to
produce honey, power generation using cobar gas
within their agricultural lands, common ponds storing
rain water, carpentry, energy efficient house building
methods using solar and wind energy , equipping
with internet and communication facilities may all be
taken up to make the rural population self-reliant and
self-sufficient . Youth may be enlightened and
awakened to make their village a model village to
emulate one village not inferior to other village in any
manner. They shall promote brotherhood and
peaceful co existence to share the benefits of
progress. These are the hallmarks of uplifted
villages paving the way for uplifting of the whole
rural India

The role of outside youth

We have so far seen involving local educated youth
in uplifting their villages and thereby uplifting the
whole rural India. Personally I have visited and seen
teams of youth previously employed in high-tech
jobs in their cities giving them up to take up
agriculture collectively. More encouraging is the
news that youth from cities take keen interest to visit
the villages to volunteer agricultural work in the
fields like sowing, irrigating, safeguarding plants.

Formation of working teams like week

end agriculturists
Apart from giving up jobs entirely, the youth in towns
and cities have come up with an innovative idea of
setting up week end agriculturists teams where
volunteers select a particular village,visit agricultural
fields and help the local farmers in their sowing,
irrigating, weeding out grass around the plants,
irrigating, harvesting. They have created awareness
on Organic farming to preserve the fertility of the soil
is also seen to catch up auguring well for the soul of

India. Such a soul will be enlightened and elevated

and the rural India as a whole will also be
enlightened and elevated. This is a case of outside
youth other than the local youth actively involved in
the uplifting of rural India. Though myself living in a
town I have taken the opportunity to visit as a
volunteer along with weekend agriculturist teams to
have first hand witnessing and participate in such
transformation by the educated youth

- Team of week end agriculturists in high-tech jobs

in city working as volunteers in organic farm

Jaiho youth, jaiho rural India!

Poem
Hello, Charming youth,vibrant youth!
Out here, out there, out our whole of India!
Come on! Educate, empower yourself
Stay put in your villages, villages need you
Educate , empower others in your villages,
Bring schools, colleges, hospitals,banks, shops
What so and what not to your village folds,
Think alternative, think livelihood methods to
support ,supplant agriculture
Let there be holy cow farms, bee keeping,
Cobar gas plants, common ponds to pool,
harvest rain water, learn do carpentry,
energy efficient buildings, go solar, go windy,
reap solar, reap wind energy,
link upto the world with internet, communication
Hello, my dear outside youth too
Move to villages, villages need you too
To imbibe fresh thinking, fresh blood
Into our body of agriculture
Get settled there to make it grow
Form week end teams to volunteer in villages
To enrich, enlighten the soul our rural India
Uplift, long live, Jaiho youth, jaiho rural India!