Young Blood and Old Wine

The recent youth-uprising in Chennai against the ban of a traditional sport was to do with more than what meets the eye. Fundamentally, India is a Nation of many Nations and the federal system of governance is meant to preserve the richness of these individual cultures. If the powers-that-be try to impose their ideas of a Nation, they are bound to face a strong resistance. The current government has mooted the idea of a ‘national language’, which might have its benefits in creating a stronger Indian identity, but will certainly undermine the many regional languages and the richness of literature, culture and heritage that they bring with them.  I have often argued that India is melting pot of many cultures and religious, linguistic and regional identities, the governments cannot, and indeed must not, show its leaning towards any one religion, region, caste or language. If the idea is more to push the agenda of Hindutva, then the language must be Sanskrit, not Hindi! It is also a fact that many regional languages, even as they are spoken today, have their roots in Sanskrit, a few cases in point being - Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali. (Tamil, it is believed, is older than Sanskrit.) It would, therefore, do good for the government at the centre to work towards a stronger federal system in governance, not merely in the letter, but also in spirit.

The demographic dividend that we believe would be our strength in growth and development will only be so when it is harnessed effectively. With job creation and skill development not having taken off to the the extent it should have, we may have a larger problem on hand, than anticipated, in the years to come. As Mohandas Pai opines in this interview, if we are unable to leverage, it might well become a liability, than an asset! We need to pull up our socks and act fast, assuming we haven't   already missed the bus.

Shri. S.M. Krishna’s recent resignation as a senior member of the Congress party, Shri. Mulayam Singh Yadav being sidelined not-so-gently, Shri. L.K. Advani and Shri M.M. Joshi being conferred the status of party elders, all send out signals of the emergence of youth power in redefining how politics is practised in the country. It is a different matter whether 68 years can be considered as young! Nonetheless, the political arena is witnessing a churning which the youth hope will usher in reforms that are more representative of their aspirations. Student uprising like that at JNU (Kanhaiya Kumar) and the fight against an unfair reservation system (Hardik Patel) will change the political-scape, the way constituents are wooed and the promises that parties make in their manifestoes. It must be watched on which side the balance will tilt - the politicians or the youth.

This wave of nationalism isn’t peculiar to India alone. The Brexit and Shri.Trump’s election as the President of the USA have proved it to be a world-wide phenomenon. One might argue on the ills of it, whether these stem from insecurities of globalisation and the need to emphasise one’s identity in a fast shrinking world. But, in the meanwhile, many opinions will be rehashed, beliefs will be revisited and objectives, redefined. And until we reach a socio-political equilibrium in terms of expectations of a society and fulfilment of these by elected representatives, we can continue to expect politicians try to steer the movement in their direction as the winds of change forced on the system by the people prove to be a strong resistant force.

Imagine...