The biggest challenge for the year 2023 is unemployment, mental health
By: Shakir Nisar
Year 2023 has arrived with hopes and aspirations of millions of people to see a better tomorrow, find peace, find jobs, good friends, partners etc. Youth are particularly hoping to find employment, good revenue generating avenues, better work conditions, better placements and productivity. However, unemployment remains the most talked about topic in India, especially in Kashmir with J&K leading the list. Unemployment is a very serious issue not only in India but in the whole world and there are millions out there who do not have employment. Besides, it is very severe in India because of the growing population and rising demand for jobs.
The three basic needs of human beings are – food, home and clothing. All these needs can be properly fulfilled only if a person has financial avenues which is only possible if there are ways, employment and some paid occupation. However, there are many people in the world and our country too who have failed to secure a job. As a result, they have an insignificant source of income.
Unemployment is measured by the unemployment rate, defined as the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force. The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, a private organization (CMIE), estimates that India’s unemployment rate will be 6.50% in December 2022. It is 7.70% in urban India whereas only 6.00% in rural India. In comparison to India’s unemployment rate, J&K stands tall at staggering 23.86% which is almost 4 times than that of National average. This is appalling.
Researchers have been looking at how unemployment affects mental health since the Great Depression of the 1930s, if not earlier than that. Sorting out the effects of unemployment on mental health is complicated by the fact that the cause-and-effect relationship can work in both directions: unemployment may worsen mental health, and mental health problems may make it more difficult for a person to obtain and/or hold a job. Unemployment can be an emotional rollercoaster. What may start out as eagerness and hope for a new job can turn into bitterness, sadness, and anger as time passes without any luck. Especially when people are unemployed for extended amounts of time, the impact of unemployment on mental health can become more severe and even develop into mental health disorders.
In Kashmir, a large number of educated working-age men and women are out of jobs. Unemployment anywhere in the world can be hard, but given the magnitude of economic turbulence and mental health crisis witnessed by Kashmir, especially in the last three years, young minds are finding it difficult to cope with the rising unemployment rates. Doctors across the hospitals of Kashmir are reporting an exponential increase in new cases of depression. Kashmir is witnessing an onset of new mental health crisis among the young generation. In a scientific survey by MSF (Medecins Sans Frontiers/Doctors without borders) in 2015, 45% of the adult population in Kashmir valley showed symptoms of significant mental distress.
The frequent communication blockades coupled with the COVID-19 induced lockdowns was reported to have a serious impact on the psyche of Kashmiris. The decades of unrest have already pushed Kashmir to the limit in its mental health situation and the diminishing jobs intensify the crisis among youth.
However, one among the causes for unemployment in J&K is also an obsession of parents and youth with government jobs. A government job does not come with a great salary but with many other benefits that are not available in the private sector. Job security, free allowances, provisions of pension, flexible work hours, holidays and leaves, less work stress are some of the reasons why our society is obsessed with govt jobs. Parents of Kashmir have taken this obsession to next level. If you are a Govt employee earning merely 40k-50k per month, you will easily find a good match But if you are a corporate employee with a healthy package of 10L- 15L per annum, you still are ineligible for a good match in subcontinent. The famous words you hear about govt job is, “USKE BADH TO LIFE SET HAI” (Life is sorted after getting a government job).
The obsession is in no way wrong but we need to accept the fact that Jobs are few and aspirants are many. Recently advertised Class IV posts by JKSSB have given us a rough idea of the extent of unemployment in J&K. More than 5 lac aspirants applied for 8000 posts. More than 1.5 Lac aspirants applied for 900 posts of FAA. Only 1% of the candidates will get a job and the rest have to look for alternatives. The major employment generation sectors like tourism and handicrafts are required to be encouraged and new tourist spots should be explored.
The J&K UT has certain inherent strengths that can be utilized to improve the income of its people and to provide gainful employment opportunities on sustainable basis, which are like strong base of traditional skills not found elsewhere; untapped natural resource; a natural environment which has been very profitably utilized by other countries for high income-environment friendly tourism industry. Investment in infrastructure and human capital of workers is a way out of the crisis of unemployment that leads to a better society and repays many times over.
The author is a Vocational Trainer at Govt Boys High School Gariend Khurd Budgam and can be mailed at [email protected]
