Among the cynical youth of India, a political star search

NEW DELHI: Are India's recent successes a result of or in spite of its leaders?

India's largest-selling English-language newspaper, The Times of India, says its readers feel that the achievements of the past few years have largely been made despite the interference of its civil service and successive governments.

Struck by readers' frustration at the absence of a dynamic younger generation of politicians ready to take over from the elderly political elite, editors at The Times of India decided to circumvent the traditional political process and launched a competition to find India a new batch of inspiring future leaders.

The newspaper's "Lead India" campaign has taken the nation's new-found passion for televised talent shows and extended it to the arena of politics. Rather than displaying their skill at Bollywood dance steps, short-listed contestants will have to shine as they argue over nuances of foreign policy. Game-show-style programs will have finalists competing against each other to revitalize a long-neglected government school in three days.

"We are looking for a few brave souls. Young Indians who prefer to lead from the front rather than from the armchair," the application form reads.
The winners will be catapulted into the limelight later this year by the combined might of the Times Group's newspapers and its television and radio stations and will ultimately be encouraged to seek election and enter mainstream politics during the next round of parliamentary elections.

A shrewd marketing gimmick for the media organization, the competition nevertheless hits on a genuine problem in India. With a prime minister, foreign minister, president and leader of the opposition all in their 70s, the country is short of young talent willing to dedicate themselves to politics. Most of the handful of politicians in their 30s - including Rahul Gandhi, Sachin Pilot and Milind Deora - who have achieved prominence inherited power from political parents. Of 545 members in the lower house of Parliament, 419 are over 50, and 69 are over 70.

Those behind the contest see this dearth of new faces as the result of deep-rooted cynicism, ingrained in a generation of younger Indians who feel no desire to step into politics. The third generation since independence, Indians in their 30s and younger have largely opted out of the political process, explained Rahul Kansal, The Times of India's brand director.

Their grandparents' generation was touched by the idealism of India's freedom struggle, he said. "That generation grew up wanting to create a new, modern India. But by the time the next generation came along, that idealism had faded, the magic had gone from the dream; all there was left was a sense that things didn't work and an awareness of corruption. Instead of idealism there was anger," Kansal said.

"Then in the next generation, this anger gave way to cynicism. Instead of feeling disappointed they began to think, 'Why should we expect anything more from the government, from the politicians?' That is the popular mood that we have launched this campaign into."

The competition is part of a yearlong, unabashedly patriotic campaign by the newspaper designed to shake readers from their lethargy and exhort them to start working to transform India into a superpower.

A series of televised advertisements starring Shah Rukh Khan, one of Bollywood's best-loved actors, launched the contest last month, as India celebrated 60 years since the departure of the British.

"Today we are in our 60th year of independence. That works out to be more than half a century. And we're still happy being called a potential superpower, an emerging economy or a sleeping tiger?" Khan remarks with slick incredulity in the clip. "What are we going to do? How are we going to turn from a land of philosophers into a land of doers?"

With a reproving frown, he concludes: "Let's stop basking in our glorious past or daydreaming about our great future. Let's start by dominating today."

The paper's campaign is a reflection of "the fact that this is a momentous time in India's own history, and we should not let it slip by," Kansal said.

"We began to see a tonal change in the way that Indians looked at themselves. There was a newfound swagger, a newfound confidence," he said. "But there was a constant lament against the political classes, against the system of governance. It was almost as if the country's development was coming in spite of the government and not because of it. We felt we needed to roll up our sleeves and start to do things."

The marketing consultant Suhel Seth said that the campaign had touched a nerve but that he doubted whether the next generation of leaders would be found in the metropolitan, English-speaking middle classes who make up the newspaper's readers, instead of the rural heartland. "But the cause is a good one. There is a dearth of real leaders," he said.

The political analyst Kuldip Nayar said that if a new generation of younger politicians is to emerge, then rather than relying on newspaper contests, political parties should fix quotas for young people. "The problem is that the old guard which occupies the top positions in politics is not willing to retreat to give opportunities for the younger ones. The only ones who are being given real opportunities are related to the older generation - their sons and nephews," he said. "There is still a strong feeling here that intelligence goes with gray hair. When a bright young person comes along, he is invariably kept down."

So far more than 19,000 have e-mailed the company or returned newspaper forms submitting themselves for consideration. There are candidates like Sumit, 28, a dentist who writes on his application that he served as a "class monitor between 1985 and 1988" and has "actively participated in various dental health awareness programs," and, perhaps more plausibly, a stern-looking wing commander from the Indian Air Force who describes himself as dedicated to exposing corruption within the services.

Kansal believes that the new mood of optimism sweeping through urban India will do much to dissolve the prevailing climate of apathy. "I think that the next generation will be less cynical. Suddenly it is hip to be Indian. Salaries are going through the roof; there are opportunities galore. People are more inclined to see the upside of being Indian," he said. "These are the new faces we want to bring to politics."