Nerve Endings Firing Away

As found etched on one of the Egyptian Pharaoh’s tombs, “The young are lazy and preoccupied with themselves and will surely cause the downfall of the world as we know it“. It is maybe too pessimistic but not without a ring of truth. Apart from the boisterous student political organizations in few universities that almost border on hooliganism, I seen almost zero political participation from today’s youth. We, as a generation have maintained a stoic distance from anything political and it is considered uber cool to denounce the system, “yeh saala system hee kharab hai, sab ko goli mar dene chaiyeye (The system is rotten and everyone should be shot)” is often the concluding remark of any “intellectual masturbation” sessions in the college canteen.

Why are we so despondent and grim in passing judgment on something we haven’t even shown a remote interest in? The past election in India did spring up a few surprises and sent a host of newbie politicians, mostly highly educated and young individuals. Sagarika Ghose writes that these young parlimentarians haven’t achieved much in the year since. However, the system that supports even encourages nepotism will not instill hope in the youth. Heck, even the Gandhis, Deoras, Scindias, and Pilots of the 21st century haven’t made an attempt to stand out.

Considering that almost 54% of the country’s population is 25 or
younger, the parliamentary distribution is not reflective of the
demographics (Our Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports is 75-year-old
Sunil Dutt) The fact that hardly anyone from our generation bothers to
vote, let alone contest or work for a campaign, is hardly an
encouraging sign. The Dean campaign (for Democratic nomination) in
America recently galvanized the youth through a grassroots-centric
approach. Thousands of young adults formed small groups and raised
issues that concerned them directly, almost reminding us of the Flower
Power generation sans the drugs and sex.

Why cannot we see a similar movement in India? I cannot recall the
last time when the youth felt strongly about any issue and made serious
efforts to influence policy. The seventies saw an upsurge of youth
movement to counter the Emergency. Ram Manohar Lohia inspired a
generation but sadly no trickle-up effects were noticed. The Mandal
commission protests was an ugly reminder of the serious vulnerability
of the country’s youth from exploitation of vested political interests.
Mani Ratnam’s Yuva made a feeble attempt at rekindling that movement
but unless our attitude or inclination to make a difference changes, no
movie, documentary or war is going to make a difference. We have been
castigated for even contesting the student council elections and
accused of succumbing to the corrupt world of politics, without even
making one wrong move. Admittedly, power does corrupt quite easily in
India. I have seen first-hand despicable behavior in the student
council of a small college and find myself guilty of not bringing the
issues to light in fear of jeopardizing my friendships. The rot is deep
down and begins early.

Someone once asked me, if there was any cause I was willing to die
for The fact that I had to stop to think a while does not bode well for
an increasing apathetic generation (maybe the question should have been
what was I willing to LIVE for?). We are content living in our little
microcosms and fighting the battle of merely surviving in this
intensely competitive world that we do not for a moment think of the
big picture.