Actor Imran Khan filed a PIL in Bombay High Court over the minimum age limit for consuming alcohol. Now, Yuva Sena president Aditya Thackeray is filing a PIL against TRAI’s decision to impose a limit of 100 SMSes a day. This phenomenon of moving the courts is relatively new and comes afer the country saw youngsters taking to the streets in support of Anna Hazare’s fight against corruption. With an increasing number of youth standing up for issues that affect their lives directly, they are choosing newer battlefields to fight for their causes.
This is not a sudden development for Sumati Ahuja, an ISB Hyderabad student, who insists the voice of youngsters has been getting louder for a while now. She says, “The Indian youth are speaking up for their rights and showing dissatisfaction over issues that affect them. The youth today is well travelled and connected to peers locally and internationally, which is also fuelling this.”
India is a young nation and the country will have the largest youth population in the world by 2020. However, the government does not pass policies that involve youngsters. But the youth are willing to do whatever it takes to be heard and are resorting to social media and even exploring the judicial means.
Aalim Javeri, a student of politics and international relations at the University of Warwick, feels that youngsters in India are treated like second-class citizens. He says, “We should start by speaking our minds with our friends.” Discussion helps in thought formation.
Aditya Thackeray, the president of Yuva Sena, who is currently busy travelling across the country, is getting encouraging responses from the youngsters for his PIL. “I met Sushma Swaraj and Kapil Sibal in Delhi. While Sushma Swaraj has promised to take up the issue in Lok Sabha, Kapil Sibal is adamant and says the cap may be increased to 200 at the most,” he informs on the status of the PIL. The PIL is currently being drafted, for which Aditya is receiving overwhelming support.
“Each fight is big,” he asserts taking the example of the students in Mumbai taking up initiatives for better sanitation at college and school canteens and bathrooms. Aditya, on the mighty battle for the freedom of expression, adds, “If you take the Anna Hazare movement as well, SMSes backed the rallies, so is the government trying to silence anti-government
sentiments?”