Young, Wild, But Not Free

Pooja Pandey reports on PRIA’s Youth and Democracy campaign, a platform in which Indian youth engaged in open, fearless and non-judgemental inter-personal conversations. This gives us hope for 2018, for the youth of India to generate a “youthquake”, and bring significant cultural, political, or social change through their democratic actions in their everyday lives.   Being a person in her early 20s, I often naïvely wonder about my contributions to the world, if at all. I am troubled by the theories of utility and efficiency, and I easily give in to the ‘economic purpose’ of myself more than anything else. Turns out, I am not the only one! Having recently transitioned from a student to employee has helped me reflect, in retrospect, about my life as a young college student. With changing demographics, the youth of India are of great interest to many. I never realized the depth of the discourse around youth until I became part of an extremely dynamic campaign, PRIA’s Youth-n-Democracy (YnD) campaign. Over 6 months I have interacted with hundreds of ‘my kind’, the conversations deep and thoughtful around the powerful idea of ‘Democracy in Everyday Life’, or DIEL as we call it. The campaign has engaged me in a process which has helped me understand myself as much as the youth in this country. Visiting and meeting hundreds of youth in various colleges in different pockets of Indian cities has helped me get to know them more profoundly. There is so much that is common and even more that is distinct about the young boys and girls I have met. The overt stress on the economic and political utility of the youth has clearly marred the vibrant colours that they bring through their diversity and identity. The yearning for spaces and freedom was a common demand across all cities where we carried out the campaign. Young in age and wild in spirit, the youth of India is ready to break free and feel ready enough to take on responsibilities without any forced ‘hand-holding’ from adults. As frivolous as many believe the youth’s experience to be, there are so many hidden gems to explore in their ‘ways of working’. The active youth of today are the selfless volunteers of tomorrow. The energy they bring is infectious, on display when the youth took charge and ownership of the campaign events with their collective calibre. It reflected to an extremely potent possibility of channelizing the collective wisdom of India’s youth towards constructive future building. This ‘collective’ was beyond the binaries of religion, language and region. However, the deep embedding of socio-economic factors like caste, class and genders could be felt. While this is what defines the diversity of their identities, it also carries a persistent risk of being the basis of intolerance and discrimination. This risk gives us the reason to talk to them and, more importantly, make them talk about their doubts and inhibitions. The YnD campaign carries these voices onto a single platform. It has raised some difficult and uncomfortable questions and motivated youth to take responsibility for their own journeys, in an informed and sensitive way.

On the upside, this bunch of extremely driven and energetic Indian youth wants to talk more. But, are unable and often afraid to do so for lack of vocabularies and avenues. They hesitate to have conversations amongst their peer group as well as with other youth from diverse backgrounds for fear of being judged. “We need to be mindful about India’s socio-political climate, which is at an awkward juncture today. There is resentment building up against the restrictions on youth. A resentment, which in no time could become aggression. An aggression that will challenge the status quo and create a disruption in the way things presently are.” These are not my words but of those whom I have seen and met. Those who have immense potential to write a newer kind of history; those who want to rise and challenge your notions; those who are ready to strive by not just words but also in and with the spirit of democracy in their everyday lives. The task for us as a society is to give this space to the youth, and nurture them to use it freely and wisely. The YnD campaign is one step in that direction, one that helps create a culture for more open, fearless and non-judgemental inter-personal conversations, a stepping stone for youth in their journey towards active citizenship. The wisdom of youth is precious and it matters! They are agile and on their toes. Let them decide their paths to walk and they will sing their ways to glory.  

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