Role of Youth in Indian Democracy

The Role of Youth in Indian Politics

Ashima Madan

On the roads of Indian democracy, we have travelled for about 63 years now and shall continue the journey for years to come in the same rickety ancient grubby vehicle of ours that has driven us for so long. The list of travellers is an assemblage of young dazzling men and women. The blatant contrast between them arouses debates. It makes us ponder over the role of youth in Indian politics.

There have been certain qualities constantly attributed to youth such as passion, aggression, and impetuousness, which have been viewed in both negative and positive lights.. Many argue that “youth” is an inexperienced and immature stage of life and are in disagreement as to whether the qualities of youth can be beneficial for politics, or detrimental. Speculation has also led to debates about whether young adult brains are biologically ready to make tough decisions.

At the same time, for the establishment of “Rule by the People” in the world’s largest democracy as we proudly declare ourselves to be, it is important to understand who these “people” really are. According to ‘Indian Youth Portal’ 41.05% of the total population of the nation comes under the category of youth. Hence, it is obvious that participation of youth in the functioning of our country’s political practices is integral. The methods of working need to be revolutionised at a grass root level which can be attained by giving them the power to create a world in which they wish to live. Their innovative way of assessment and unacceptability towards injustice and unfair practices, makes them the ideal class of people to work for the people and strengthen their representation.

After having addressed the question of the importance of youth contribution, we need to shift our focus on the practicality of this idea. A simple survey* reveals an interesting result. 87% of the university students surveyed for the same, believe that the youth involvement should increase in the political sphere while only 36% would like to be a part of it actually.

Sumedh Kapoor, a Political Science teacher explains the peculiarity of this result. “Although youth feels very strongly about politics and contributing to the nation's cause but when it comes to their participation, we see a decline in enthusiasm. Reasons vary. Youngsters today, are disgusted with politics, which has become a synonym for corruption. The image of politicians has gone from bad to worse”. It would be a tough job to eliminate the corruption and influence mindsets of the people to cultivate a conducive environment for young minds to grow in a political set up. Even more so, considering the pace of change in our country. It makes least sense to hand over a torch to untried people and expect them to lead. However, a suggestion to bring about the change could be organising political internships to acquaint the freshers to the world of decision making for the masses and to bring down the levels of turpitude. For the two ends to meet, everyone has to travel for miles. But the journey is worth it, if it changes the vehicle of our democratic voyage.

-----------------------
*The survey was conducted on Delhi University’s students