Youth: Population, Power, Responsibility
A relative of mine told me a couple of months ago that the “Baby Boom” was on in India and that it will go on for about 10 more years. He said that the next 10-15 years will make the country much better in almost every way. The reason? The youth. For those of you who are not familiar with the term “Baby Boom,” it indicates the period of time, or the phenomenon itself, of the significant increase in population due to the birth of many children. It is a demographic concept. However much I would like it if the population of India stopped increasing at such a rapid rate, there are a few points that are to be understood here.
One, a sudden increase in the number of births indicates that the population of the youth a decade or two later is going to be much higher than it is now. And considering the fact that more than 40% of the country’s population consists of the youth already, the numbers are bound to increase much more.
Two, when the population of the youth goes up by such astronomical figures, it is obvious that the youth will play significant roles in several walks of life. The United States of America went through a baby boom in the mid 20th century, and it ended at around the time when Obama was born. Which is why most of the pioneers that you see in the various fields are all either of Obama’s age or older. India’s Baby Boom is on now. So the youth of today have a crucial role to play. We pave the way for the youth of tomorrow, who will build on our work.
Three, this applies to every country, not just India. Why do you think the Singapore government was wanting to increase its population and was encouraging people to make love a while ago? 😛 Singapore had a dwindling population. For several reasons people were not willing to take up the responsibility of having kids. The country saw the grave consequences that the trend could cause and so decided to take remedial measures. A smart move.
India’s Youth Portal says that based on the 2001 demographic survey, about 41.07% of the country’s total population consisted of the youth. And this was just after the baby boom had begun. Imagine what the figures would be like in a decade or two from now. The youth portal(a Govt. of India site) also goes on to say “this predominance of youth in the population is expected to stay until 2050.” And THAT is how long India has, to make a rapid progress.
As I already indicated, with the increasing percentage of the youth population it is imperative that the youth will rise very quickly in every field. We see proof of that already. Arnab Goswami, a news anchor, is paid just as much as Larry King is, if not more. And Arnab is not even 30 now! It is a different matter that most of us hate Arnab for being too biased. But at least we get a chance to succeed him, make more cash than he did and still be neutral and fair, right? So why not work towards that?
With the increasing power of the youth also comes the need for responsibility and sensibility. I will not be ashamed of admitting that the youth are the ones who can be mislead easily, in most cases. Henchmen start with petty crimes in their youth and slowly become gang leaders. Then they work their way up till they are hired by politicians. Like I already mentioned here, I know guys who carry the pictures of the LTTE supremo, Prabhakaran, in their wallets, because the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Karunanidhi, has his ways of convincing the youth that they are fighting for the “right cause.” Karunanidhi has a “fast till death” between breakfast and lunch and he actually has people falling for it! And what is even worse is that two days after the fast, he has now “been admitted to a hospital due to illness.” No doubt the next stunt will be to link the illness with the hour or two-long fast. And people will fall for it yet again!
So yes, with power comes the need for responsibility and sensibility. And also, one needs to WANT a change. One needs to realise that things are not headed the right way. There is too much hatred around. The politicians only keep dividing us, while they claim to be doing just the opposite. The government in power at the moment(and hopefully will not be a month or two from now) is the best example to prove my point. They make tall claims at all times. They exercise an amount of control over the Central Bureau of Investigation. They even change the Chief Election Commissioner each time before elections, in order to pull the leaders of the opposition down, and clear the way for their own candidates. More importantly than anything else, they use money power to buy not just votes, but the Media itself! And the Media is being senseless enough to fall for the money and give biased news all the time.
We, the youth, need to stand up against such practices. We need to come together and do what is best for the country. I feel that if the country needs to improve, in spite of the Baby Boom, the youth need to play a more responsible role. Actually, this applies for every place, and not just India. We need to voice our opinions and make sure that they are heard. We need to take initiatives by ourselves and work towards a better future.
