Rajyawardan Singh, 22, an undergraduate student based in Pune (Maharashtra), says Indian politics needs structural reforms. His views:
I have not had the opportunity to vote before, hence, I have never ever voted in an election as yet. I am not too keen on voting in the 2024 parliamentary elections either. This is because I have felt a deep sense of loss of faith in electoral politics over time. However, If I vote, I will be voting solely for the reason that there is a small chance that the caste census would be released, which would significantly change a lot of prevailing perceptions people have about the socio-economic composition of our vast country.
Certainly, there are long-standing issues of access to things like healthcare, education, food, among other crucial issues. Of course, especially for the marginalized sections of society, and also due to the long-standing and continuous cultural and social hegemony of the majority (e.g. the ever-present and unchecked cisheterosexual upper-caste pride), this phenomenon is becoming more and more aggressive in the contemporary era. This is thereby pushing the huge majority of marginalized people into submission. Indeed, this seems to be only getting worse over the years.
Democracy will simply be unable to function without any of these crucial reforms. This is truly important if we really want people to have the ability to guide their own destiny via the State, without any handicaps entrenched in their socio-economic status.
We have always lacked these structures and opportunities to a certain extent, and despite pushback through social movements and incremental victories for social justice over years, it’s still not enough. Plus, there is always the looming threat of all the victories being rolled back by the overwhelming reactionary climate in the country.
Undoubtedly, I cannot speak for every young person in India. However, I look forward to the day when exploitation and marginalization will finally end in every sphere, and where every person will have the full freedom to develop herself/himself in free association with others.
As told to Amit Sengupta
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