Legitimate and open avenues for developing future leaders are diminishing fast. Trade unions have become extinct, local government councils have become ineffective and options of reviving student unions are not in sight. Active politics is a taboo for most of the white collar folks in the country. Parents from such backgrounds strongly oppose their children entering politics.

It is a common observation that students fear entering any kind of political association or activity due to violence, persecution at the hands of establishment and possible fear of losing academic performance. While it may suit those who believe that bureaucrats and establishment together can eke out for democracy, it shall be fatal for the future generations of this country to have little or no bearing on the political affairs.

The country is suffering from an ideological vacuum syndrome. No intellectual effort worth the name could be undertaken in the recent past to develop a set of ideological paradigms to guide the society, particularly the educated youth. It goes without saying that the previously crafted ideological platforms have become incongruent to the emerging circumstances.

Nascent forces of market economy doctrines, overwhelming tendencies of consumerism, forceful ingress of globalisation, inbuilt hypocrisies in the theory and practice of state craft and a rising trend of individualism amongst the people of this country are few of the key issues that require to be addressed through a philosophical discourse. In the absence of a sincere and capable leadership to grapple with matters of collective interest, the educated youth can be seen groping in the dark.

Ideological vacuum has led this group to come to terms with the realities resulting in the most mundane of responses. Consumerism is now perceived by many as an inherent ingredient of the present and future way of life. The educated youth are avidly conscripted to this myopic form of lifestyle without any restraint. Hypocritical approaches by the individuals and institutions representing the state have heavily impacted such budding minds. Observations show that a sizable number has accepted hypocrisy as a virtue!

Globalisation has introduced its own crude tenets of a societal framework which ignore even rudimentary forms of nationalism. The notion that the educated youth has drifted away from the course of action desired by the nation is not valid. The simple reason is that the peers are all busy justifying their mundane doings without giving adequate importance to develop an ideological vision for the collective future.

Intellectuals are confined to the four walls of cozy hotel halls hosting seminars. They are virtually cut off from the core realities. Second-hand information is used by them to substantiate some of their interpretations. Politicians are busy fostering relationship with the establishment for their private benefits. Many of them could not even find adequate time to reflect back and evolve a future way ahead. And academia is all occupied to make education as a salable commodity.

In the course of reaping the windfall benefits, academics have little time left to move towards any thing worth denoting as a political ideology. Surely, the educated youth alone cannot be blamed for the emerging scenario.

Reality checks inform that status quo and ‘apoliticism’ favour the market economy doctrines. These doctrines and their proponents are bent upon converting anything and everything into transactable objects. Essential services such as primary education and literacy are transformed into enterprises. Selling out the prime institutions, agencies, service delivery organisations and public service enterprises in the name of privatisation continues unabated. No political opposition of any kind has been able to question the ideological, economic and political merit of this approach in a well-reasoned manner.

Apparently, the weakness in the ranks of political forces has become the strength of market doctrine perpetrators. In this evolving realm of crude capitalism, the snowballing effect favours shrewd and unscrupulous entrepreneurs. One finds a real estate concern soon becoming an educational enterprise in short spans of time. To top it all, the factors comprising the state are some of the direct beneficiaries. Outfits of establishment, bureaucracy and oscillating breed of politicians can be seen as disguised carpetbaggers!

Violence and student politics are taken as synonymous in our context. Traditionally, the student unions are the institutions that streamline the student participation in political and intellectual activities. The past performance of various student unions showed many negative attributes to their credit. One, student unionism was easily taken over by external political objectives of participating groups. Instead of focusing on the wellbeing of the student body that these unions claimed to represent, the elected unions became dictatorial despots that aimed to enforce the political (and religious) manifesto of their parent outfits.

Two, violence and use of brute force became the trademark of student politics. Use of firearms, hostage taking of campus management and intra-student clashes left no sympathisers for the cause of unions.

Three, unions did not take into account the vital services which were needed by the student fraternity. Career counselling and seminars, healthy co-curricular activities such as declamation contests, arts and crafts or literary pursuits, philosophical debates and guidance to positive political awareness were some domains which were scantily dealt in the tenures of the unions. In the case of certain politico-religious parties controlling the unions, tolerance and co-existence of both sexes in the campus became hot issues.

Four, the interface of unions with other stakeholders, including university managements, never remained a streamlined affair. The situation became so worse that Rangers had to be posted on the campuses to keep academic activities running. According to many, it was a shameful happening for the peaceful being of the student fraternity. However, it was the only option left open to the administration.

Apoliticised societies tend to decay fast. The best way to optimise political awareness is to educate and sensitise the youth on these crucial matters of national interest. A consensus solution is required to evolve a mechanism where all stakeholders agree to foster the emerging generations in this vital pursuit.