By Tarunkumar Singhal, Raman Jokhakar, Chartered Accountants
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What do Indians want and what are their concerns?
In the rare cases where such questions are asked, there are no surprises: price rise, corruption, job creation, law and order, education and health, the precise ranking varying from survey to survey.
More than 50% of India’s population is under-25 and there will be a clutch of new voters in 2014. Priorities of under-25s aren’t necessarily the same as priorities of those over 65. With gerontocracy characterising political leadership, there is a disconnect between what Young India wants and what Old India thinks Young India wants.
Old India lives in yesterday and, unfortunately, uses its prism to deliver policies for tomorrow, when Old India will no longer be around. Young India will live in tomorrow and will be hamstrung by policies Old India fashions today.
One doesn’t know whether the structural shift will lead to a shift in electoral dynamics in 2014. What one does know is that few political parties and leaders have understood that a shift is taking place. This is reflected in discourse and debates and will be reflected in manifestos and vision documents. The Bible states, “Your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”
While the old men will dream of coming back to power, it should be a function of a vision that is sold to Young India of betterment of lives and economic empowerment, not doles and handouts. It should be a vision of where we want India to be in 2025, or beyond. That differentiates 20/20 vision from myopia.
(Source: The Economic Times dated 05-08-2013)