There is no point in sceaming our throats hoarse if we are not willing to work towards the change by ourselves. If you want change, you need to work towards it. There are many people out there who want a change. And there are even more who have the right ideas, but say that this country can never change. What we need is a united effort by everyone. It sure is not impossible. If you get to know someone who is working for a cause, don’t laugh and say “Yeah right! He/She will never be able to make a difference in this country. What a loser!” Instead, see if you can lend a helping hand. Together, you are better equipped than he/she was alone.
To start with, you could go and cast your vote in a few days(if the elections are not over in your place already, that is). No point in complaining about the state of the country and as to how lousy the government is, because standing in the line for a short while and casting a vote in a minute or two can make a gargantuan difference. Give some lame excuse like “it was too hot,” and you will have to take all the heat for four whole years to come, if not more. And if you don’t cast your vote, don’t go around blaming the country. You did nothing to change it yourself!
So shut up and vote first!
THE JOY OF CRITICISM 
Gr8 bro =)
Thanks, Izzy! 🙂
Awesome stuff Adi……it’s all sooo right. Too bad I cant vote 😉
Nice to see you here, Christine. Anyway, yeah, there are several such issues which really do concern me. I can’t write about all of them right away cos I will end up scaring everyone from my blog. 😛 Anyway, thanks a LOT for your comment. Please do keep coming back for more. And keep the comments flowing.
And I guess you are exempted from voting. 😛 LOL! Thanks once again. 🙂
An interesting post Adi. Something I can relate to, even though you may find that I am from another country, but as you said, each and every country faces this situation. You conveyed the fact that a large percentage of India’s population is youth, the fact that I’m trying to point out is that quite a number of youth are already playing a major role in various departments of sectors of the country and that the youth in India should vote and have their voices heard. I am all for this and I hope that that happens sooner rather than later.
One thing that came to mind was how would the senior population feel about this. Would this mean that senior citizens would lose their jobs? Would this mean that they would lose their power or authority over their own children? Would it mean that the whole country will be run by people whom they consider to be immature? What questions would rise if the active population (ones that are actively involved in the development of a country) was to be dominated by youth. Will the youth population take this issue too far, is what I am asking. I understand that we aren’t as illiterate as I make us feel writing this, but will our ego get the better of ourselves?
I feel that it is not us, but the seniors of our country (to a certain extent) itself that enforce such a situation where we feel that we are not allowed, or we find ourselves unable, to voice all our opinions to the general society.
Just some of my thoughts on this issue.
But how will VOTING help if ALL the parties are corrupt??
Adhi interesting one..by the way i just want to say this, in my place people vote to politicians based on their religion/caste.
Its really crazy people think in such a manner, i casted my vote against it and many people said i acted foolishly but i dont think so….
Who said that ALL parties are corrupt? There are independents standing in many constituencies who are clean as a newborn child. It is not too difficult to do some background research on the parties and the candidates. If you are not satisfied with anyone at the centre, pick the one you think will do the least damage tot he country. If you are still not convinced, just pick a guy from your constituency who is clean. That way, at least you still do make your vote count, right? That is the attitude that people need.
And yeah, you can also join several youth movements that you see around the country. Those are clean and they are all working towards the same cause that you and I want. So let us not give excuses. Each of us can vote once. The youth alone make up close to half the population. We CAN make a difference if we unite.
Dileep, this is exactly what we need. We need people who THINK before they vote. People need to be taught that it does not always pay to blindly follow the politicians and whatever they say. In fact, it almost NEVER pays. WE need to take decisions by ourselves. WE need to think about the future of the country and see who would go the country most good. Or at least, do it as little harm as possible.
If people say that you acted foolishly, let them say so. You try and educate them. It is not easy to reason out with elders at times when it comes to politics. My grandfather never agrees to anything that I say against the BJP. That is how things are. But we CAN make them see light. If not, we can at least combine forces with others who believe in the same things that we do. If we want a change, we need to work towards it. Complaining while sitting at home and watching biased news channels does not help!
