Our youth are on par with the world’s best: Narayana Murthy

In our youngsters, there is still hope for this country, said Infosys chairman emeritus NR Narayana Murthy while receiving the Mother Teresa Memorial award, instituted by the Indian Development Foundation, on Monday.

“In many countries that I have visited, I have seen that the youngsters in India are at par with those worldwide,” he said, adding: “There is great power in our youth and it is one of the things that our country needs to be proud of.”

The same cannot be said for those in their 40s and 50s, though, he added. “There is a remarkable difference in this age group. There is no sense of commitment to discipline, there is a no sense of enthusiasm, a complete sense of apathy and fatalism in people who are not in their youth.”

He added that it is important that the youth be taught by example.
“If we want our youth to cultivate values that are important to us, we have to lead by example. We have to embrace the values that we want our youngsters to cultivate,” he said.

“Not only should we be good role models, we also have to salute people around us who have made tremendous sacrifices and have shown extraordinary commitment to bring smiles
on faces of the poor and helpless, like Mother Teresa did,” the recipient of Mother Teresa Memorial award said. 

Although democracy is something that we have to be proud of, there is still a long way to go for us, said Murthy.

“The only thing we have achieved so far as a democracy is free and fair elections. We still have a long way to go so as to be a truly representative democracy where issues will be discussed, found worthy or lacking and voted without the interference of politics or involvement of vested interests,” he said.

Civil society, too, will have to play a crucial role in helping bridge the divide, he added.

“There is a section of India that is galloping towards growth. A 7% growth is pretty good in these circumstances. Children have access to education, healthcare and so on. But there is a vast section, about 700 to 800 million, which lives in poverty. For these people, it is hard to keep their body and soul together because of their poverty.”

While the government is doing its best, in a large country like India, it cannot do it alone, he added.

“Civil society, educational institutions and corporates have to be partners and provide a supporting hand to the government.”
He said the anti-corruption movement is good for the country.

“Everyone wants a corruption-free society—be it the government, opposition, corporate or citizens and civil society. The prime minister has promised to introduce the bill in Parliament and I’m positive that something will come out of the talks between the government and the anti-corruption crusaders.”