Technology and Indian Youth Politics

The Boston Globe has a story today on the impact of technology on Indian youth politics, with the Indian elections held in phases from April 16 to May 13. An excerpt:

In past elections, India's middle-class youths ignored voting as a waste of time. The country's seemingly Kafkaesque bureaucracy exasperated them, as did politicians' well-earned reputations for corruption and criminal behavior.

But now the same high-tech tools and toys of youth culture that help teenagers engage with one another are being used to expose the misdeeds of political leaders. In the past, police harassed young people when they massed for street demonstrations, but Indian youths now gather on Facebook or organize over text messaging, a powerful medium in India, where 385 million people own cellphones, according to the Cellular Operators Association of India.

Sabita Pradhan, 24, an event manager for fashion shows, said she never thought voting mattered.

"We have so many problems: poverty, water, education," she said on a recent Sunday afternoon, putting on her iPod to listen to other young people talking about how they would vote. "After the attacks, I thought, I'd better vote. Indian youths have to care about our own country."

Youths elsewhere across India are also becoming more active.

In the capital, New Delhi, Charu Khera, 22, said he was inspired by Barack Obama's win in the 2008 US presidential election, which many young Indians say reminded them that democracy can work.

"The American election motivated me to vote and to think that maybe we can get India's Obama, someone with a dynamic nature and not the kind of politician that we currently have," said Kehra, who writes about technology for a magazine.

A couple observations:

1.) This is an example of the impact the United States can have on other nations when it's not invading countries, constructing missile defense systems, and breaking treaties. Not only did Obama inspire a generation of youth in this country who were already starting to be politically engaged, but he also reached youth half a world away, in the world's largest democracy.

2.) I haven't seen much research on it, as much of Howe and Strauss's work was centered on American generational history, but this certainly raises some interesting questions regarding the scope of generational theory. Do American generations share qualities with their counterparts throughout the world? Do the years even line up? Interesting stuff.