Dileep, I am really glad that you voted this time, and to a party/candidate who YOU felt was the best suited. I must say that I am proud of people when I hear such things. Nice stuff! 🙂
hey , yea , ever read atlas shrugged. Our Government and da mob run by taggart nd co hav many similarities.U know after reading da book , i disagreed with the whole concept , i mean every1 just walked away declining 2 stand up for wat is rite. But then adter a while, i dont remember if it was the problem in madurai after that poll or da death of da iim grad which got me thinkn. y do i hav 2 make a differnence in a country where so many ppl just leech on your ability nd hard earned success. wat’s da point of workin wit a gag in our mouth and a gun in our backs.In all honesty, Try insultin our CM in public , on a road, call him a senile old man who is in a lifelong hangover, odds on , ur life is in danger, but dis dude can insult our religion cuz hey he can , v cant do shit. Tytler , da man who is responsible for da death of god knows how many sikhs , is scottfree , but A fatwa is issued against Shilpa shetty cuz richard gere kissd her in da cheek!!!(For da record i hate both them anyway)U wanna make a difference, walk away let these morons suffer nd rot from dere own stupidity
Oh yea as for da whole youth thing , sure large no of young ppl in our country- 3/4 of them unemployable nd many hav no clue abt wat 2 do for a career .u really think they r risin – lets c how many of the isolated case of da”youth ” succeding in any field was done without a godfather u know wat i mean dont u The only reason y abhinav bhindra won our country’s first gold medal was cuz his father could afford paying for training nd equpmentThe government run dept which was supposed 2 b in charge of overseeing bhindra was in shambles.
Seriously dont know abt da salary of shitnob nd larry – seems 2 wierd 2 b true . But den again 2 many ppl r payed way more than they deserve nd dere paychecks will eventually bcome less. i mean sooner or later every1 is gonna frow tired of dis guy disrespect every1 by takin a moral high ground(attemtin 2 anyway)
Thanx…….. I hope this time my comment was in for right post:-)
Quoting you – “One, a sudden increase in the number of births indicates that the population of the youth a decade or two later is going to be much higher than it is now. And considering the fact that more than 40% of the country’s population consists of the youth already, the numbers are bound to increase much more.”
The number is bound to increase but the youth are the oldies of tomorrow. and with epidemics, catastrophes and suicide bombing, nature has her own ways of striking the balance. Plus, late marriages (a trend i support) and family planning (nobody wants more than one child,at max 2) are other factors that might even things out.
So the situation really isn’t bleak.
It will do wonders to us if we just work hard enough now,
Imagine mobilising youth towards ‘positive change’ today.these values will carry themselves tomorrow. We need to condition ourselve to be objective and farsighted.
The cliche “kaal kare so aaj kar, aaj karey so ab” actually makes sense in the scenario.
For example, you wanna eradicate communalism? Imbibe tolerance and respect for all in yourself today …and add a humane approach to life. Your children will learn by example.
Take up a good cause and work towards it.
It needn’t be radical. A small initiative to create better surroundings and a more aware society will do. Your friends and peers will support you.
A coupla years ago CSR (Corporate social responsibility) was the IN thing.
Now its more Individual. Everybody wants to do their bit for “the people”, “the society”, “the country” and “the world”. They only need the right motivation and direction. Tap into this potential human reserve.
Many youth today are amazing rebels who’ll leave no stone unturned in getting their way. This is great except they are rebels without the ‘right cause.’ Give them the ‘right cause’ and watch the revolution.
Channel your energies positively and efficiently… there are enuf initiatives, causes, development programs etc that need your participation. Many are even lucrative to an extent.
Get started…
…you need to change, to be the change.
For those interested
also check out : http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=749392369578&ref=mf
Gopal, I can understand the reason behind such an attitude of yours, but I still feel that that is not the way out. Many things that you said are right. The issue in Madurai, the IIM killing, and many other such incidents are exactly the reason why we need change. Yes, we could all use the choicest expletives to describe our CM knowing fully well that that will not change a thing. And like you said, saying something against him in public would not be a very smart thing to do. However, all that needs to change, right? Our state is as lousy as lousy can get. He talks crap about religion and he is still praised for doing so. He is paving the way for his family(families, rather) to continue its rule over the state for years to come. Like my father said, Karunanidhi has “the advantage of having n number of wives so that he owns the state at any point of time-living or not.” However, though we can’t change the number of wives and keeps Karunanidhi has and will have, we sure can slowly start a movement against such ugly politics.
