In today’s world, our political leaders are more significant than ever before, dominating headlines over a debate, a policy or a controversial statement. The quality of our everyday lives is dependent upon the decisions made by a handful of these inherently powerful individuals. And yet, upon further investigation, the very definition of a political leader remains somewhat obscure. Is it simply a member of a governing office? A faceless figure of authority? A rallying spearhead of inspiration? Whatever one’s personal answer may be, we can reasonably agree that leadership in politics institutes a relationship between leaders and subordinates; it is a relationship that is similarly vague and skeletal in nature, differing greatly across various cultures and societies. Today, our leadership has established itself in the burgeoning democracies that we see worldwide; indeed, in our very own country we see the likes of Modi and Shah firmly taking control over our own governmental institution.
Our political process, however, is far from perfect. A quick glance at none other than the ages of those making decisions of national importance in India on a daily basis will tell you everything that you need to know. The ruling government in our country, simply put, is disconnected: be it climate change, gender equality or education, there is a significant divergence in beliefs advocated for by our citizens and the policies put forth by our lawmakers. Indian legislation on climate change, for example, has stagnated in recent years, with carbon consumption levels surpassing those of the US in 2015 and subsidies for carbon increasing to $2.6bn in 2016, even as responsible reductions in emission intensity become the subject of bipartisan support. Women’s rights and protections on sexual assault still remain a contentious matter, lacking governmental support from a ruling party that fielded only 53 women out of 429 candidates for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Education provisions still rely heavily upon the RTE from 2009, which fails to be upheld in some rural areas across the country to this day. In a country that is growing ever more youthful and dynamic in composition, it is a bitter misfortune that our advocacy and political participation largely does not translate into changes in governmental policy or law.
There is still room for change, however. Signs of improvement, however incremental, exist: percentages of minority representation in the Lok Sabha have gradually started to increase, with 14% of MPs in 2014 being elected from Scheduled-Caste (SC) reserved constituencies and 13% from Scheduled-Tribe (ST) constituencies. India ranks fifth among its South Asian neighbours in women’s representation in Parliament, and women within the ruling party like Smiti Irani and Nirmala Sitharaman wield substantial power within the government today. Granted, these figures paint a painstakingly slow development - but at the very least, they reflect our country’s gradual shift towards the right direction. Moving forward, there is a need for yet more representation and transparency in every facet of our government. Yes, our political leaders need experience - but that does not mean they must all belong to the same age, gender or even race. In these unprecedented times, we need more than ever responsive and energetic leaders that actively involve the next generation of citizens in our country. Idealistic? Perhaps. But we must, if nothing else, try to secure ourselves a future in which we can confidently rely on our government to voice the opinions of its citizens and enact a positive, lasting change overall.