Written by Bhavya Bhardwaj
Youth are the conscious-keepers of a nation and the foremost torchbearers that guide a country towards a more progressive future. The Indian political landscape bears a strong testimony to this statement, as the country has had a ‘rich and glorious history’ of youth activism, where the young people vociferously presented their opinions and always stepped up to fight for a just cause. The Indian national movement is a prominent example in this case, where leaders such as Bhagat Singh, Netaji Subhash Chandra, Rajguru, Chandrashekhar Azad, Surya Sen and countless others laid down their lives to fight the oppressive British rule.
Post-independence too, there have been a number of prominent movements where the youngsters fought tooth-to-nail and formed the ‘first line of resistance’ against discriminatory government policies and repressive actions by the State. For instance, it was the student-backed JP Movement which was instrumental in bringing down the Indira Gandhi government in the 1970s.
Since then, the involvement of the youth has been witnessed at many critical junctures in the political history of the country. Be it the Mandal Commission protests in the 1980s, Anti-corruption Movement led by Anna Hazare or the Nirbhaya protests for women safety in the 2010s, all movements saw enthusiastic participation by the younger lot . It won’t be an overstatement to say that whenever India has found itself on the crossroads of difficult decisions, the youngsters have taken the plunge to guide the country with their activism, arguments and actions.
Activism has been a key feature of Indian universities. Many campuses over the years have provided the needed intellectual freedom and space to democratically and express opinions freely. However today, we live in a time where not only activism but even other modes of civic engagement such as protest marches, rallies and so on, are not only looked at with suspicion, but are even criminalized by the state and society alike.
The law and order machinery continually threaten ‘the young and hopeful’ who dare to venture on the streets to advocate for a cause, with hostile measures and sanctions on their future. However, these threats and intimidation have not been able to deter the youngsters from ‘reclaiming their space’ where they can discuss, debate, call out the perceptible injustices and consequently advocate for a better future.
Recent spate of protests that erupted in many central universities saw student activism at its peak. Even when the anti-CAA & NRC movement took to the public spaces it was the youngsters who were at the forefront. This just proves that despite being labeled as entitled, brash, self-centered, ‘digital natives and hashtag activists’, the youth of our times have proven that when the moment arises they will rise to the occasion.
Thus, it can be conclusively said that the youngsters continue to remain the ‘voice of the dissent’ and through ‘collective forums’ they continue to threaten the authoritarian tendencies of the regimes. With this approach, they are re-establishing the fact that democracy was never just about timely elections but also creating a public space where different opinions and voices can co-exist.
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