Things can change if they take to public life
Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan's call to the youth to join public service, makes sense. In a country when a large chunk of the population is below the age of 40, increased youth participation, particularly in the functioning of the state, is not just a demographic trend or an electoral factor — it is a national imperative. One need to only look at the vast generational disconnect that separates the country's overwhelmingly young voters from their elected representatives and the consequent popular disenchantment with the political establishment that it breeds, to understand the gravity of the situation. But while there is a lot of talk about engaging and empowering the youth, the process of bringing them into the system remains difficult. For instance, even though every major political party has a youth wing, few youngsters who do not already have a pull from the inside, actively participate in these organisations. This is because the entry process is opaque, and after one has made it through, one’s development within the field is slow and often stunted. The Establishment is littered with senior people who often refuse to let go off their chairs even after they are past their time in office. Add to that the perception that the political and the bureaucratic classes are corrupt and inefficient — a belief which is not entirely unjustified — and it becomes clear why so few young people commit themselves to public service. Ironically, they are the ones across time and society who, driven by their ideals and principles, have fought for public good. In short, in India's politics and policy-making circles, neither do the doors open easily for the youth nor do the youth push back hard enough to force their way in.
The consequence of this is best exemplified in Parliament. Of the 552 members who made up the 15th lok Sabha, only 81 were below the age of 40. As many as 50 of these young MPs had direct family ties in politics, and many more came from political backgrounds. The numbers are better in the bureaucratic circles because the entry process (through standardised examinations and interviews) is better streamlined, but here too the youth potential is hardly well leveraged. Despite the many benefits that come with the quintessential sarkari naukri, most young professionals prefer to work in the private sector, not necessarily because the pay is higher, but because the prospects for growth are better. However, as Mr Rajan, who himself moved from a lucrative private sector job to Government service, says, the direct impact opportunities to affect change and contribute to social development, which enriches the individual as much as the collective, are more in public service. He has a point there.