Youth and Politics in India - I

This paper spells out the ways in which, and the reasons why, young people in India today engage in politics. An answer to this research question is attempted by first locating the politics of youth within its economic and educational contexts so as to identify the factors that draw young people into politics. Explored in the process are the problems of boredom, exclusion, unemployment and the desire to escape, all of which are closely connected to the contexts in which young people operate. Finally discussed is the issue of alienation, a condition deriving from various identified issues, which causes youth to turn to politics in search of identity. [ISAS Working paper 173]