The second most populated country of the world with a largely young population hasn’t been able to produce a young PM till now. With elections round the corner, both the aspirants remain generations apart from the majority. Rajiv Gandhi at 40 has been the youngest till now (but will you call a man in his 40s as young!). Let’s delve deeper into the reasons of this aloofness.
1) Testosterone runs high when you are young and accordingly the chances of affairs are high.
But then, how will a PM shed his security to meet his love? Moreover, love affairs aren’t treated with the best of respect in Indian society. One picture with his girl-friend, and the “moral police” would run riots on streets. If he is married, he won’t be lucky to remain unscathed if he does a Nicolas Sarkozy here.
2) T
here won’t be any hanging around with friends and neither would they be able to meet him so freely. No late night parties, no boozing or hitting the dance floor. All these are the very essence of youth.
3) A relatively older President Obama couldn’t come to terms with the fact that he
would have to part with his Blackberry. How would a young person survive without his mobile? No showing off the latest gadget, because he won’t be allowed to have one. Can’t say about ipods, as none of the current lot of politician seem to enjoy this marvel. But it’s for sure, he won’t be able to plug it in his ears and enjoy the music as and when desired, especially in the ruckus of the parliament.
4) No longer would there be a first day first show enjoyment. On the rare occasions when he would wish to watch one, special screening would be held. So, no peeking around other couples in the darkness or sharing pop-corn with your own partner.
5) Another intriguing question is that he would probably have to give up 
wearing those T-shirts with some explicit quotes. Politicians have taken up some traditional dress(and its true for Rahul Gandhi too). His spouse would also be expected to wear “Indian Dress”. Pant- shirts for her would be a big no-no. See what happened to poor Sonia Gandhi!! AN italian, who is now always Sari -clad. Or for that matter Jemima Khan(when she was the wife of Imran Khan). She would never be spotted in a western dress, though both were western. This society would never allow a modern Indian Bahu.
Keeping in mind all the austerity measures that a young person would have to take, the youth of this country probably thinks it best to venture into this territory when he is ready to become a sanyasi and has little desires left. Unless the society changes itself radically, there seem to be no hope of having a young PM.
2 comments:
While I agree with the reasons you give about young people not joining politics (some of which were hilarious), there are some points I beg to differ.
A politician in his 40s is actually young by political terms. See, in profession you need time to establish your credibility (not that our leaders do it even if they are a century old). Along with that, leading a country requires experience and foresight which can only be acquired after a certain age. A person in his/her 20s can hardly be expected to have these traits. In my opinion, having a really young PM is actually a bad idea. Perhaps someone who is in his 40s or 50s is ideal in my view because he/she would have both the experience as well as the energy.
I agree that probaly a person in his twenties(after 25 i.e.) is too young to be a PM in some sense, but, he surely knows enough to be a minister. And a person in 30s is usrely old and mature enough.
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