CHENNAI: There is a need to channelise the energy of young people in the right direction to shape the country’s political future, former Telangana Governor and senior BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan said on Tuesday during a discussion on youth and politics at the ThinkEdu Conclave in Chennai.
Speaking on the second day of the conclave, DMK MP Kanimozhi NVN Somu and Tamilisai debated the role of youth in politics and the two language versus three language policy during a session titled “Transforming Youth – Changing India’s Politics”, moderated by Dinamani editor K. Vaidyanathan.
On whether youth movements have become dormant compared to two or three decades ago, Tamilisai said activism may not be visible on the ground but remains strong on social media.
“Whatever the movement or idea they want to put forth, they are expressing it strongly on social media,” she said.
However, she cautioned that issues such as drug abuse and rising alcohol consumption among young people must be addressed.
“Indian youth are empowered, intelligent, digitalised and motivated, but their energy must be channelised properly,” she added, stressing that elected representatives should interact more with young people and citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s youth outreach programmes.
Participating in the discussion, Kanimozhi assured that more young people would be involved in governance if the DMK returns to power.
She said the party itself emerged from a youth movement and claimed that youth participation in politics had declined during the AIADMK regime but is now witnessing a revival under the DMK government.
She added that Chief Minister MK Stalin has assured greater representation for young leaders in the party and in governance.
Tamilisai, meanwhile, said the BJP already promotes youth leadership, noting that the party constitution caps the age for district and mandal presidents at 40 and 45 years respectively.
Speaking about the increased use of mobile phones, Kanimozhi described it as a double edged sword.
“It can be used for good or for bad. Perhaps only 50% or even less are using it positively, the rest is going haywire. When we speak about transforming youth, we must also speak about social media. The two have to be clubbed together to truly understand today’s politics.”
Responding to Tamilisai’s remarks on the alleged rise in drug abuse in Tamil Nadu, Kanimozhi argued that the Centre’s decision to allow e pharmacies has made access to drugs easier for students.
When asked whether young voters are moving away from the Dravidian majors, the DMK and AIADMK, Kanimozhi said she did not believe they would be swayed merely by “cinema personalities”, referring to actor turned politician Vijay’s party, TVK.
“Let us wait for the elections. A large crowd at a meeting does not necessarily translate into votes,” she said, adding that the education given to students would help them decide whom to vote for.
On the language debate, Kanimozhi maintained that the two language policy, followed since the time of Dravidian stalwart CN Annadurai, has helped Tamil Nadu students remain ahead of other states while preserving Tamil. Tamilisai countered that childhood is the ideal stage to learn multiple languages and argued that introducing additional languages would not weaken Tamil.