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Shouldn’t We Have A Maximum Age Limit For Politicians To Contest In Elections?

By Youth Ki Awaaz in Politics
19th October, 2013

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By Deepak Venkateswaran:

I often feel frustrated over the contradiction that a country of over 50% youth, full of energy and passion, is being governed by a group of aged politicians with narrow vision and full of internal disputes among themselves. The fact that many of them lack basic education is of extreme concern for India, which is to be the youngest nation in the world by 2030. The average age of our leaders in Parliament is 73 and our PM is 81 years old.

Youth

The sad part about this situation is that the youth doesn’t want to enter politics themselves, while those who wish to do something for the society aren’t able to do so without having a political DNA. This has bought about a quagmire in the political scenario as the senior and old politicians make it to the Legislative houses and strangle the ideas of good and efficient governance which are currently the need of the hour.

What we need, as of now, is a strong regulation in the eligibility to contest in the general elections. And the solution demands to be strict and aggressive. A few possible solutions that show a ray of hope to revamp the current mess are:

1) Restriction of the age to contest elections, just like a bureaucrat or any service job. Even our politicians need a break.

2) Politicians should have a minimum standard of education without which they cannot even file their nominations. Candidates those who are eligible to contest should be given some kind of endorsement from an independent body or the ECI itself.

3) The public should have the right to question the portfolios allotted to any minister based on his qualifications and his past work.

4) And any kind of Nepotism should not be supported. No two members of any influential family should be allowed to contest elections at the same time.

While many more solutions could exist, these are a few which I believe could make a swift change towards the desired direction.

Meanwhile, this does not mean that the old and experienced politicians should be side-lined. Their seasoned and valuable experience must be harnessed by giving them advisory and mentor posts to the council of ministers and departments where they have previously held the office.

The urgent need of the hour is a government where the youth have a significant say and are full of passion and innovative ideas clubbed with high energy, catalyzed by the valuable experience of senior leaders. A vision that sounds a bit difficult to achieve, while in reality, is not.  An India which is young deserves to be led by the young themselves.

You must be to comment.

  1. LemonTeaLover

    Completely agree with points 1 and 2.In fact, I love the idea of an endorsement. Points 3 and 4 however can be subject to debate. To question the porfolio assigned by pubic becomes logistically challenging as we are a billion-plus strong in terms o population. The government either sits answering every question or does its job.Also,If two members of any influential family are competent enough, then their family background should not hinder their supposed good intentions for the country.You haven’t mentioned political record..

    This is a great thought, overall. We need to amend the laws that allow our politicians to access positions of power and be more open about the ways in which today’s youth can enter the field. If this does happen, then we can definitely say that our country’s growth and progress will be stronger , faster and far more efficient then its current snail-paced approach.

    1. Deepak Venkateswaran

      Thank You for the feedback. Points 3 and 4 i too agree have to be discussed and decided upon. However it can be made to link to the RTI act or something, as in let the government reveal the party in power reveal what sort of reason behind a particular portfolio.
      And about point 4 , was actually aimed keeping in mind that top level politicians take their sons and get party tickets first time itself. This is a blow to grass root level leadrs who have worked their way up. For example Digviay Singh recently inducted his son Jaivardhan into Congress. This has to be stopped according to me. They should have minimum working experience among grass root level people.

  2. Mani Zéus Sankér

    Yes , great job Deepak 🙂

    1. Deepak Venkateswaran

      Thanks Mani! 🙂

  3. shanim manzoor

    Change rarely ever comes easily in this country. Keep it up, nice article, man.

    1. Deepak Venkateswaran

      @Shanim, thanks bro! 🙂
      what u said is true. Its kinda very challenging to bring about a change in India. But i am still optimistic and hope for the best. We are a better society when compared to any other nation in the world. All we need is a change in the mindset, and change will begin in itself.
      Well its a gradual process i understand…

  4. Dhairya Bhardwaj

    Its time 2 bring change in our country.. Nice thoughts Deepak to start it. Its only the youth (we) of the country dt can bring the change n d time has come 4 it.. Go ahead guys.

