India’s future roadmap through the eyes of its young parliamentarians.

INDIA–THE FUTURE Now is a promising book. It promises a greater future for India, as envisaged in the 12 essays penned by the country’s young, dynamic under-40 parliamentarians. The writers through clear prose develop arguments that demonstrate their deep understanding of the country and at the same time lead to visionary solutions, crafted meticulously by their pens. The young Members of Parliament (MPs) certainly have their finger on the pulse of the nation.

But undoubtedly, the most remarkable piece in this compendium is the introduction by Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Government of India. The book is a collector’s item. Firstly, for the first time, it brings together India’s diverse set of parliamentarians cutting across party lines, ideologies and geographies, to speak in one voice on a single agenda—the country and its people. The second most important factor is that they represent the country’s youth. And this brings us to the provocative headline of the book and the pithy cartoon by renowned cartoonist Sudhir Tailang that precedes Tharoor’s Prologue. A Tailang cartoon precedes each essay and his satirical wit evokes a smile.

Tailang takes a dig at India’s aging Cabinet where the average age is 65. And Tharoor writes, “India holds the world record for the largest gap between the average age of the population (28 years) and that of the Cabinet (65 years)...The young are entering leadership positions, but still with diffidence—and they continue to be outnumbered by their seniors.”

With the “great demographic advantage” of 600 million young people under the age of 25, Tharoor has a very valid question: Where do young political leaders in India fit into its future? He candidly points to the “significant gap” between the political processes and the participation of these young turks. Apparently, what Tharoor is trying to demonstrate is that the young leaders of India are ready to lead the country as demonstrated by their perspicacious visions. The ‘future’ certainly is ready ‘now’ to be led by these young, capable leaders.

Tharoor accedes that only three of the 12 MPs have climbed up the ranks of the party and just two diverted from different professions. He rightly points out that the MPs are the trendsetters who will motivate more ‘apolitical’ educated youth to enter politics. “There is too much at stake,” says Tharoor, and by keeping away, young people will impede progress. He also calls it an “abdication of responsibility” by the youth. And so Tharoor lays the ground for the 12 young MPs to draw the roadmap of their vision for an India they seek to grow, the vision that would inspire the youth to follow in their footsteps, and the old order to change.

The first of the roadmaps is penned by Anant Kumar Hegde, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Uttara Kannada constituency, whose argument for localised and indigenous solutions under a fresh model “from foodgrain security to nutrition security” and growing biofuels, is worth a debate in Parliament. Anurag Singh Thakur, BJP MP from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, takes up the issue of national security. Thakur presents well-documented security issues and underlines why for India a vision-plan to tackle it is a top priority. MP from Lakshadweep, Hamdullah Sayeed brings us back to education with his vision of an India where education “develops the mind”. So we revisit the golden era of education in India, of gurukuls and pathshalas. The education system needs a revamp, he says, and we agree. “This re-thinking process shall not only relate education to jobs and positions but also lead to a larger inner self-realisation.” He is confident that the problems in the system would be addressed. Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda, has been in the Parliament for the last 11 years. A Biju Janata Dal MP from Odisha, this seasoned politico, an alumnus of Michigan Technical Institute, quit his corporate career to pursue his interest in politics. Jyotiraditya Scindia, another former corporate honcho with Harvard and Stanford degrees is a Congress MP representing the Guna constituency in Madhya Pradesh. While Panda’s road to fast-track development is through well-laid-out infrastructure, Scindia underscores it with his social model of inclusive growth.