Constraints faced by youngsters in Indian politics- Are you a 'doer' or a 'talker' ?

This article is a result of someone, asking me an innocent question- 'what my contribution was to the people back home' ? Also am I a 'doer' or a 'talker'. Here is addressing the questions and the constraints faced by the youth of India in today's politics.

I came to America with certain aims and I haven't yet achieved all of what I want to achieve. And me going back to India and future plans are all dependent on what I am planning to achieve here. So, I am helpless, until I achieve it and the way the things are going, it looks easily no less than another 5 years before I can achieve, what I require to go back to India and do whatever I want to. That's adding to my frustration and I end up writing articles like these, because as I am "trying" to achieve what I have to, there are people dying in India and no one seems to be actually doing anything about it. The terrorists and others are not waiting for me to come back and do something. They are happily doing what they have to do. That is adding frustration. A vicious circle, I want to go back and 'do' something, but I cannot because I have to achieve, what I have to achieve before going back.

Lemme tell you something, before I actually answer the question of 'what did I do to help people back home'?

I am sure everybody has plans like I do, for India ( yes it's safer to say everybody, even though it is NOT true ), but with a country of 1.13 billion ( 1,129,866,154 to be precise) and a further 33,599,855 population of Indian origin people outside India out of which 3,357,530 Indians are in America, not even a single one is presently doing anything to save India from the problems it is facing. It would be unfair to say, none of those people are acting, but the % of people from the TREMENDOUSLY HUGE Numbers that I have shown, that are acting is very very less.

My point is this. I am at a stage of my life, where in I am still 5-8 years away from SIGNIFICANTLY doing something for the country. I do not want to plunge into it prematurely and end up like the others, we have the passion, but if we do not channelize it properly, we cannot go nowhere in the India political system, handled by people whose only aim is to bring one down, under all circumstances. Now my question is, what happened to the previous generation of people , who should have 'politically-matured' by now. That is, for many other Indians, 2008 or much earlier should have been the ideal time to mature and plunge into politics and contribute to a better India. Where I ask, are those people, my time hasn't come yet, but where are the people whose time has come and gone away and now they say, " the future of the country is in the hands of the youth, not us, we are no youth anymore". So when the time comes, no one jumps into it and I hope I wont do it.

To answer the question on 'what did i do to help the people back home'. I was part of various NGO's back in the day, when I was in Hyderabad. There are up to 10 organizations, that I have been part of at some part of my life in India. Also, I always took it upon myself to write articles to keep reminding people of what is happening around them ( not that they didn't know ). Also, me and my family did our best to help the down-trodden people. My parents, every month contributed about 30% of their salary ( apart from other goods, etc) to help people 'directly' who needed basic amenities of life. They did not make 'donations' to NGO's per se, they wanted to help the people first hand. Those ideals rubbed onto me and I helped them in their cause. That has been my contribution in India, so far. I came to America, with certain goals to achieve and I am trying to achieve it for now. I wish to go back to India and with what I am going to achieve here, invest and help my country in ways, about which I will talk when the time comes. I hate the concept of talking a lot and not actually doing anything. So you will know of my future contributions, when the time will come. I am ready to get into politics, to help India's cause, will you?

Now with the 'innocent' question answered, would you please let me know of your contribution to India. Sure, there are 'talkers' and 'doers' , but there is a third kind who are neither. Which one are you ? I have always been a 'talker' or rather a 'writer' because I consider myself 'MEDIA', which is one of the 'Most Important systems' of a county. Also, I have been a 'doer' as I mentioned above and plan to 'DO' a lot of things in future, which are not appropriate to talk right now. I am curious to know, about your contribution, it is not an innocent question, it is a very curious question.


To be fair to Indians, surviving in Indian politics where as I said before, people's only aim is to bring you down, is very difficult. If you jump in, you are up against an entire nation of a million parties and a zillion politicians. That's why I say, that this generation of India, has to be different. If a huge bunch of Indian population jumps into it, no crazy politicians can do nothing. It is a time consuming process, results won't show up immediately, but it has to start somewhere. Well, yes, we see more number of youngsters these days in politics, but they can be counted .The country has some promising younger politicians, but they are all denied the reins of power. Only the older people get a chance at the big seats of Indian politics, citing 'experience' as a criterion. So if someone, starts young around 25-30, by the time he/she gets 'experience' it will be a few years, making them ideal to run the government. Recently, a group of IITians stood in an election in Tamil Nadu, but they lost badly, now that shouldn't deter us, results won't show up immediately, if we have an insurge of young politicians, in the long run, things will change for sure. Also there should an age, when people should 'retire' from politics. After a certain age, they should be deemed incapable of holding positions, maybe the very good (who are very rare in our political system), can be part of advisory committees, but that's what their role should be limited to.

