Today we find an all-pervasive atmosphere of violence in the country. While individual situations of law and order will have to be tackled as such, we cannot be blind to the fact that basically this attitude of violence is a direct manifestation of the frustrations of a growing section of the society. The younger generation has been the most exposed to the acuteness with which hardships are being felt by the people and that is primarily relatable to our inability to uphold their right to work. This huge mass of people who are unemployed and underemployed and unable to meet their basic needs of food, housing, education, etc. can have no stake in stability and progress. Providing gainful employment to the unemployed should, therefore, be the first charge on our imaginativeness and resources. The unemployment amongst educated youth is a problem of serious concern. Accelerated growth of the economy, massive mobilisation of resources in both rural and urban areas and faster rate of industrialisation alone can remedy the present situation. Creation of more avenues of self-employment, both in rural and urban areas, can be one way of attacking this problem. The setting up of agro-based industries, small-scale and cottage industries will have to be given a new impetus. The unemployment problem will thus call for a truly massive effort, and this programme will now have to be given the highest priority. We have promised in the Election Manifesto in Kerala that our immediate goal will be to provide gainful employment to at least one person in each family which would fetch him a minimum sum of one hundred rupees per month. This would be the first step towards providing the people with at least a minimum level of food, shelter, clothing, education and health. The election results in Kerala have vindicated the stand of the Congress party. The people of Kerala have demonstrated their faith in democracy and their support to the progressive forces dedicated to the cause of the common man.
The other important task which awaits us is that of land reforms. A wide variety of tenurial practices obtain in the thousands of villages in the country. In some States, ownership of land has been given to the tenants and absentee landlords are not recognised any longer. The principle of land for the tiller has been substantially implemented in some parts of the country. But in some others, Zamindari system is still firmly entrenched. The quality of land and the quantum of rainfall differ not only from State to State but within a State and district as well. It would not, therefore, be feasible to lay down any uniform norms or scales for the whole country. But the guiding principle will have to be that of giving a fair deal to the small cultivators, tenants and landless labour.