    1. Deepak Venkateswaran

      Thank You Dhairya.
      Like you said, only we can bring a change about in the society. We need to pledge ourselves to create a better nation for ourselves as well as for future generations to come.
      By 2030 we will be the youngest country, and to harness this young energy we need to prepare now itself.

  5. Shivangi Singh

    I really wish someone could implement the above points !

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An ambassador and trained facilitator under Eco Femme (a social enterprise working towards menstrual health in south India), Sanjina is also an active member of the MHM Collective- India and Menstrual Health Alliance- India. She has conducted Menstrual Health sessions in multiple government schools adopted by Rotary District 3240 as part of their WinS project in rural Bengal. She has also delivered training of trainers on SRHR, gender, sexuality and Menstruation for Tomorrow’s Foundation, Vikramshila Education Resource Society, Nirdhan trust and Micro Finance, Tollygunj Women In Need, Paint It Red in Kolkata.

Now as an MH Fellow with YKA, she’s expanding her impressive scope of work further by launching a campaign to facilitate the process of ensuring better menstrual health and SRH services for women residing in correctional homes in West Bengal. The campaign will entail an independent study to take stalk of the present conditions of MHM in correctional homes across the state and use its findings to build public support and political will to take the necessary action.

Saurabh has been associated with YKA as a user and has consistently been writing on the issue MHM and its intersectionality with other issues in the society. Now as an MHM Fellow with YKA, he’s launched the Right to Period campaign, which aims to ensure proper execution of MHM guidelines in Delhi’s schools.

The long-term aim of the campaign is to develop an open culture where menstruation is not treated as a taboo. The campaign also seeks to hold the schools accountable for their responsibilities as an important component in the implementation of MHM policies by making adequate sanitation infrastructure and knowledge of MHM available in school premises.

Read more about his campaign.

Harshita is a psychologist and works to support people with mental health issues, particularly adolescents who are survivors of violence. Associated with the Azadi Foundation in UP, Harshita became an MHM Fellow with YKA, with the aim of promoting better menstrual health.

Her campaign #MeriMarzi aims to promote menstrual health and wellness, hygiene and facilities for female sex workers in UP. She says, “Knowledge about natural body processes is a very basic human right. And for individuals whose occupation is providing sexual services, it becomes even more important.”

Meri Marzi aims to ensure sensitised, non-discriminatory health workers for the needs of female sex workers in the Suraksha Clinics under the UPSACS (Uttar Pradesh State AIDS Control Society) program by creating more dialogues and garnering public support for the cause of sex workers’ menstrual rights. The campaign will also ensure interventions with sex workers to clear misconceptions around overall hygiene management to ensure that results flow both ways.

Read more about her campaign.

MH Fellow Sabna comes with significant experience working with a range of development issues. A co-founder of Project Sakhi Saheli, which aims to combat period poverty and break menstrual taboos, Sabna has, in the past, worked on the issue of menstruation in urban slums of Delhi with women and adolescent girls. She and her team also released MenstraBook, with menstrastories and organised Menstra Tlk in the Delhi School of Social Work to create more conversations on menstruation.

With YKA MHM Fellow Vineet, Sabna launched Menstratalk, a campaign that aims to put an end to period poverty and smash menstrual taboos in society. As a start, the campaign aims to begin conversations on menstrual health with five hundred adolescents and youth in Delhi through offline platforms, and through this community mobilise support to create Period Friendly Institutions out of educational institutes in the city.

Read more about her campaign. 

A student from Delhi School of Social work, Vineet is a part of Project Sakhi Saheli, an initiative by the students of Delhi school of Social Work to create awareness on Menstrual Health and combat Period Poverty. Along with MHM Action Fellow Sabna, Vineet launched Menstratalk, a campaign that aims to put an end to period poverty and smash menstrual taboos in society.

As a start, the campaign aims to begin conversations on menstrual health with five hundred adolescents and youth in Delhi through offline platforms, and through this community mobilise support to create Period Friendly Institutions out of educational institutes in the city.

Find out more about the campaign here.

