December 2012, New Delhi – The protesters took to the roads of the national capital asking for justice for the girl who was battling for her life after being gang raped mercilessly. Tear gas shells were being thrown, water cannons were firing cold water and the people were being dragged and lathi-charged, but the youth did not give up. The demonstrations kept going on for weeks, regardless of the harsh weather, the hostile police and several other difficulties. Think about this for a while, think what you were doing when all of this was happening, and then answer.

We fight when justice is not served, what does that make us- aggressive or selfish? We go ahead and become the voice of a demonstration, what does that make us – aggressive or selfish? We get pelted and lathi-charged, what does that make us- aggressive or selfish? We also take to the social media for reforms, what does that make us- aggressive or selfish? We garner support for what we think is wrong, what does that make us – aggressive or selfish? We leave our high-paying jobs to work for the betterment of the country, what does that make us- aggressive or selfish?

A famous quote from one of my favorite movies, Batman begins, goes – It’s not who you are underneath, but what you do that defines you. The youth may seem to be a lot of things- selfish, arrogant, clever, aggressive or even condescending, but what it does for the nation, every single day, is supposed to be what defines the youth of today. We don’t want to be acknowledged, but we don’t want to be criticized either. The youth is nothing short of the messiah who comes in a mask and a cape to fight all sorts of evil, trying to protect his motherland.

People are usually not comfortable with our way of handling things, we have our own way of acting and reacting, and we are not scared of being judged because that is what happens all the time. The way we do things is different from the way others would have done it. But is different always bad? No, it isn’t! The only difference, however, between the youth and any other age group is that we have a fire within. And going by what the country has achieved by peaceful and discreet activism or protests in the past, it’s better to give a chance to the feisty now.

We all have said it tons of times, that the youth is the most powerful, then why not give the powerful a chance to exercise their power? Why not let the youth take charge and bring the revolution? We are tagged as selfish because people think we don’t care about others, but then who are we doing all of this for? A revolution lasts forever, we are no immortals to survive forever, we are doing this for the generations to come, we are doing this for the current population, we are doing this for our country.

We may be loud and brash but that is also our most endearing quality. We say what we have in mind and we do what needs to be done. We are ready for every challenge, so then, what are we- aggressive or selfish? Who gets to decide this? The older generation? The other nations? Or the people who don’t understand the youth, ever? Whoever it may be, the answer will always be prejudiced.

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