Yes, they have muscle power. They have money. They have a lot of things that we might never have. But that does not mean that we should give up even before trying!
The Tytler issue is a lousy blot on the Congress’ face. So is the Bofor’s case. But they still control the Media and make it seem like they have been right all along. Now though we can do nothing about the actions of the Congress, the Media sure can be controlled, if we make an attempt. The Media will HAVE to listen to the public. But for that, we NEED to act like a responsible bunch. Scattered screams will not do any good. People need to be united in their want for change.
Why are we even talking about every person having a godfather and stuff here? Yes, many success stories involve someone or the other playing the role of the godfather. However, I am not talking about individual success here. I am talking about the success of the people of a country as a whole. You can’t go around looking for a godfather for that as well, can you? So what is they are unemployable? So what if they don’t have the cash to do something by themselves? If they have the right mentality, they will at least be able to unite for a cause, right? They need to be educated. And when I say that, I do not mean a degree from a professional college. People need to be aware of the fact that the country is not headed the right way. If they want change, their efforts need to be united. And if we manage to convince enough youth of that, they will surely be able to help each other out. I know that all this sounds like an ideal scenario and seems highly improbable in reality, but trust me, we can at least give it a shot and get as close to the ideal situation as we can. At the end of the day, things would have improved at least by a bit.
As for Arnab Goswami and Larry King, Arnab does indeed earn more than Larry does in dollars. I got this information from a reliable source. I hope you are right when you say that sooner or later people will grow tired of listening to biased news. But I don’t see such that happening unless people actually stand up and make it clear to the rest of the population that half of what the Media says is half-baked truth. Most of the people fall for every word uttered by the Media. They are the ones who need to be educated. And trust me, educating them will not be too tough. But it sure is not possible if we take no initiative at all. We just need to stand up and stay united. That is not as tough as people think it is. Trust me.
Dileep, thanks for your post. Yes, you did post in the right place this time. 😛
Dakshitha, I never said that the older people had no part to play in the decision making. One look at the Indian politics and you will know that is is run by oldies. I am not really complaining about that. What I am saying is that the youth have a major responsibility on their hands, but most of them do nothing about it. They give excuses like “all politicians are corrupt and so I can’t be bothered about the elections.” Now THAT is what needs to be changed. You see Gopal’s post above? It shows just how pissed people are. They are so pissed with the system that they decide to do nothing about it and just go on with their lives. We complain, we scream, we cry. But all within four closed walls. We do nothing about it. The few people who do try and make a difference do not get the support that they need because the people are not united in their efforts. THAT is what I am driving at.
As for your last statement, you may be right there. For instance, when we try talking politics at home, my brother and I are often not given an equal say when grandparents are around because they have certain strong views and are not flexible at all. I support the same party that my grandfather supports, but he will not take a single word that I say against the party. I mean, I feel that BJP is the best bet that we have now, but I also feel that there is room for a lot of improvement. They need some friends in the Media, they need a change of image, they need to get a few young faces in the party. My grandfather does not agree with me on any of these factors. But that does not mean that I have no say at all. I am very clear about what I expect. I am also willing to do my bit for the country. I am only against those who expect stuff but are willing to do nothing on their part.
@ Dash:
I kinda agree with you. I personally feel the eligibility age for an MP should be made 40 and that of PM should be 50. I’m still in my late teens but I truly feel the youth do not have the experience to handle a country. One needs experience that only life can give them, and before you become PM, you need to dip your hands deep into shit that’s called party politics. Only then are you equipped enough to dive deeper into shit that’s called international politics. And this takes around 2 decades to gain a degree in shit. So start off as a party worker in your early 20’s.
