Politics Calling The Youth

January 20, 2009 was a remarkable day in the American history, as it was for the first time an African-American by the name of  Barack Obama, took charge of  the top job in the US, a nation reeling from the aftermath of an acute financial meltdown. The USP of Obama lay in his relatively young age, which he was able to leverage to enthrall the young voters. However, now about three months later, his popularity has taken a several beating thus giving fuel to widespread debates about the performance of young leaders in the political system.

There is a dearth of young leaders in our political system especially in a country like ours where about 65% of the population is the under 35 years of age. The few that get into politics are able to do so on the prowess of their celebrated family names. Thus we rarely see a person who is not a Gandhi, a Pilot, a Deora or a  Abdullah, contesting and winning elections . This is a pathetic state of affairs since these elected few are the extension of their family ideologies and thus in fact are hereditary products devoid of any explicit personal achievements.

The most widespread criticsm faced by young parliamentarians is their lack of experience and adequate understanding of the section of people they represent. This fact was evident when Omar Abdullah faced severely rebuked for his inability to prevent the death of innocent people in the valley. Then there is also the influence of hostile feeling on the part of opposition parties and local bodies who are unwilling to take respect the decisions of an inexperienced and novice fellow. We have the example of veteran politicians like Pranab Mukherjee, Somnath Chaterjee and others who are able to implement policies merely on account of the respect they command.

On the other hand, the generation next leaders refrain from the conventional divisive politics and have no agenda to polarize the society. This is in stark contrast to their elderly counterparts who rely on caste based politics for vote banks, which includes the likes of Narendra Modi, Bal Thackeray , Kalyan Singh and so on. Young leaders have also depicted a great deal of fervor and enthusiasm in the execution of their duties, always giving the utmost priority to the welfare of the nation. This proposition can be corroborated by the fact that a lot of young leaders like Milind Deora have launched numerous campaigns to cater to the welfare of the society. Elderly candidates are a tainted lot, with a large fraction of them being accused of indulging in hedonistic pursuits, like Mulayam Singh, Pappu Yadav, Sadhu Yadav, Mayawati etc. Some of them even have no regard for the sanctity of the constitution as was proven in the vote of confidence with allegation of horse trading.

No doubt there is an urgent need for young leaders to address the growing demand of the young population. However, they should be provided with a mentorship, assistance, support and respect in order to empower them to deliver on their promises. As it is the young leaders who can bring about a new approach towards democracy, one which is imperative for a divided country like India.