The Politics of Youth

I t’s the young who are hogging the headlines across the world. As a 29 year old Edward Snowden plays 'catch me if you can' with Uncle Sam and Turkish youngsters take to bathing in the streets under water cannons, not to forget Yousafzai Malala who has shot into world headlines, no thanks to that bullet shot through her head, there is no denying that the world is waking up to a new generation of leaders, ideologies and convictions. On can feel those tremors in India as well, but in a slightly different way. Mulayam Singh during UP assembly elections realized the importance of fielding his son as the CM candidate and promising free laptops to students instead of pressure cookers. So did Vijay Goel of BJP, who decided to take on Delhi University and force it into reducing cut-offs for Delhities, poor guy couldn't succeed but perhaps the real success will be determined in the elections scheduled later this year. This is what elucidates the difference in the ways the youn...