@ Dileep:
Caste politics. Coincidentally, I wrote very recently about TN politics, which thrives ONLY on caste, on my blog. Chidambaram wins every election from Shivagangai, solely because of the Chettiyar votes, and the Congress is “secular.” Sarathkumar bravely entered politics because he knows he has the Nadar votes. S. Ve Sekar won in the Mylapore constituency because of the Brahmin vote, hell, everyone in my house voted for him as well. Hell, even Annadurai came up from Kanchipuram because of the Mudhaliar vote! In a place like Tamil Nadu, your caste defines you. It’s not going to change anytime soon. As for religious voting, that’s something you can’t change either.
MooKa says he doesn’t believe in caste. Bu hey, if you look at his party ticket list, you’ll find him fielding Mudhaliars in Kanchi, Christians in Nellai and Azhagiri in Madurai. Amma kinda believes in caste but doesn’t say it publicly because the party’s ideology is from the “casteless” Dravidar Kazhagam. PMK champions the cause of blue collar workers and fields them as candidates. They win in poverty stricken areas. Let’s see the youth change that. Even they(the youth) vote for their own caste.
@ Adi:
Independents suck. You have FOUR fronts already. You really wanna create more post poll confusion? And as for Sarath Babu, he’s a real smartass. Graduated from IIM-A, he knows how to survive. He started his campaign a few days before the poll registration. If he really wanted to win, he would’ve done so earlier. His restaurant chain now has queues spilling out into the roads, mainly comprising of “youth.” I saw his site and campaign strategies. I assure you, he doesn’t WANT to win. He’s making big bucks cos of his publicizing strategy for his restaurant. He needs to be shot. Meera Sanyal is a way better candidate, but I won’t support her either because independents don’t help in this scenario.
@ Gopal:
It’s obvious that only those who have political backing will come up. If we say Congress has dynasty politics, Karnataka CM Yeddyurappa has fielded his son Raghavendra in Shimoga. I respected BJP because it had no back doors. Sadly that’s not true now.
People will always support those who have influence. Obama supports Sri Lanka over the LTTE issue because he needs a base in the Indian Ocean in case of war against China. India itself was supporting the Nepali monarchy and supplying arms, but as soon as a Maoist victory became obvious, the arms supply stopped and w extended support to the Maoists. Sitaram Yechury was then sent to hold peace talks with them and convince them to embrace democracy(which he did).
And what you said about insulting politicians, that’s only present in TN, UP. You can openly insult Modi in Gujarat and get away with it. In TN, politicians have more power than anywhere else in the country. Madurai is the place. Even Laloo won’t have as much power in Bihar. Mayawati too, is almost there. She kills PWD engineers because they don’t contribute to her birthday party celebrations, and gives a clean chit to her cronies who carried it out. That’s something you can’t change because rowdies rule the lands of Agraharams and Ayodhya. It’s sad but you can’t help it. Oh yeah and about 10,000 Sikhs were killed in 1984 all the way from Punjab to Karnataka.
No comments about Bhindra. I totally agree.
The shitnob and Larry, I disagree. N. Ram is worse, and Hindu has 14 million readers in Chennai alone! And it doesn’t look like it’s gonna decline anytime soon. No one gives a fuck in India. Like Adi said, you need to change yourself. If you don’t remember what happened in Madurai or the IIM guy, force yourself to. Remember Congress is the party which gave 27% reservations to OBCs in the IITs and IIMs. Hardly anyone does, but make it an issue before you vote.
I’m sorry that’s 14 lakh.
Hahaha! Ani, I like the way you ended your second comment. Yes, we need to think before we vote. It is a different matter that many end up doing too much thinking to be bothered about voting. They are the people who need to be shot, if you ask me. Anyway, you are right when it comes to almost everything that you said. It is sad that such things happen here. Most things are out of our control. But tell me one thing, do you really think that NOTHING can be done about it? I am sure you don’t. Because if that were the case, you would not be against DMK or the Congress yourself.
