Youths need to take leadership roles from student days

From student activists contributing to evolution of democracy in the country to leading marginalised communities to enter the mainstream political landscape, the important role of youths in shaping the future of the nation was stressed by experts at Youth 20 Summit here.

They also underlined the need to include the youths from the economically-weaker sections, who are left out of the higher educational institutions, in chalking out the role of youth in the country's formation. They were speaking at a panel discussion on 'Shared Future: Youth in Democracy and Governance' as part of Y20 inception meet here on Tuesday.

Highlighting the role of youths in different social and political movements of independent India, Ankur Jyoti Bhuyan, assistant professor at Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies, said, "The young leaders of these movements had later emerged as mass political leaders. Student activists have contributed to how democracy has emerged in India."

Stressing on importance of campus politics, another panellist Abhinav Prakash, who teaches Economics at the Sri Ram College of Commerce in Delhi, said, "Student politics in colleges and universities is vital so that we have leadership ready for the future."

There might be some disturbances at times associated with student politics, but these have to be tackled so that the students have an early start with politics, he added. Prakash also maintained that there been a 'deepening and widening' of democracy in India with more communities, which were earlier marginalised, becoming involved in decision-making processes and governance.

"More deprived communities are being empowered and they are led by their youths in this process of being more involved," he added. Prakash also pointed that the focus on youths and their issues cannot be centred around those pursuing degrees or making careers, but must also involved those who are earning a livelihood from a young age. "The discussion on youth cannot be on the students only. The youth working in brick kilns, farms, etc., must also be involved," he said.