Youth and Politics in India

People between the age of 15 and 35 constitute youth. Those in their teens among the youth are
said to be of tender age. They are not considered experienced and knowledgeable enough to
understand the complex world of politics. That is why some people believe that the youth should
not take part in politics. But when the government reduced the age of eligibility for casting vote
from 21 to 18, the message was quite clear: that the youth should actively take part in the
process of elections whereby the candidates are elected to form governments at the state as well
as centre.
India is the biggest democracy in the world. The real power lies in the hands of the people who
elect the people who rule the country. The basic principle of democracy is that it should have a
wide participation by the people. The more is the percentage of voters out of the total population
of the country, the stronger is the base of the democracy because the mandate given in the
elections would have a popular sport. By making the age of casting of vote as 18, the
government brought crores of people within the ambit of active participation in elections thus
giving a broad base to the democratic processes.
It also gave the message that our youth is mature and wise enough to understand their
responsibility and they would give their mandate after carefully considering candidates
capabilities. Being young, they are not swayed by the old systems of caste, creed and other
orthodoxy which had been the bane of Indian politics for quite some time in the post-
independence era. The government also seemed to have realised that it was important for Indias
future to induct the youth in the democratic process at an early age. After all it is the youth who
ultimately will become the stalwarts in politics and one day will hold the reins in their hands.
There has been much debate and discussion in various circles across the country on whether the
youth should take part in politics.
Many people believed that the youngsters being of a tender age do not fully comprehend the
intrigues connected with politics for which it is often called a dirty game. If the youth get
entangled in political activities, they will lose direction and purpose. Another fear was that the
politics is dominated by middle-aged and old people. If the youth also enter the arena, there will
be an atmosphere of rivalry. Belonging to different generations, there is a possibility of
generation gap, misunderstanding and even rejection of one age group of the other those who of
the opinion that those among the youngsters who are students and at the threshold of some
career will suffer immensely if they go astray. If they start missing their classes and take part in
meetings and rallies, they will be left behind in their career. Being immature and inexperienced
about the demands of life they may put to a great loss in their life at a later stage after having lost
valuable time as students.
It is necessary to have a look at the situation prevailing in colleges and universities where
elections are held every year for the posts of President, Secretary, Treasurer and other office
bearers. The atmosphere is full of political rivalries and intrigues near the elections. There is
canvassing campaign among the students presenting the qualities and plans of the respective
candidates. The university elections have assumed huge importance as national parties like
Congress, BJP and others have started taking active part in these elections and fielding their
candidates, rather giving their party label to the candidates.
The people who not like these elections to be given such a huge dimension have based their
views on the fact that several times these elections have turned ugly with incidents of violence.
The colleges and the universities become battlefields with rival groups of students attacking each
other. Heavy police deployment at times is unable to stop them because the police hesitate to
use force against the tender-aged students. But the problem is that many bad elements are
always ready to take advantage of such volatile situations. They abet innocent youth to use
violent methods to achieve their ends. The students often are not aware that they are being
taken advantage of. Some idlers also join the election campaign to get some name and fame and
also some money.
It becomes difficult for the authorities to distinguish between the genuine campaigners and
goonda elements. If some action is taken against anyone, the students go on strike whereby the
cause of education and their own career is greatly harmed. That is why people say that the
students should stay away from politics. Their duty is to acquire knowledge, get education and
seek some good career to become self-dependent and a support for their parents.
Apart from the college and university campuses, other places in towns and cities, especially the
public places become centres of discussion on politics. Many idlers gather there and make
various kinds of strategies and plans. India is a place where some kind of election or the other is
always nearby-from Parliament elections to Panchayat elections. Therefore these idlers are
never short of material for discussion. Some of them have access to local heads, MLAs, village
chief, block presidents and members of Zila Parishad. These politicians use these idle youths to
grind their political axe.
They are often paid to become their informers and act according to their advice. As such the
atmosphere in villages, towns and small cities is always soaked in what is known as local politics.
Few people think about doing some productive work for the benefit of society and country.
Politics teaches the youth to steal the limelight by hook or crook and encash it in some
forthcoming election.
The youth also include people who are not students, but are engaged in some job or enterprise.
For them to take part in politics is more of a matter of interest rather than getting some position in
a political party. Only a small number among them ever give a serious thought of becoming a
party worker, attending meetings and taking part in campaigns. However, in our country there is
a cult of succession in politics. In Nehru family, the youth have been inducted in active politics-
from Indira Gandhi to Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. Some people oppose this cult while others
hail it.
There can be a long discussion on whether the politicians should be allowed to sustain this cult.
But we can say with a considerable degree of consensus that the young, adults or old and
established politicians should not be stopped from taking part in active politics until they do not
take undue advantage of their parentage and position. Being the citizens of a democratic nation
they have every right to become active politicians.
They better understand the political atmosphere in the country and are well aware of the
demands of politics. The youth inducted into politics have matured into great leaders. Young
people are not only enthusiastic and energetic but are also full of new ideas. They are able to
instil freshness in the political affairs of their respective region as well as the nation.
We can conclude by saying that todays youth are highly intelligent and educated. They have a
high awareness level. If they take part in politics, they will enrich it with their new ideas.