The young voters of tomorrow want to cut through the clutter and focus on what is actually important. (Image: File)
During the Diwali weekend, I was invited to address the students at Delhi’s prestigious Tagore International School (Vasant Vihar branch). This was on occasion of their annual Leadership Summit, Lead On. This year’s theme was Leading Beyond Limits. What struck me was despite it being dhanteras and smack in the middle of the Diwali weekend, the summit saw an attendance of nearly 50 elite schools across the capital. What was even more rewarding was the interaction that followed. Since my forte is political journalism, all my anecdotes and experiences are drawn from the political field, and so initially I was a bit wary of losing my audience. This is the Instagram generation that makes reels and gets their news in two minute ‘shorts’. And I had to hold their interest for an hour. As it turned out, it was them who ended up keeping me engaged. Their questions were so well researched and quite revealing about the mindset of Generation Alpha (who will soon be entering the voting booth for the first time).
The questions ranged from the Bihar elections - with a very pertinent interest in Prashant Kishor and the kind of campaign he is running. Another young student wanted to know why India was still so mired in the politics of caste and religion when clearly what the young were worried about were jobs and development. Another wanted to know about the Ladakh agitation, and whether India was better off with more states or more central control. But the maximum questions were related to the media - why it was so obviously biased and where does one go for objective news. Also, how does one distinguish between fake news and the actual. Is truth subjective? What about right and wrong. These were some very intelligent minds in front of me and went beyond the Rahul Gandhi vs Narendra Modi slanging matches that pass off as debates in our TV studios. And here comes my takeaway. The politicians of today - as well as the journalists - really need to take note. The young voters of tomorrow want to cut through the clutter and focus on what is actually important. Real issues instead of fake propaganda. We should not make the mistake of disregarding them as digital nomads because they know well how to use social media and the internet to focus on issues that concern them. They are well aware of the world around us as well as the fact that this is their legacy we are messing up. They want answers and they demand accountability. Political parties would do well to interact more with today’s youth and attend such summits, and accordingly fix their election manifestos for tomorrow’s voters. The Principal of the school Jyotika Jakhar and the school’s Senior Education Advisor Madhulika Sen told me that whether it was working amongst acid attack survivors, advocating for the rights of the LGBTQ community or taking part in the Model UN debates, the young kids are much more aware and empathic about the issues that surround us than perhaps we were at that age. Again, a very important message here for those peddling the politics of hate - today’s kids do not empathise with this kind of rhetoric. So listen up, if you want their vote.
