The Disconnect Between Promise and Reality in BJP's Amrit Kaal

 India’s foreign minister recently wrote in a leading national daily that “this is the first general election of the Amrit Kaal,(an empowered and inclusive economy) and our youth must recognise its significance”. What this means may be clear to the present government but for youth it would remain a grey area as its impact is not sufficiently felt by either the educated or uneducated sections. The government nurturing human resources, enhancing ease of livingand fostering entrepreneurship, are words unmatched by action for this generation.

Opinion amongst social analysts and youth leaders boils down to a concern that the government is unfortunately not aware of the dimension of the problem, even though the youth represent the most dynamic and vibrant segment of the population. The country has the largest youth population in the world and as per Report of Technical Group on Population Projections, by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, youth in the age group of 15-29 years comprise 27.2% of the population for 2021 which is expected to decrease to 22.7 by 2036 but still huge in absolute numbers of 345 million.

It is distressing that the general youth by and large are not much interested in the electoral process and do not see it as a tool to have their voice heard. Whatever may be projected by justifying high rates of GDP growth, the rural youth are increasingly finding agriculture unremunerative while small jobs are not quite available in the rural areas. There is growing sense of frustration and disillusionment amongst GenNext, and though the ongoing election may be a talking point it doesn’t inspire hope of a new government addressing their issues.

This is borne out by a recent report of International Labour Organisation on unemployment in India. It found that of the total unemployed, 83 percent are youth. The share of educated youth among the total unemployed population is 66 percent. In fact, India has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. The headline rate of 23 percent puts the country in the company of Yemen, Iran, Lebanon, Syria and other such nations which don’t boast of being the fastest growing economy or fifth largest economy. For our small neighbour, Bangladesh, the figure is just 12 percent – half of that of India’s. Even scarier is that unemployment rate is 44 percent among those in age group of 20-24 years.

It is thus not astonishing that those who have the highest stake in the future have shown the least inclination in voting. Around 38 percent of youth have registered to vote in the 2024 elections with some states such as Bihar, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh seeing less than a quarter enrolling.Anil Verma of Association for Democratic Reforms explains there’s cynicism amongst the youth about the electoral process. The apathy emanates from a feeling that major political parties which don’t have enough youth leaders, are not genuinely involved about the GenNext and its problems. 

Moreover, political leadership is not showing concern about emerging social and economic problems. About Bihar’s low young voter numbers, Rajiv Kumar of Action for Accountable Governance (AAG) explains that though political awareness was there, a sense of hopelessness and frustration persists among the youth about commitment of political leadership.

Therefore, the guarantees or promises of political parties are not quite appealing to the young generation as they are not based on genuine intentions. Prime Minister Modi, BJP’s ‘star campaigner’ has been accused by Opposition of being silent on creation of job opportunities for youth. There is no word on adequate financial allocation to states to ensure employment is guaranteed for 100 days in a year, as per MNREGA. Besides, there’s a demand for such a programme in urban areas to provide jobs the youth.

Moreover, many of the guarantees given by various political parties over the years have remained elusive, leading to disillusionment in elections. The future torchbearers of the country are also in a situation where there is intense competition and pressure, right from say Class X or XI, to rank and achieve high standards, which has resulted in increasing suicides, even among students who have entered IITs.

According to a recent Lancet article, 75 percent of those who die by suicide are men, many economically precarious youths. The suicide rate in India increased from 6.3 per lakh in 1978 to a whopping 12.4 with 44 percent urban growth as recorded by the last Census, whereas suicides in remote areas largely go unrecorded.

Additionally, government fighting graft, which bothers the young generation, is viewed more of a slogan by the youth, than concrete action. Recently, Prime Minister claimed that in past decade over Rs 30 lakh crore was spent on various development policies with beneficiaries receiving money directly into their accounts. This, he recalled as being different to Congress counterpart, who once had claimed, “if one rupee was sent from Delhi, only 15 paise would reach its destination…’ adding “imagine the consequences if they had control over Rs 30 lakh crore”. However, rural youth would be cynical about it as they see little difference in welfare projects meant for them or their families, whether by Centre or states. Corruption at grass-root levels remains unchanged, if not increased over the years. 

Congress on other hand has been alleging a pro-rich nexus of the ruling party and has promised to conduct a financial and institutional survey to ascertain who’s in possession of country’s wealth and would then undertake to redistribute the same. Whether it would bring cheer to the young is uncertain as corporates are moving towards automation which would further cut down job opportunities.

It is imperative for political parties to ponder why country’s talented youth are shunning their right to vote. The only answer is a strategy or plan of action to influence and motivate them, as gainful engagement of GenNext is key to a harmonious socio-economic development. The government must ensure that apart from filling up vacancies in its sector, private sector too must recruit enough personnel, to be determined by a professional body, and not over-work their labour force, as is the case. 

There is also a need to start an unemployment allowance as suggested by some economists. When massive projects, whose beneficiaries are the rich, are being undertaken, starting such an allowance for the poor and EWS should not pose a problem. If necessary, a cess of say 1 percent for those who are super rich could be imposed to start such an allowance.

A nation’s progress is dependent on its young generation. It is essential the economy has the ability to support the increase in the labour force and the youth have the appropriate education, skills, health awareness and other enablers to productively contribute to the economy, as stated by government itself. In our march towards a developed nation, the interests of youth can’t be ignored as its this generation which can shape the future of the country and contribute productively to nation-building.

(This article is authored by Dhurjati Mukherjee)