Indian politicians are now luring youth to join politics.  Every third day, there is a news item in most mainstream newspapers on Rahul Gandhi's tours and his call to the youth of India to join politics, so that they can bring change.  The BJP also revamped its youth wing a few months back and demonstrated interest in giving its youth platform fresh life.  The idea is very exciting.  The idea has been branded exceptionally well and it has successfully created hope and curiosity in many thousands of youth in urban and rural India.  This idea has been promoted so well, that at least a segment of young people have come to believe that entering politics is similar to enrolling in college or writing an entrance test for an engineering program. 

Several political parties have introduced new terms and phrases targeting youth that have led young people to believe the above.  Phrases and terms such as  "Join Politics" and "Talent Hunt" are examples.  These terms have a mass appeal to them, can be easily understood by lay people, represent accessibility, easy approach, fair system and meritocracy and therefore instill confidence in people.  Talent hunts have attracted several hundreds of people all over India from cities, villages and towns alike.  I have seen people stand in lines for two full days to get interviewed at a talent hunt.  Some of these boys and girls had travelled for two straight days on foot, and then in buses from remote villages to reach the Talent Hunt venue.  What is interesting is that, Talent Hunt in itself promises nothing.  At Talent Hunts, political parties do not guarantee anything to the participants.  Unlike regular Talent Hunts at entertainment shows etc., these political talent hunts have not listed eligibility criteria, terms and conditions, or ultimately, what happens to the candidate after the first round of interviews.  The kind of talent the party is interested in is unclear and what the party defines as talent is equally vague and ambigous.  Notifications of talent hunts are heavily publicised; what happens after, is not known.  If such Talent Hunts are expected to have results, then, why is that we have not seen an announcement in any of the newspapers? 

All this boils down to a few basic questions, so what does "join politics" mean and how do talent hunts facilitate youth who want to join politics? 

Does join politics mean, join a political party, or be active in politics or choose politics as a career.  In the traditional sense, a career is a means of living, a means to make money or to fetch a livelihood.  Are political parties trying to tell the youth of India that politics is a great opportunity to make money?  How can a young person make a career out of politics unless he has financial backing?  How will he or she pay for his three meals and rent by entering into politics?  And how is politics a career if it does not offer growth or hold a future financially. 


Most of these basic questions have not been answered by those who have been inviting us to join politics.  Since, no party has taken the time and effort to explain what they mean by join politics, or to explain the opportunities they are showcasing, it is difficult not to raise the above questions.  It is furthermore difficult to not associate politics with money, as that is one of the fundamental requirements for any young person to survive unless he or she has an inheritance in waiting or a rich family to fall back on.  Where is the opportunity, people?  Where is the opportunity for the 'not-so-rich' young people in these scheme of things?  Can one have a career in politics and also have a career in arts, sports, investment banking, manufacturing or teaching?  Is this really an opportunity that would benefit governance, benefit democracry, benefit the nation, reduce corruption and improve our general quality of living?  Or is this, ultimately another avenue, for those, who enter politics to make money, see no future in any other career and resort to further violence, further corruption and everthing further to assert what is our current political scenario.