The young Turks of Indian
politics By Siddharth Srivastava
NEW DELHI - They are the leaders of India's
tomorrow. And universal in their high pedigree is
Western education, and by default modern thoughts. This
can only augur well for a nation with the majority of
the billion-plus population under the age of 35.
The general elections slated for this and next
month have drawn a spectrum of young aspirants who are
linked by the following factors - exposure to the West,
whether the United States or the United Kingdom, a
lineage that boasts of a rich exposure to politics and a
deep interest in the cornerstone of India's global
competitiveness, information technology.
The
uncrowned king of the lot is Rahul Gandhi, whose
political roots are near impeccable - great grandfather
Jawaharlal Nehru, grandmother Indira Gandhi and father
Rajiv Gandhi - all former prime ministers of India.
Rahul's mother is Sonia Gandhi, the president of the
Congress party that is pitted against the ruling
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Rahul has studied at
Harvard and worked in London. At 33, he is contesting
elections for the first time from Amethi, his late
father's pocket borough in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
In a recent interview to the Indian Express
Rahul said that his aim is to make India like the US,
where one is known and judged by one's work and not
caste, creed and religion. "These factors do not matter
in the US and should not matter here," he said.
Rahul
heads a long list of similarly placed and qualified
young people seeking a position in the hallowed
parliament of India. Each one of them boasts immediate
family members who have or are
holding high
political office. Most of them are in their late
twenties or early thirties and have had a rich exposure
to some of the best institutions in the world.
They include Milind Deora (Boston University),
Sachin Pilot (Wharton Business school), C R Keshavan,
Rajeev Gowda (Wharton), R P Singh (Berkeley), Mavendra
Singh (Oxford) and Sandeep Dikshit.
These apart,
there are other "youth" leaders who have made a bit of a
mark in national politics. Jyotiraditya Scindia has
already had a run in the previous parliament and
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah was minister of
state of external affairs. Both have studied abroad at
top institutions.
Deora, Pilot, Dikshit and
Scindia are sons of prominent Congress leaders. Mavendra
is the son of finance minister Jaswant Singh while
Abdullah belongs to the first family of Jammu and
Kashmir politics, with both father and grandfather
former chief ministers of the state.
It is true
that these young leaders have been provided the
opportunity to run for politics given their family
backgrounds. On the flip side given the exposure and
atmosphere that they have grown up in, it does also make
them equipped to take on the hurly-burly of Indian
politics. India has a tradition of generations
practicing the same vocation. Such has been the case in
films where some of the biggest Indian stars such as
Saif Ali Khan, Salman Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukherjee belong
to families long associated with films. In industry,
Reliance, one of India's biggest industrial groups, has
made rapid strides under the sons of the late Dhirubhai
Ambani. In cricket, star cricketers such as captain
Saurav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif belong to
families with a history of playing cricket. Doctors,
lawyers and artists make it a point to pass on their
clients and craft to their progeny.
The last
time that several foreign and private school-educated
people joined the political firmament was in the
mid-1980s. The then prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi,
co-opted several of his friends he met in the course of
his education at the elite Doon school, England and then
as a commercial pilot. But it was their collective
inexperience in understanding the nuances of Indian
politics that ultimately led to Rajiv's downfall.
Importantly, the current youth brigade of
political leaders is not having it that easy. It is true
that most are standing for elections from constituencies
considered their family fiefs. With time, however, they
will have to prove their mettle, as the Indian
electorate is increasingly sensitive to performance and
development.
For one, the start is early. By the
time they actually scale positions of real power that
can make a difference in the macro context, individual
experience will matter. Then, the exposure to the West
is important as India makes rapid strides to emerge as a
global economy. International management practices, work
culture and ethics, the importance of institutions and
health care are aspects that require to be imbibed. If
India has to progress further the leadership will have
to provide the right mix of a modern as well as
traditional outlook. Many of these youth leaders have
also been involved in working for non-government
organizations involved in the upliftment of the poor.
Another important aspect is that the Indian
population is pre-dominantly young. A point of debate is
that the aspirations of the youth may be better
understood and presented by younger leaders, rather than
the current incumbents. Both the prime minister and
deputy prime minister of India are close to 80.
Indeed, the defiance is there to see, which goes
down well with younger minds. Pilot married the woman he
loves, who happens to be the sister of Omar Abdullah.
The National Conference and Congress are ranged against
each other in Kashmir. None of the Abdullah family
attended the marriage, but Pilot went ahead.
Scindia makes no bones about the fact that he
loves his Rolex watch and his late father's BMW. For
long Indians have been made to believe that in a country
with mass penury any show of wealth is wrong. It is true
that one has to consider the social milieu of one's
existence, but it is equally important not to be ashamed
to be rich or aspire to be wealthy through fair means.
Rahul has no problems being with his Colombian
girlfriend who often flies down to India. Not an issue
unless one wants to pursue politics as a career in
India. Recently Rahul holidayed with her in Kerala, with
political opponents taking immediate potshots that it is
immoral to stay with a woman unless one is married to
her. Live-in relations are quite common among urban
youth in India, but the institutions as well as public
postures remain quite the opposite. A case in point is
that of the newly crowned Miss India who had to
relinquish her title after it was found that she was
living with a guy. To prevent harassment by the police
as well as the housing society where her flat was
located, she had declared that she was married, which
ultimately resulted in her exit as Miss India.
Indeed, India is still a country of some double
speak, where what is preached is often not practiced.
The earlier lot of Indian politicians wore traditional
dress, talked of swadeshi (indigenous economy)
and derided English. At the same time, they collected
designer suits, drank Scotch whisky and ensured that
their children studied at the most prestigious English
language schools.
The new lot bring about a
refreshing change. Just be what you are - an appeal to
the youth who matter the most, and a bridging of the gap
between what is and what isn't.
Siddharth
Srivastava is a New Delhi-based journalist.
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holding high
political office. Most of them are in their late
twenties or early thirties and have had a rich exposure
to some of the best institutions in the world.
