Youth In Politics: It's Time For Change

With about 1.35 billion people, it is a very difficult task to govern a Country like India. India, which is known for its diversified cultures, ethnicities, languages and mindsets, has always been a puzzle in mind of worlds when comes to its integrity. Since declared as an independent country, India is continuously undergoing major changes in terms of social, economic, political, and technological and in many other aspects. However, if we look into the deep, we will find that political system is one of the main reasons that drive the others.

Source: Differenttruths

 

Indian Politics is very interesting. Many things changed but some peculiarities of political system in India is as it was in its inception. Government changes with time from one political party to another, but the political parties in the power or outside the power follow their own doctrines. All parties have a set of aged intellectuals that control the parties on the basis of wealth, cast, religion, and dynasty and ignored the concept of meritocracy in which the power is in the hand of people who are eligible for that on the basis of talent, effort, and achievement.

 

India is a young vibrant demography with average age of 29 years in the year 2020. India has two-thirds of its population under 35 years old with having one-fifth of the world’s youth, but the situation has a huge contrast with the representation of youths in the politics. The average age in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha is about 55 and 64 respectively. Only about 1.5 percent of the Lok Sabha MPs belong to the age group 25-30, only 12 percent are between 30 and 40 and 10 percent come from the 41-45 age group. Almost all political parties continues to show their preference to choose their MPs based on seniority and hierarchy with aged, is the main reason for the above figures. The scarcity of young politicians in the parliament and in active politics is purely unlikely.

Source: Swatantrata

 

India lacks constructive actions to encourage youth to participate in elections. The harsh reality of Indian political structure is, it has assimilated itself to the dynasty, age, gender, caste, and religion. There are grading layers of barriers for the young political aspirants to participate and represent them in active politics and parliament. The dynasty, money, muscle power, extortion and patronage are some of the factors which discouraged youth from engagement in politics. Due to the lack of internal democracy in the political parties, political empowerment still continues to be in the hand of the old leaders. The political parties mostly function as a family business and monopoly of old leaders.

 

Political empowerment still continues to be the domain of the senior and aged members of the party, and they continue to be at this position until their heirs are ready to take it forward. A small number of youth that actively participating in politics mostly of them are dynastic, patronised, suspected, uprooted from the ground and are filled with various negative aspects hence conservativeness, stagnation and pessimism makes a way inside them.

 

A misconception has been made that young minds are having satisfaction with what they are doing and not much bothered about how the country is being governed. But this reason seems to hold no ground in view of the engagement and disagreement shown by the country’s youngsters towards the establishment during the various protests and other issues. There are various examples from JP movement to the anti-corruption movement where youth comes out and participated. Also the youth of modern India is actively participating in challenging the issues that the country and the world are facing at large.

 

Source: Skynews

 

There is a justification given about youth politics that they are not given opportunity because of not having sufficient experience to get involved in the governance of the country. This argument does not hold any ground as we have seen that experience and maturity does not come up with age level, it depends on the understanding level, presence of mind, how the person is thinking in the particular situation. 15-year-old Greta Thunberg is the perfect example of the aspirations and attitudes of the younger generation. When political leaders are willingly refused to look beyond their artificial window scenery, she raises her voice against, mocked at those who pretended to care for the future of our planet. Angry words of her became so popular that even superpowers also had to acknowledge her views.

 

The current problems faced by the country are continuously becoming an impediment to the growth and development of the country. In the era of never ending poverty, illiteracy and many other disadvantages there is a need of a new beginning that brings hope, prosperity and a new system altogether.

 

Source: Itl.cat

 

For a better future of the country, the fresh minds must come into the politics. Re-structuring of the system is now becoming the need of the hour in order to take the country's growth at the stage where it can match the other developing and prosperous countries. Our Universities and colleges could play a crucial part by shaping the youth in this way. Educate them about the need of social, political, economic, technological changes for the betterment of the society and helps in fostering the new ideas for building a better future. In recent time although with small number, youth is emerging into politics brings a new hope and confidence among the people.