India and NYSP

With a total population of over one billion and 200 million people between the ages of 15-24, NYS has enormous potential to help the Indian government meet its development objectives.[1] As a means of complimenting official policy and of developing the talents of India’s youth, national service holds great promise in the context of the country’s growing dynamism. As an emerging market with a rapidly growing economy, NYS can play an important role in securing the “demographic dividend” that can result from having such a young population.[2] Although India has thus far done a commendable job of developing a NYSP, much more can be done to harness the potential of the country’s youth.

Whether during the colonial period, the struggle for independence or the period since independence, India’s youth have shown themselves to be highly engaged in their society and community. In the early 20^th century missionaries and colonial administrators set up troupes of the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides modeled on those started by Colin Baden Powell in Britain. After independence these associations were renamed the Bharat Scouts and Girl Guides and today claim some 2.5 million participants.[3] During the anti-colonial struggle many young people became politically active drawing on the inspirational leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. Young people, particularly students have remained a potent political force ever since.

Youth policy in India is implemented by the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports in the Ministry of Human Resources Development. The department coordinates youth policy with other relevant Ministries as well as non-governmental youth organizations. In the late 1980’s India began the process of developing a NYSP with these objectives:

• To instill in youth a deep awareness of and respect for the principles and values enshrined in the Constitution.
• To promote among youth the awareness of the Indian historical and cultural heritage and imbue them with a sense of pride and national identity.
• To help develop the qualities of self-discipline, self-reliance, justice and fair play.
• To provide young people with maximum access to education that, apart from developing their all around personality, would equip them with the professional and vocational training for employment.
• To make youth aware of the international issues and involve them in promoting world peace.

The government revised and amended the NYSP ten years later by emphasizing youth empowerment; mechanisms for coordinating youth policy across sectors; information and research networks; and the privileges and responsibilities of youth. The government also highlighted eight sectors to target including education, training and employment, health, environment, recreation and sports, participation and citizenship, and science and technology.[4]

Implementation of NYS in India

There are three main organizations that implement the NYSP in India including the National Service Scheme (NSS), National Service Volunteer Scheme (NSVS), and the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sanghatana (NYKS). The NSS is a student program aimed at arousing the social consciousness of youth with an overall objective of personality development of the students through community service. Participants engage in 120 hours of community service per year for a period of two years. NSS “units” consist of 100 students led by a Program Officer from their educational institution. The NSS conducts activities in:

• Improvement of campuses
• Tree Plantation
• Constructive work in adopted villages and slums
• Work in welfare institutions
• Blood drives
• Adult and non-formal education
• Health, nutrition, family welfare, AIDS awareness campaigns
• Construction of durable assets
• Sustainable development with emphasis on wasteland development and watershed management.

The approach of the NSS is to foster relationships between campus and community, colleges and villages, and knowledge and action. The NSS draws support form 174 universities, 7500 colleges, 16 senior secondary councils, and 2000 senior secondary schools.[5]

Although no extensive evaluation of the NSS has been undertaken, available evidence points to the positive impact that NSS programs have had on communities throughout the country. NSS efforts helped Kottayam, a town in the state of Kerala, become the first totally literate town in India. On the environmental front 350 acres in the state of Karnataka were rehabilitated by planting 350,000 saplings. In the state of Orissa, another 1000 acres were transformed through similar tree planting drives. In the desert state of Rajesthan NSS worked with local villagers to improve water conservation.  In the state of Chandigarh, NSS volunteers helped prevent the degradation of Sukhna Lake by removing 84,000 cubic feet of silt. During cyclone and flood season NSS volunteers have helped with disaster relief, including rescue and rehabilitation efforts and the construction of thousands of temporary shelters.[6]

More recently NSS launched an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. More than 7,000 NSS Program Officers and 55,000 Peer Educators have been trained on AIDS education through what is commonly known as the “Universities Talk AIDS” campaign. The program reaches 174 universities and 5,820 colleges and secondary schools.[7]

The NSVS is quite similar to the NSS but it is a full time service scheme for recent graduates. Initiated in 1977, participants are expected to contribute to national development, learn about pressing community issues, and gain an appreciation for the dignity of labor. The scheme is open to students who have graduated and are under the age of 25. Volunteers undergo 4 weeks of training to learn more about the nation’s development challenges, the objectives of their service, and to gain the basic managerial and technical skills necessary to operate youth programs. Participants are placed within the “kendras” of the NYKS, the NSS, the Bharat Scouts and Guides, State Governments and Union Territory administrations, or with non-governmental organizations approved by the Ministry.[8]

