As India's election draws to a close, youths fear speaking up amid rising polarisation
Young Indians have seen Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government crack down on dissent, fail to rein in rising crimes against religious minorities, and struggle to tackle record unemployment.
Indian National Congress (INC) supporters react to initial general election results at the party headquarters, in New Delhi, India, June 4, 2024. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
NEW DELHI: As India tallies the votes in its marathon general election, Indian youths told CNA that they feel the country has become increasingly polarised in terms of political opinions.
About two-thirds of the population is under 30 years old, and a majority of young voters have spent their adulthood with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in power.
According to exit polls, Mr Modi is expected to clinch a rare third term in office after a six-week-long election that saw 642 million people vote in seven stages in the world's most populous country.
Counting is underway, with the results expected to be announced on Tuesday (Jun 4).
Political parties have invested much effort in wooing young voters during the election.
For one, Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has promised to upskill youth and turn them into entrepreneurs.
Meanwhile, the nation’s main opposition Congress party has promised 3 million government jobs as well as a guaranteed apprenticeship scheme for citizens aged 18 to 24.
Despite these promises, youths have seen Mr Modi’s government crackdown on dissent, fail to rein in rising crimes against religious minorities and struggle to tackle record unemployment.
With intolerance of different views seemingly growing as well, many have become increasingly reluctant to express themselves openly.
YOUTHS SHUN TRADITIONAL NEWS
CNA reached out to several young people to understand the issues that matter in the election, but most declined to appear on camera.
A 25-year-old who agreed to speak said it has become difficult for people not to take things personally.
“It’s unsafe, for lack of a better word. I think you never know how your opinion is going to be construed by somebody and that becomes very difficult to convey,” said New Delhi resident Protiti Bhattacharya.
“When you have an opinion to convey, you can’t be sure that someone is going to listen to you, take whatever you’re saying in that moment, not personally.”
Because of this, many in her generation have shunned traditional television news outlets for independent, online news portals, which they believe report more freely and robustly on issues that youths care about.
Ms Protiti said that news channels are putting out better productions, but with “no real value”.
“I think the difference between what an op-ed or what an opinion and what news is has just gotten completely conflated at this point,” she added.
Those who agreed to speak cited education and climate change as pressing issues in this election.
Mr Sparsh, a 27-year-old public policy consultant, also pointed to how India is perceived on an international stage, along with inclusivity and what the government is doing for the poorest.
“(Both) the urban and rural youth are becoming a lot more sensitive to inclusive development,” said the New Delhi resident, who did not want his last name to be used.
Ms Protiti said that the climate crisis and employment are at the top of the list for her.
“The reason that so many people voted for the BJP in 2014 was because of their roaring success. (They said) we will bring more employment opportunities back, etc. (But) that's not happening,” she added.
YOUTHS SEEM DISINTERESTED IN POLITICS
Out of 49 million first-time eligible voters, official data showed that only 18 million registered to cast their ballots this year. Organisations that work on mobilising young voters expressed worry that they are being cast out of the political process.
Mr Chaitanya Prabhu, founder of non-profit Mark Your Presence, said young Indians are not involved in politics at a very large level.
“It’s time, given that 65 per cent of our country is young, that we actively participate in policy discussions,” he added.
Citizens need to be aged at least 25 to run for election, but the average age of India's politicians in parliament after the last election was 57 years.
Some hope this can change, with more young people taking a more active interest in politics.
Ms Protiti said that for her generation to progress, they have to recognise where the “polarising venom” stems from and stand up to it.
“It's high time that youngsters start believing that their view of the world is as justified as that of somebody older,” she added.