To name a few 'young' politicians - Rahul Gandhi, Omar Abdullah, Aditya Sindhiya, Dayanidhi Maran, etc, but as you see most of them youngsters are from the family of politicians. You do not see people without political background jumping into politics, do you ? The day that happens in large numbers, only then will India see a better day ( I might have missed few names of politicians who are not from political families, but the point I am trying to make is that the number of such people is significantly 0. ) Also young doesn't necessarily mean late 30's, 40's and 50's. We need more people who are around 30. The country needs to be run by technocrats and not illiterate old people. Politics is much more difficult than building a microprocessor chip, we need young Indian brains in politics, not in chips anymore.

The reality is that politics is not as enticing as the other professions for today's youth. For an youngster to get into politics,is not an easy job. The rules of entry are not clear, people who deter you are a lot, there are serious financial constraints and also lack of family support in issues like these. You hear parents or family members say very often, 'Why should my son be the one to change the country. Why can't we all have a normal life. Why don't you get married and have kids' ? Surely, no single parent wants their child to be the 'scapegoat'. But what if every family comes forward, there wouldn't be a concept of scapegoat, then. Owing to these constraints, you see youngsters using other sources to vent their anger or passion to save their country. I chose the media and am trying to create awareness among my fellow beings ( not that they do not know all this !!!!), there are others who become naxalites or terrorists or 'religious-warriors'. There are yet another group of people, who choose to be part of NGO's. That's been the trend, especially for NRI's, who often feel guilty of not being present in their own motherland and often have to bear the abuses of their fellow countrymen from India regarding their ' Intelligent escape from the miseries of India'. There are many who have given up their 'high-paid careers' to be part of NGO's to do something for their country. But NGO's are more of a 'help the already suffering people', rather than 'change the conditions causing the suffering'. It is more reactive than proactive. Also NGO's are not exactly exercising power, as they are trying to improve the system. I have a tremendous respect, totally believe in the concept of NGO's, have myself been part of a large number of NGO's and plan to set-up my own in the future. But the point I am trying to make is that we need more youngsters directly involved in politics. It is great that there is a huge involvement of youngsters and NRI's in the NGO-NPO system, but the call of the hour is 'political system'. There are other youngsters who are lured by the wrong set of parties, owing to the above mentioned constraints, you see a lot of youngsters with passion ending up in places like Bhajrang Dal or Raj Thackeray or Gurjjar type of agitation or naxalites. Most of these youngsters are uneducated ( there are educated youngsters too ) and they are challenged to be leaders and end up following the orders of people above, blindly.

With so much of Indian support all over the world, if the country's future figured in the plans of at least a few % of that huge population, India would have been a much better place. Of course, the people back in India, right from the common man, celebrities, merchants, politicians are not helping the cause. I am sure each one has their own reasons, to turn their backs to India. It is understandable, you cannot expect a farmer who is not provided with the basic amenities to fight for India or expect a kid born in a poor family, who doesn't have money to eat one proper meal a day and so in the process turns out to be a 'goonda' or a goon to be honest and help India's cause. Also you cannot expect a middle-class guy in India, who has to pay the taxes, pay the corrupt people at each level and still support his family decently, to help India's cause. This ain't a movie like 'shivaji' or 'aparichitudu' or 'bharateeyudu' or 'nayak' where in one person can change the fate of the entire nation. This is reality, where every single person, has to be a hero. With many heroes and young leaders with passion, India can have a chance again, else it is going to be worse than what it is now.

Sure, India has been progressing in various areas, with many young people showing lot of passion for the country and opposing what is happening in the country, but lemme tell you that, everyone is just emulating what everyone else is doing i.e Raise their voices, but the people who are actually going to do something, well not many. It is easier to go with the crowd, than actually doing a different thing.

The youth of India is definitely involved in everyday system, but you see them mostly venting their anger in 'destructive ways' , rather than 'constructive' or 'productive' ways, helpful to the country. The dharnas, the protests, stone pelting, burning down public properties, burning Effigies, are all done mostly by youngsters who lack a sense of direction. That's why the call of the hour is for educated youngsters, who can channelize their angers and get into the real politics and 'make an effort' to change the state of India. For all we know, the coming year 2009 and the following year too, will have many many terrorist attacks, it is imminent, but it has to stop somewhere and it will, only if educated youngsters- technocrats with big degrees plunge into the real politics in huge numbers .

Jai Hind and to a better tomorrow, may the force be with us.