Our future is in our own hands and right here

Created On: 15 Oct 2025 7:45 AM IST

Our future is in our own hands and right here

The old proverb about distant mountains being shiny is finally making sense to Indians. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks after the visa incident must be taken seriously. His pointed comments—stressing that we must stand on our own feet—are something Indians, especially those who pin their hopes on overseas jobs, should take particular note of. We don’t have to idolize America.

The idea that “a job is a man’s defining characteristic” belongs to an older era. In today’s modern age there’s no need to give that saying any weight. What matters now is whether jobs are available to everyone — are people with education actually getting work?

That is the question we need to ask. Are jobs meant only for the educated lot? No. Eligibility should be judged only by job-related requirements — physical fitness, education and skills, among others, must be taken into account. This piece is not meant to analyse job availability across the whole world. It is limited to understanding what the employment situation is like in India.

Health and education are inseparable. You can learn only if you are healthy. In the past, rural areas had more people in good health. Today, there is not much difference between villages and towns when it comes to protecting people’s health. Previously there was less need for people in villages to search for jobs. Formal schooling was not a requirement for most village work. Agricultural labour, farm tasks and various trades were plentiful; people earned their livelihoods and did not struggle to put food on the table on an everyday basis. Simply put, illiteracy did not prevent people in villages from getting work and the migration to towns was much lower.

In the past, resources for education in villages were extremely limited. Village life revolved around temple scholars teaching basic lessons; there were only a few schools and no higher education institutions. Most village students studied only up to about the fifth grade. To study beyond that, they had to go to nearby towns or cities. Those engaged in farming and trade had only minimal financial resources, so higher education was virtually inaccessible to them.

Times have changed! The value of education is finally understood! The determination to study no matter what—regardless of being poor or rich—has become widespread. That is why village elders now routinely work hard to send their children to towns for higher education. The belief that “higher education means studying in America” has taken hold.

In the 1980s and ’90s, going abroad became easier for students who had reached a certain level in life. Education loans were readily available in banks and villagers mortgaged their fields and property and sent their children overseas for further studies. While studying and working there, many sent their earnings back to their parents, which improved the financial standing of their respective families. When villagers became better off, they migrated to towns seeking a more comfortable life. Their children, who would visit occasionally, also preferred town life.

With the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act assuring at least 100 days of work (some kind of employment) for every adult in each village, a regular cash flow began to reach people alongside their livelihood. As a result, traditional manual and agricultural labour that young people used to do in the villages appeared burdensome.

The quest for urban life and luxury and people heading to the city, rang in drastic changes in village life. Agricultural work and field-level labour declined, as a result of which the rural agricultural system began to suffer. Unemployment figures began to increase in villages, while government schemes and welfare programs remained only on paper.

In fact, the culture of doing hard work for a livelihood disappeared from the rural fabric. In this situation, ordinary B.A. and M.A. graduates and young people were subject to unemployment woes even in towns. Jobs matching their education were hard to find, and hiring of such people for low-level work steadily declined.

Every incumbent government promises job calendars before elections, but those promises are just for namesake — there’s no evidence of actual follow up. Outsourcing practices that treat workers like expendable pieces have created an unstable, uncertain life for youth. Under the guise of welfare schemes, governments are trying to buy votes in villages and towns — especially by pacifying young people — but it’s unfortunate that they haven’t been able to create government jobs and meaningfully address the unemployment issue. It’s true that the recent policies announced by US President Donald Trump are hitting India hard. For new applicants (skilled non immigrants) the H 1B visa fee has surged to nearly six times the current fee — making it much harder for those hoping to go to the U S for work.

Moreover, this approach will severely affect many long standing software companies in the United States in the coming years. Bringing in new workers under this visa has become risky. Under the lottery system, until now roughly 85,000 people went each year; that number has reportedly plunged dramatically recently. There could be many difficulties ahead in hiring specialised workers.

In fact, we must not forget that for many years India’s youth-driven economic growth was largely due to progressive policies followed in the US. That said, given the current situation, Trump and others are firmly convinced that America’s economic rebound is the result of its lighter, more permissive policies. Other countries don’t have the right to dismiss that belief.

If we can develop our own products, jobs and skills without being intimidated by tariffs, even if the benefits don’t come today, we can achieve the results we hope for tomorrow.

(The writer is a retired IPS officer, who has served as an Additional DGP of Andhra Pradesh)