5th_APRIL 1ST_2015

POLITICAL COMMENTARIES
New media ensuring the emergence of
new politics in India
Ram Madhav
n a n c e . T h e
world is chang-
ing; especially
the democratic
world is chang-
ing fast. India
o f t h e 2 1 s t
c e n t u r y i s
r e m a r k a b l y
different from India of the 20th
century. It is enjoying rich demo-
graphic dividend. It is the world's
most youthful nation today.
The days of political elite have
ended with the advent of
new politics and new media.
Today every citizen is a politician,
social worker and an intellectual.
When India was becoming inde-
pendent someone asked Nehru as to
why he wanted the newly freed
country to opt for a democratic form
of government. Nehru said, 'because
it is the second best form of
government'. 'What was the best
form of government?' the questioner
persisted.'Yet to be invented',
quipped Nehru.
This demographic dividend
needs to be converted into
an asset. For that we need a
new kind of politics. The
days of conventional politics
are gone. The
predominantly young
population of India is highly
aspirational. In order to
meet the aspirations of the
people the political system
has to also undergo
transformation.
Time has come for us to invent a
new form of politics and gover-
Very soon this young population
will take the size of India's
workforce to some 500 million.
While China has almost peaked its
workforce size at around 380 million,
India will surpass it in less than
a decade's time. This demographic
dividend needs to be converted into
an asset. For that we need a new
kind of politics. The days of conventional
politics are gone. The predominantly
young population of
India is highly a spirational. In
order to meet the aspirations of the
people the political system has to
also undergo transformation.
I n d i a i s f a s t u r b a n i s i n g .
According to one estimate, threefourths
of India's population lives in
around 80,000 semi-urban and
THE
NATIONALIST 31