ALMOST EVERY young Indian has heard his/her parents at least once ruing that young people are a bunch of confused, misdirected, shallow and selfish people only caring for their jobs, a fat pay packet at the end of the month, a life of hedonistic pleasures and nothing else worth mentioning.
Grandparents have also complained about the attitude of today’s youth. They have even compared that when they were young, they were faced with two options - either to survive on the freebies that the then British government was handing out to them in the name of jobs or actively participate in the nation’s policies to free the country from the shackles of foreign rule. And they chose the second.
Even parents have complained that the political scenario in India in the 70’s demanded that the youth join politics and protest against the government dictatorship unjustly imposed on the country and gross violation of fundamental human rights. In short, their point is that the youth of yesteryears were a lot more responsible and socially conscious than the youth of today or the ‘Facebook’ generation as they’d like to call themselves.
Politics not for us, say youth
I asked many people of my age that when given a chance to contest elections would they join Indian politics. Only a handful of them said that they would give it some thought. Most of them laughed at my question.
To them involvement in the political affairs of the country is something criminal or a complete waste of time. “There are other people, politicians to run the country’s government. It is their job. Why would we bother?” was what most of them had to say. Some of them have no clue about the country’s political situation.
A 21-year-old-girl was heard saying “I don’t know about government policies and all that stuff. It doesn’t affect my life directly, does it?” The last statement is, of course, far from the truth because every government policy, bill passed - everything has a direct or indirect impact on our lives - whether we acknowledge it or not.
Politics, in today’s India is the least popular career choice for Indian youth. The most important reason behind this trend is that politics has acquired a very wrong connotation. Corruption, scams, communalism, terrorism, and draconian laws implemented by wizened politicians are some of the major factors responsible for the absence of considerable youth power in the political spectrum of the country.
There are no charismatic leaders who will inspire and lead them in a bid to change the country. The youth claim that the politicians’ greed and lust for money and power, the false promises that they make prior to elections to woo the voters and their selfish and corrupt nature - disgusts them.
Indian youth is not following in the right footsteps
But the irony lies in the fact that the youth in this nation is not 100 per cent free from corruption, dishonesty and depravity. We have them cheating in examinations, buying pirated CDs and DVDs, stealing, robbing and vandalizing properties in drunken rage, indulging in substance abuse and going to any extent to fulfill their aims and desires - without once stopping to question the moral implications of their actions.
The youth themselves don’t have a clean slate to begin with so this denies them the right to criticize the corrupt nature of politicians. Yes, politicians are corrupt,. but what stops us young people to practice honesty and integrity?
We think that the youth are indifferent towards the political situation of the country. The case, however, is very different. The youth today are apathetic towards all the problems that the common Indian public is grappling with. As long as they have their high-speed internet connections, unlimited download schemes, expensive high-end smart phones, alcohol, cars, and friends - till then the whole world ceases to exist for them, and they are happy.
The death of protesters in Ratnagiri has nothing to do with the performance of their snazzy new cellphone. A Wikileaks exposure of government scams is the last thing on their mind at the moment. “All politicians are corrupt; so it is not very surprising, is it? Now let me check my Facebook photo comments please,” – seems to be the attitude. It is not that they are content with the way the government runs our country; it’s just that they couldn’t care any less.
Having said that, it is the Indian youth who protested against the Jessica Lal murder verdict, the unfair reservation issue, and other public matters of concern. So maybe, deep down, there exists a semblance of conscience, a sense of political awareness and of belonging to this country and doing something to bring about change.
Parents’ attitude
The attitude of the parents on the whole is very contradictory. They will criticize their children for being ‘confused’ and ‘selfish’ but they will never think of urging them to make a career out of politics. They will insist that their kids take up jobs that ensure a steady salary even if that’s not what the children want to do. They sometimes even make peace with any out-of-the-box- career choices their kids make.
But all hell breaks loose if the kids want to join politics. To discourage them the parents cite examples of how they were exploited during the Emergency, how their education suffered and their job prospects took a hit, how many of them got sucked into the corrupt system and could never come out of it alive.
It is also the attitude of the parents that politics is for ‘bad’ people, and for losers with zero prospects. Students are discouraged from participating in campus politics, from attending rallies and meetings and voicing their opinions. The general attitude is ‘Indian politics is dirty. It will never change. So why should we sacrifice the lives of our children?’
The unbridled energy, enthusiasm, creativity, fresh ideas and ideology of the youth will go to waste if they don’t come forward to make India a better place to live in. We are all equally accountable for India’s problems. It is not the politicians’ India’ it is ‘our India’. And thus the onus is also on us to ensure that the country realizes her full potential.
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