Trends and Challenges for UESI ministry

As UESI is in the process of re-visioning its mission and calling in this new era of globalisation and liberalisation, this paper highlights various global, national and Christian trends as well as the state of youth in India that will affect student ministry and its stakeholders in the coming decades.

Shift happens
We are living in a hot, flat and a crowded world, observes Thomas Friedman . Globalisation is affecting the nations in unparalleled ways in all area of social, economic and spiritual aspects of life. Thomas Friedman, in his book The World is Flat , traces three eras of Globalisation.

Globalisation 1.0 (1492-1800) In this era, countries were expanding globally. “The key agent of change, the dynamic force driving the process of integration was how much brawn-how much muscle, how much horsepower, wind power, or later, steam power- your country had and how creatively you could deploy it”.

Globalisation 2.0 (1800-2000) In this era, companies expanded to different countries and continents. The dynamic forces behind this era of globalisation were breakthroughs in hardware from steamships and railroads in the beginning and later telephones and mainframe computers in the latter part.
Globalisation 3.0 (2000 onwards) In this era, individuals can collaborate and compete globally with the creation of global fibre-optic network and software applications.

In this new era, the competition is severe and every country, company and individual has to compete on a global level. This interconnectedness and interdependence is bringing major shifts in social, economic and political arenas of every country.
Globalisation is making the rich richer and the poor poorer. This glaring disparity is stirring up migration, urbanisation, and increasing fundamentalism and terrorism throughout the world.

The greedy race for market share coupled with an unbridled exploitation of nature is damaging the environment. Thus, changing climates, floods, disasters, natural catastrophes and new diseases have increasingly become a part of our lives.
Major shifts in religion are also altering the political scenarios across the world. Islam is spreading across Europe and the Western countries. Christianity is growing in the non-Western world, while declining in the Western world. Mainline denominations are either stagnant or declining. On the other hand, independent, charismatic and Pentecostal churches are growing throughout the world. Now the global mission of the church is not unidirectional from west to non west or developed to non developed but multidirectional from everywhere to everywhere.

India is Changing
India, awakened in the flood of global changes, is slowly garnering its bite with economic liberalisation paving the way for social transformation throughout the country. India with its growing economy and mounting population is now a major power in the world. Gurucharan Das classifies the history of India into three periods in his book India Unbound. 1) Our Spring of Hope: (1942-1965) 2) The Lost Generation: (1966-1991) .3) the Rebirth of Dreams: (1991-99). In this liberalised India, this generation can dream and achieve their dreams in ways that earlier generations could never dream.

Economic liberalisation and growth in education, media and telecommunications have accelerated social transformation across India. The growing educated middle class has benefited the most from high paying jobs in IT, banking and service related industries. A growing population with disposable incomes is drawing many multinational companies to setup shop in India, resulting in growing consumerism and materialism.

Liberalisation in India has produced two distinctive age cohorts: The Post Independence generation and children born after liberalisation with totally different worldviews and ideologies. The Post Independence generation with a socialist, ascetic, pessimistic mindset and liberalisation children with a capitalistic, splurging and optimistic mindset which affects their values, lifestyle choices and careers.

Even though India is progressing in many fronts, more than 50% of the population still lives in poverty. The gap between the haves and have-nots is widening. Likewise, there is a growing geographical disparity in all developmental parameters between the progressing states and underdeveloped states. In these under developed areas, Maoists and separatist movements are thriving. In light of this, people are moving to urban areas resulting in growing slums.

At the same time, globalisation is making India more Hindu argues Meera Nanda in her book The God market . Increasing uncertainty and confusion is driving some to develop a growing interest in Indian culture and new age spiritualism, which is heavily marketed by new god men and gurus through television. Religiously, the majority is threatened by the growing numbers and influence of the minority and uses force or law to restrain them.

It is in this context that we need to look at the some trends that will affect education, students, graduates and staff.

Education in India
We see a steady growth of colleges and higher education institutions in India. The colleges increased from 695 (1951) to 12342(2001). Currently, according to the Ministry of HRD report 2005-2006, 14323566 students are enrolled in 20769 higher education institutions throughout India. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of students and colleges, followed by Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, and West Bengal etc. See Table 1 Likewise, there is an increasing trend of the migration of students between different states. For example, the majority of students in Karnataka are from other states. This challenges us to relook at the deployment of our resources.
As the privatization of education is increasing, the cost of education is escalating. The government is encouraging banks to give student loans without any collateral. This trend, along with cut-throat competition in higher education, will limit the availability of students for UESI activities.

