tell us story of youth who saved our nation
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The message from India’s young is important. We’re all Indians, they’re saying, don’t divide us by religion. The principles that define our citizenship also define our identity. We will not sit by and let you change them because it suits your politics
By Karan Thapar
UPDATED ON JAN 12, 2020 06:00 PM IST
India’s young have been at the vanguard of all the movements that have protected and replenished our democracy.(Burhaan Kinu/HT PHOTO)
As the year draws to a close there’s something I want to share with you. I’m confident many of you will agree.
We owe an enormous gratitude to the young people of India. They’re the true guardians of our values and identity. I know that sounds like the ranting of an old man — and I can’t deny I’m over the hill and could soon be sliding down the other side. But it is, in fact, a reflection of what’s been happening on the streets, whether in Delhi or Bengaluru, Ahmedabad or Kolkata, Guwahati or Cochin. In one voice, they’ve protested against the dreadful Citizenship (Amendment) Act and fiercely opposed a nationwide National Register of Citizens.
Actually, India’s young have been at the vanguard of all the movements that have protected and replenished our democracy. The JP movement, which overturned the Emergency, was born of the student Navnirman Movement in Gujarat. They may be old men today, but the young Lalu Yadavs, Nitish Kumars and Sharad Yadavs were its most-staunch lieutenants. The same was true of Indira Gandhi’s return in 1980. The youth Congress and the National Students’ Union of India led by the young faces of Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma, Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh propelled her back to power.
In fact, this story repeats itself every time our democracy has undergone substantial and creative change. The young carried VP Singh to power, ensured Anna Hazare’s ascendency and Arvind Kejriwal’s unbelievable triumph in 2015.
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