However, I do not believe that people need to be THAT old to enter politics. Take Obama for example. He is not in his mid-sixties, is he? When you are a politician, it is not that you take each and every decision by yourself. You have advisors who suggest things. Many ministers know nothing about their own ministries. They just come with a piece of paper and read out stuff, if they are ever made to address a crowd or the parliament itself. They would read it out even if the script in their hands said that they were gay with the speaker of the parliament and that they were doing private webcam shows for all the members of the parliament. Yes, that is how lame some of them are. So yeah, I believe that there is nothing wrong if there are a few sensible young men and women in politics. When I say young, I sure don’t mean 18 or 20 year old people. I am talking about people who are around 30 or so. I see nothing wrong in it. Because you see, that is one way of getting the youth to participate actively in deciding the fate of the country. There need to be a few youth icons as well.
As for the caste based politics, that, sadly, goes on everywhere. However, I do not agree with you when you said that all of us at home voted for S. Ve Sekar because he was a Brahmin. We voted for him because we preferred ADMK to DMK. Now that you mention it, do you think people would have voted for Napoleon(yes, that is what he calls himself. A villain in Tamil movies!) over S. Ve Sekar? NOPE! And now that S. Ve Sekar is out of ADMK, chances of his getting many votes are slim. However, I feel that he has been the best MLA this constituency has seen in decades now and I would vote for him any day even if he were standing as an independent. I am not alone in this, though, and I know that for a fact. Anyway, let me not get into that now.
So yeah, what I am driving at is that people need to think before they vote. But the key point is, they NEED to vote. There is no getting away from that.
Great Retrospection..
Good point.
(i posted “But how will VOTING help if ALL the parties are corrupt??”)
Thank you for checking out the blog, Sir. Appreciate your comment as well. Serves as an encouragement to keep going. 🙂
Nandhini, why post as an anonymous user? LOL! Anyway, hope I managed to convince you that you HAVE TO vote. 🙂 And yeah, thanks a lot for your visit. Do keep coming back for more. And keep post your comments as well. Thanks once again. 🙂
i forgot to type in my name!
Thats really a good post…….r u following up wid elections in AP. All the film stars want to b politicians and ppl blindly cast their vote, WTF…..these stars want to make s*** load of money so they jump into politics…..its gonna be disastrous wen these film stars come into politics……cnt wait for the results to be out…..sad i cudn’t vote was eagerly anticipating elections so i cud caste my vote…..but boom got my visa and missing the elections hustle bustle….:D
Nandini, you forgot to type your name twice?! Hahaha!
Subash, thanks for visiting my blog and posting your comment. To answer your question, yes, I am following the elections in AP as well. Not as keenly as the situation in TN, but I do have a general idea. I agree with you when you say that it is stupid that every cine star is now getting into politics, no doubt, to make more money. Though there have been a few good cine stars in the past who turned out to be successful politicians, the present trend is just sad. I can understand your plight. As they say, every vote counts. However, you have a valid reason for not voting this time. In fact, I am glad that you are in the US and are doing great there. Good luck with everything. As for the election results, I am just as eager as you are for them to be out, if not even more. In fact, the polling is not yet over in Chennai. 13th of this month for us. Hoping to see a drastic change this time around. Let us wait and watch. 🙂
MGR was an actor, and he was probably the best CM we had after Kamarajar, and maybe Annadurai. The present trend is real sad I agree. The only experience Chiranjeevi has with social service is opening a hospital and blood bank. And the reason these newbies like him and Gapten get votes is because people are so tired of the same old fkin bastards that they want change for the sake of change.
What I liked about Gapten was that he’s the only one who said he will bring Hindi into Tamil Nadu if elected, because we are not a part of the national mainstream and Tamils suffer when they go outside looking for jobs. And the thing about these guys is that they will definitely not embezzle too much the first time they are elected because they need to sustain their party. Seasoned runners like MooKa and Amma steal like they have no conscience. For these reasons I wouldn’t mind Gapten coming to power(over MooKa atleast).