Table:1 Colleges and Student Enrollments 2005-2006
States Arts, Science & Commerce Colleges Engg., Tech., & Arch., Colleges# Medical Colleges (Allo/ Ayur/ Homeo/ Unani/ Nurs./ Pharm. etc.$ Teacher Training Colleges Polytechnics Others (Includes Law, Management, MCA/IT, Agriculture etc.) Total Higher Education Institutions Students

Uttar Pradesh 1637 114 93 121 107 702 2774 1760595
Maharashtra 1018 193 345 255 194 414 2419 1681789
Andhra Pradesh 1603 278 311 343 140 93 2768 1411103
Tamil Nadu 693 269 198 160 209 116 1645 1324359
Madhya Pradesh 712 74 97 21 44 147 1095 968760
Karnataka 930 134 423 68 179 146 1880 951786
Delhi 68 20 24 10 23 64 209 867400
West Bengal 374 60 68 66 40 35 643 787228
Gujarat 518 45 52 125 73 177 990 664347
Bihar 800 10 28 15 12 36 901 524856
Rajasthan 751 50 34 111 17 113 1076 488530
Kerala 189 99 125 21 56 82 572 450577
Orissa 702 45 58 13 31 92 941 413269
Punjab 232 53 61 47 18 49 460 347641
Haryana 168 45 35 37 34 18 337 298146
Jharkhand 113 11 7 8 8 23 170 260625
Assam 348 4 10 40 9 28 439 217652
Chhattisgarh 334 16 20 4 10 51 435 195604
Uttarakhand 87 12 20 1 24 28 172 163961
Jammu & Kashmir 65 5 6 127 12 19 234 158667
Himachal Pradesh 95 6 12 30 6 29 178 108982
Chandigarh 11 2 4 3 1 1 22 55077
Meghalaya 54 1 0 3 3 3 64 38658
Manipur 58 1 1 6 1 4 71 38177
Puducherry 17 5 9 19 5 4 59 31154
Nagaland 41 0 0 4 2 22 69 28965
Tripura 14 2 3 1 2 6 28 24845
Goa 23 5 7 2 5 7 49 23748
Mizoram 26 1 0 2 2 1 32 14575
Sikkim 3 1 1 2 2 1 10 8985
Arunachal Pradesh 10 1 1 2 1 1 16 8839
A&N Islands 3 0 0 1 2 1 7 3438
Daman & Diu 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 1228
D&N Haveli 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Lakshadweep 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Source: Ministry of HRD http://www.education.nic.in/stats/statpub.asp

Youth in India
India is one of the youngest countries in the world. Table 2 shows the age group of the population and the population of youth (15-34) is 33.8 %. Most youth 69.3% live in rural areas and 30.7 in urban areas.
Table:2 Population of India Age Wise
Age Group Percentage of Total Population
0-14 35.4
15-34 33.8
35-59 23.1
60+ 7.1

Classification of Indian Youth
Indian youth is a diverse segment, but more often, the urban students are portrayed as the example of the student world. Prof Kaustav Sengupta broadly divides the Indian youth into three categories: the Bharatiyas, the Indians and the Inglodians, which helps us to understand their attitudes and preferences.

The Bharatiyas, estimated to be 67% of the youth population, live in the rural areas and are the least influenced by globalisation, and they maintain high traditional values. They are the least economically privileged and the most family-oriented, Bollywood-influenced generation.

The Indians constitute 31.5%. They are well aware of the global trends but are rooted to the Indian family values, customs and ethos.

The Inglodians (1.5%) are basically the creamy layers and marginal in number though they are growing strong. Inglodians are affluent and consume most of the trendy and luxury items. They are Internet savvy and the believers of the global-village (a place where there is no difference between east and west, developing & developed countries etc.), highly influenced by Western music, food, fashion and culture yet Indian at heart. They are postmodern in their thinking.

In general, Information Technology, Communication and Entertainment are three convergent forces that are affecting and impacting the youth across India.

Youth Attitudes
The majority of the youth in India still considers religion as valid. In a research done by Dr. Francis Vincent Anthony In Tamil Nadu, more than 48.7% still considers religion as a matter of personal conviction and commitment and only a small percentage (6.7%) consider it outdated and irrelevant. This can also be observed by students wearing religious symbols.

These are some of the findings from a recent research by Centre for Studies on Developing Societies in 2007 (CSDS) on Indian Youth in a Transforming World . The friend circle mostly consists of those from the same gender, caste and religion. If one does have friends from outside this circle, it would primarily be those belonging to another caste, followed by gender and lastly from other religions. So the trust and interaction between students of different religions is much less in rural students compared to urban students.

CSDS research found that parental authority is still endorsed by the modern youth. Youth coming from middle class families are strongly anchored in strong parental authority. The attitude of parental authority was directly linked to the socio economic status of the family, the locale they lived and the gender of the youth. A majority of those who experienced strong parental authority say that their parents take all the decisions of academic and career choices.

Similarly, most of the youth hold to conservative family values in rural areas, but generally those in urban areas preferred progressive family values. However, even in the urban areas, one of out of five opted for conservative family values.
Rama Bijapurkar observes that today’s youth are a “pressure-cooked generation.” Achievement and getting ahead and making your family proud by doing better than your peers are the key social drivers of this gen next.” Pragmatism and success is the core of this new generation and can be summarised in this statement “You get oranges, enjoy. You get lemons, learn to make lemonade”.