Launched in 1972 the NYKS is designed to give rural non-student youth the opportunity to engage in social and community development. Today, some 50,000 kendras (meaning centers) have been established across the country to promote the development of youth clubs designed to promote awareness of community issues and participate in a variety of service projects. The main objectives of the NYKS include

• To form Youth Clubs and involve the youth in nation building activities.
• To develop their values & skills so that they may become responsible and productive citizens of India.
• To act as a catalytic agency in reaching the benefits of Central and State Government Schemes to the rural community in general and the youth in particular.
• To inculcate in the rural youth the spirit of voluntarism and cooperation.
• To utilize NYK'S large Network for development and promotion of programmes in priority sectors such as employment generation, literacy, family welfare, environment conservation, national integration, gender equality and women's empowerment.[9]

NYKS volunteers carry-out a variety of programs that range in theme from the development of sports clubs to AIDS education, and from vocational training to anti-smoking campaigns.[10]

Yet it is in the area of disaster relief that NYKS has perhaps had the most impact. Both NYKS and NSS youth volunteers played a critical role in the immediate aftermath of the devastating December 2004 Tsunami and then later in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of affected areas. According to the information received by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports from various Kendras, thousands of NYKS and NSS volunteers affiliated with the local Youth Clubs engaged in rescue work. In Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Youth Clubs were mainly involved in shifting people, arranging drinking water, preparing food in community kitchens and setting up of make-shift shelters. In Tamil Nadu, NYKS volunteers worked to set up medical camps and distribute clothes and other relief aid to affected people. Over 2,500 NSS volunteers from Andhra University, Acharya Nagarjuna University and Sri Venkateswara University distributed food packets and drinking water, assisted health authorities with medical relief work, shifted people from low lying areas to safe places and collected relief materials. [11]  On average 250 volunteers of NYKS worked in every major affected district in Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and A&N Islands. In Tamil Nadu, the NSS distributed 25,500 food packets for 2500 families.[12]

In addition to their impressive initial response NYKS and NSS have remained actively engaged in the rehabilitation of some of the hardest hit areas. In March, 40 tonnes of relief material consisting of much needed household items like cooking utensils, medicine kits, workmen’s tools, recreational kits for children, thatch mats, bed sheets and mosquito nets were shipped to Campbell Bay.[13] They were stored, sorted and distributed in relief camps with the help of NYKS Youth Volunteers.

In the years since the Tsunami NYKS has partnered with UNICEF to conduct psychological interventions to help children overcome the trauma of the experience. According to a report by the UN some 1300 youth volunteers received training in psychological care. Child friendly techniques such as puppetry, play therapy, children’s theatre, clay modeling, painting workshops, cultural programs and one-on-one counseling, were used to help children cope with the trauma of the disaster. The UN supplied 3,659 play kits to youth clubs. Approximately 80,000 children have benefited from this. In Kerala, an estimated 30,000 children have benefited from individual counseling and group counseling. 356 play kits have been utilized as part of those programs. In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 30 doctors and 100 paramedical staff from primary and community health centers were trained in identifying trauma-induced illnesses.[14]

In addition to psychological rehabilitation NYKS and NSS volunteers worked on physical reconstruction such as debris removal and shelter construction. In conjunction with Save the Children (UK), NYKS initiated a Cash-for Work Tsunami Response Program through which 5600 youths (both male and female) could earn income by working to construct an 1100 meter long sea wall. As a result of the program many affected families received income that would not otherwise have been available and 34 acres of farmland were reclaimed for future production.[15] NYKS and Save the Children also launched a disaster preparedness program designed to reduce the vulnerabilities of children and young people.[16]

Although the Indian NYS was particularly helpful in responding to the devastation of the 2004 Tsunami and its aftermath, young people across the subcontinent are eager to utilize their energy, skills, and talents to meet a range of critical national needs. Disaster relief is an important need that youth service can help alleviate, but more comprehensive, sustainable and institutionalized service programs could also help address a wide variety of development challenges throughout India. The successes of both disaster related and non-disaster related youth service programs (especially those addressing HIV/AIDS) suggests that the time may be right to scale-up NYS programs in India in order to realize the full potential of the youth population and begin to secure the country’s demographic dividend.