Let not the pall fall on the young
STANLEY MOHANDOSS STEPHEN
W. H. Auden’s apocalyptic lines in his poem Consider this and in our time were written six months after the Wall Street crash in 1929. It threatens of global disaster. But the ‘bogey of disintegration’ that the poem evokes can no longer frighten us. The world has survived the worst crisis of its kind in recorded history.
The immediate task is to fortify the young minds against panic and the ‘vertiginous disorientation’ that is up in the air.
In a little less than a century, the world has only grown in grit to face the challenges of the global slowdown. The symptoms are frightening but the world is equipped to handle such disasters, provided we surge forward together sinking differences and petty politics in our midst. The plea is to uphold, not to dampen, the spirit of those young men and women who are passing out of college this summer, those who have been promised jobs by the IT companies and those who are already on their staff.
Hope and hard work
The Hindu editorial dated February 9 titled “An Optimistic Projection” proves that the future is not as bleak as it has been painted by some. The Nasscom’s projection of `16-17 per cent growth in exports by the IT-BPO sectors in 2009-2010 and the projected growth of 15 per cent CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) are cases in point.
However, the corporate world has to exercise greater caution and discretion in its governance. It has to work out strategies to tide over the dislodging meltdown. It can chalk out self-sustaining programmes to steer clear of similar situations in future. It may not be so difficult for the IT sector to recover from the disaster as it has the best minds. It needs courage, conviction and a collective effort to contain the flash flood.
As it happens always, a crisis brings members of a society together. This will also add a new human dimension to the business world. However, the onus of crisis management is not entirely on its shoulders.
World leaders, policymakers, economists, industrialists, teachers and parents should contribute to the collective task of reassuring the young. Let them cling on to the three mantras — Hope, Courage, and Hard work — now and always.
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