The freedom struggle is not over – we still have to draw from the legacies of freedom struggle. Bhagat Singh, for instance, was not just fighting to end British rule. He was fighting to end imperialism. That was the broader agenda. 

The freedom struggle remains a strong reference point for even the ‘youth leaders’ of today, and it is something we must draw from. In a sense, I see continuity there as well. I draw my politics from the students’ and gender movements but the freedom struggle and its participants tell us the kind of rights we should eventually be fighting for.

I do not believe that my youth [age] sets me apart from the kind of politics I want to do. I see a strong sense of continuity with the leaders of yesteryears and me, and the kind of issues both of us are grappling with. However, the youth today has inculcated certain changes – for instance, it is interesting to see the expansion of the Left as the new generation of leaders are engaging with issues such as gender and caste. I would love to learn about veteran leaders who have engaged with these issues in their time. 

More than age and the label ‘youth leaders’, the issue is about being able to conceptualise problems of the youth and what they need. The youth today needs an enabling atmosphere, which needs a foundation based on education and employment. It seems that leaders of today, both young and old, have forgotten that growth has anything to do with jobs. Young people today are entering the most exploitative work spaces where there is zero democracy. Contracts, low wages, competition…they all mean work [condition] is increasingly becoming difficult. But young politicians of today are not concerned with these issues.

Besides, young people today have a different kind of a relationship with institutions such as family, marriage and caste. Most young people – though not all, as some reinforce such stereotypes even today – are defying societal norms and getting into inter-caste marriages. But I can think of hardly any young politician speaking in a language of empathy for these people. For example, Abhijit Mukherjee (Congress MP and president Pranab Mukherjee’s son) calling those protesting the Delhi gangrape as “dented and painted” women and remarks by the likes of (BJP MP) Varun Gandhi have no relationship with what the young is thinking. Then there are leaders like Naveen Jindal who are backing khap panchayats on inter-gotra weddings. 

I see my politics as that of rebellion – just as Bhagat Singh – and thus see a lot of continuity in yesterday and today. One leader who was young even when he passed away at 80 was Ram Naresh Ram. He was one of the few young, educated Dalit leaders of his time in Bihar. He was assaulted and suffered a lot for his progressive thinking but he never let himself settle into a rut.

(As told to Shivangi Narayan)