Dictation Exercise 5

Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is a great pleasure for me to be here with you to share my thoughts and exchange my views on ‘Rejuvenating Democracy, giving voice to youth’, a subject of utmost relevance in the current global scenario. Youth are harbingers of change. Today’s generation of young people is the largest the world has ever known. Every second person alive today is below the age of thirty and around ninety percent of young people are living in developing countries mainly in Asia and Africa. The challenge of creating enough jobs and opportunities for the global youth population is the major challenge world faces today. We all recognize that democracy is a dynamic system of organizing societies and governing communities. Therefore, it has to rejuvenate itself periodically to tackle the challenges of change by absorbing new ideas (140) and understanding new needs.

                                                          

One obvious section of society whose involvement in public life needs to be encouraged in the (160) interests of democracy is the youth to whom the future belongs. With youth comes energy, vigour, innovation and optimism. These lay the ground for major positive contributions by youth for a rich demographic dividend for nations and our world. The wisdom of the old and the vigour of the youth must be blended for the benefit of deepening democracy in society. Great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Ho Chi Minh, Nelson Mandela and Dr. Kenneth Kaunda in their youth and subsequently also successfully channelized the energy of youth to strengthen the roots of democracy in their respective countries.

In the demographic profile of any country, youth are always a great asset and at the same time, we must recognize that they (280) also face various problems. We need to engage them productively and mainstream them in the task of nation building. When the system can channelize their energies in the proper direction, it strengthens development, democratic fabric and promotes social harmony.  (320) If their youthful energy is not used properly, it may get misdirected to terror or other activities which are detrimental to the larger interests of society. To strengthen the democratic process and make it inclusive, meaningful and sustainable it is imperative that the youth should get a rightful say in decision making.

The question that is often raised is about the factors that make the youth stay away from public life. Analysts have identified four levels of space that dominate the thinking of the youth. The first space is for the family, the second space is for career, third is for (420) lifestyle and fourth is for friends. There is a need to create a fifth space from 'self to society' by inculcating an interest in the mainstream social processes. In Indian philosophy we talk about divine journey from vyashti (individual) to samashti (cosmic) and then to the absolute. Vyashti vision addresses concerns of an individual, while samashti vision stands for compassion (480) and welfare of all. It should be a sincere endeavor of everyone to expand his or her vision so as to embrace more & more people.

It is, however, true that opportunities for youth to engage in effective participation in the democratic process or governance are not easily available. Electoral politics has become highly competitive and a costly avocation, thereby shrinking the space for the youth. The lack of a formal platform to express themselves can lead to their marginalization. (560) That should not be allowed to happen. It is possible to create a non-electoral space within the democratic processes to involve the youth and their perception of politics needs to be understood to create effective space for them in public life. In India, we have brought down the minimum age for voting from 21 to 18 years resulting in youth participation in large numbers in the democratic process. The advent of the social media, has been a boon in this context. (640) It has become a dominant force which is used by the youth, to convey their opinions and share their thoughts and ideas on contemporary issues.

Today, India is a young nation with about 27.5% of its population being in the age group of 15-29 years.  In the next twenty years, these figures are going to increase and therefore, it (700) is necessary to make them an active part of the political and developmental process. In this regard, various initiatives have been taken to involve the youth in community development.  The Department of Youth Affairs was specifically created to formulate policies for the youth, give them support and channelize their energies into creative endeavors.  The National Young Leader Program was launched with the objective of developing leadership qualities and service motive among the youth. The present Government has launched path-breaking initiatives that is Skill India to train people in different skills  and  Start up India to boost youth entrepreneurship and encourage (800) job creation The National Youth Policy was re-launched in 2014 in our country with one of its priority areas being ‘Participation of youth in politics and governance’. This initiative seeks to create future leaders from grass-root to the national level. (840)

India celebrates the birthday of Swami Vivekananda, the great Indian reformer as the National Youth Day on 12th January. Swami Vivekananda had immense faith in the youth and asked them to Arise and Awake from inactivity and emphasized on self-belief. While talking about youth he said and I quote: “What we want is vigor in the blood, strength in the nerves, iron muscles and nerves of steel.”

The present day youth needs opportunities to be seen and heard.   Greater participation of youth will infuse a new vigor and energy into the system.  Thus, there is a need to expand the fifth space (960) that I have referred to earlier, to bring about a paradigm shift from 'self to society' to rejuvenate the democratic system. Supreme value of youth period is the most precious. Young age is the best time. The way in which (980) you utilize this period will decide the nature of coming years that lie ahead of you. As they say that “the best way to predict future is to create it.” It is our sincere hope that the youth will find greater political development space in the years to come and have their rightful say in shaping the destiny of the nations all over the world. (1045)