A native of Bhagalpur district – Bihar, Shalini Jha believes in equal rights for all genders and wants to work for a gender-equal and just society. In the past she’s had a year-long association as a community leader with Haiyya: Organise for Action’s Health Over Stigma campaign. She’s pursuing a Master’s in Literature with Ambedkar University, Delhi and as an MHM Fellow with YKA, recently launched ‘Project अल्हड़ (Alharh)’.

She says, “Bihar is ranked the lowest in India’s SDG Index 2019 for India. Hygienic and comfortable menstruation is a basic human right and sustainable development cannot be ensured if menstruators are deprived of their basic rights.” Project अल्हड़ (Alharh) aims to create a robust sensitised community in Bhagalpur to collectively spread awareness, break the taboo, debunk myths and initiate fearless conversations around menstruation. The campaign aims to reach at least 6000 adolescent girls from government and private schools in Baghalpur district in 2020.

Read more about the campaign here.

A psychologist and co-founder of a mental health NGO called Customize Cognition, Ritika forayed into the space of menstrual health and hygiene, sexual and reproductive healthcare and rights and gender equality as an MHM Fellow with YKA. She says, “The experience of working on MHM/SRHR and gender equality has been an enriching and eye-opening experience. I have learned what’s beneath the surface of the issue, be it awareness, lack of resources or disregard for trans men, who also menstruate.”

The Transmen-ses campaign aims to tackle the issue of silence and disregard for trans men’s menstruation needs, by mobilising gender sensitive health professionals and gender neutral restrooms in Lucknow.

Read more about the campaign here.

A Computer Science engineer by education, Nitisha started her career in the corporate sector, before realising she wanted to work in the development and social justice space. Since then, she has worked with Teach For India and Care India and is from the founding batch of Indian School of Development Management (ISDM), a one of its kind organisation creating leaders for the development sector through its experiential learning post graduate program.

As a Youth Ki Awaaz Menstrual Health Fellow, Nitisha has started Let’s Talk Period, a campaign to mobilise young people to switch to sustainable period products. She says, “80 lakh women in Delhi use non-biodegradable sanitary products, generate 3000 tonnes of menstrual waste, that takes 500-800 years to decompose; which in turn contributes to the health issues of all menstruators, increased burden of waste management on the city and harmful living environment for all citizens.

Let’s Talk Period aims to change this by

Find out more about her campaign here.

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A former Assistant Secretary with the Ministry of Women and Child Development in West Bengal for three months, Lakshmi Bhavya has been championing the cause of menstrual hygiene in her district. By associating herself with the Lalana Campaign, a holistic menstrual hygiene awareness campaign which is conducted by the Anahat NGO, Lakshmi has been slowly breaking taboos when it comes to periods and menstrual hygiene.

A Gender Rights Activist working with the tribal and marginalized communities in india, Srilekha is a PhD scholar working on understanding body and sexuality among tribal girls, to fill the gaps in research around indigenous women and their stories. Srilekha has worked extensively at the grassroots level with community based organisations, through several advocacy initiatives around Gender, Mental Health, Menstrual Hygiene and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) for the indigenous in Jharkhand, over the last 6 years.

Srilekha has also contributed to sustainable livelihood projects and legal aid programs for survivors of sex trafficking. She has been conducting research based programs on maternal health, mental health, gender based violence, sex and sexuality. Her interest lies in conducting workshops for young people on life skills, feminism, gender and sexuality, trauma, resilience and interpersonal relationships.

A Guwahati-based college student pursuing her Masters in Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Bidisha started the #BleedwithDignity campaign on the technology platform Change.org, demanding that the Government of Assam install
biodegradable sanitary pad vending machines in all government schools across the state. Her petition on Change.org has already gathered support from over 90000 people and continues to grow.

Bidisha was selected in Change.org’s flagship program ‘She Creates Change’ having run successful online advocacy
campaigns, which were widely recognised. Through the #BleedwithDignity campaign; she organised and celebrated World Menstrual Hygiene Day, 2019 in Guwahati, Assam by hosting a wall mural by collaborating with local organisations. The initiative was widely covered by national and local media, and the mural was later inaugurated by the event’s chief guest Commissioner of Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) Debeswar Malakar, IAS.

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