The use of the Internet is limited to urban educated youth. Nationwide, television still continues to be a leisure time activity. Music available through FM, music phones and mp3 players in urban areas are influencing the youth. The mobile phone has become part of their lives, and on an average, they spend Rs. 225 every month.
Indian youth, especially in the urban areas, are optimistic, media and Internet savvy, music addicted, modern yet traditional, willing to take risks for personal gains or achievements and success obsessed. They may be modern and Western in their appearances, yet they are Indian at heart. More than 56% of them want to stay in
India rather than leave the country.We need to think multiple appropriate, contextual strategies to cater to the diverse youth segment in India.

Graduates and family
After liberalisation, the work environment is changing drastically. Services and IT are the major growth industries that attract the best and are “squeezed” to realise company profits. A survey found that Indians work an average of 50-60 hours per week. Working hours and commuting time to work makes time a scarce commodity for a city dweller. This trend will affect the functioning of EGFs in cities and the availability of graduates for students. So we need to explore modern communication means for discipling the students and need graduates who abandon themselves for mission to colleges.

Another trend is the migration of Indian Christians to other countries. As developed countries are aging and as India has surplus human resources, opportunities for migration of professionals to other countries will increase.
Escalating costs of education, rent and other “needs” are forcing many women to take jobs outside home. 23% of housewives have a job in the urban areas. Similarly, 60 % of both urban and rural are nuclear families, which bring in more extra burden on woman to manage homes. Open homes were the ground for many students for their nurture. With these new trends, the past, effective way of discipling the students will be affected.

Simultaneously, divorce rates have increased ten-fold in the last two decades. 7% of Indian marriages dissolve, according to the 2001 census. Most divorces occur in the age bracket of 25-39 years. In India, women initiate 80 to 85 percent of divorces.
Church and Missions in India

The majority of the Christians are in four southern states and Northeast India. The number of Christians in other parts of India is very negligible compared to the population. There is a trend of Christians moving into cities as many of the Christians are engaged in the services sector.

Church and missions in India has changed over the decades. As the global phenomenon continues, the churches are shifting from denominationalism to independent churches. There is an increase in the number of indigenous missions, international mission organisations and church related ministries. Evangelical Fellowship of India lists 224 churches, institutions and organisations. India Mission Association alone has more 206 missions (many of them listed in EFI also) with more than 50,000 missionaries. Besides these, there are many organisations that are not listed. What’s more, all of these ministries are targeting a small percentage of Christians, who are active, for involvement and financial support.

We see the growth and spread of churches throughout India due to the efforts of different missions. The grip of liberalism is waning among churches except among the mainline churches. New generation churches are often at the other extreme based upon emotions, experiences and prosperity gospel. So the role of UESI to offer solid discipleship, Bible study and ethical living to young people continues to be relevant and needed badly for the sustenance of the new churches across India. So the need of the hour is networking and complementing with our specific competencies.

Convictions for future
As times changes, it is good to make some changes, but let us not lose some of the core convictions of pioneer leaders which can sustain the movement in the coming days.

These were the suggestions made by our former leaders in the 20th Anniversary Issue of Evangelical student Magazine.
1) Importance of New Birth and belief, study and practice of Word of God
“...a new evangelical movement must be started laying the emphasis upon new birth and belief in the Bible as the Word of God.” Prof H Enoch
How can we continue to preach the gospel to media savvy students with less attention span?
How can we continue to use media and technology to facilitate study of the scriptures?


2) Community based on love
“UESI will die the same natural death that many such organisations have died if it does not follow a path primarily of love. Interpersonal relationships based on love must be given top most priority in the UESI”. Dr K N Nambudripad
How can we continue to build a face to face relationship in an increasing age of virtual communities?
Are we program oriented or people oriented?
How can we model, mentor and multiply servant leaders?

3) Not just EU members but DISCIPLES
“We must give special priority, not just to evangelising Christian students, but the vast body of non Christian students.” P T Chandapilla
“We are not against or averse to quantity in a vast nation of millions. However, we do not want numbers to overpower us. We want to be controlled by a passion for quality and reality, because we believe this alone will overcome the test of time in an increasingly difficult world.” P T Chandapilla
What strategic part will UESI play in fulfilling Great Commission in our nation?

4) Doing God’s work in God’s way
“Priority is given to learning how to do God’s work in God’s way”. John Martin
How can we continue to listen to God’s direction from His Word to do his work?
So the question and focus of our deliberation should be not just how to have EUs in all the states, but “How can we make disciples in this generation who will do everything as Jesus demanded”? This will measure the impact of UESI in coming decades.

Shibu K Mathew is a former staff worker of UESI and presently a missions mobiliser and editor of Ethne magazine.Email: mathew.shibuk@gmail.com Phone:09448403436