James Phanungkiu
Tenyiphe Village, Chümoukedima
Youth are not just the future; they are the present for the future. A neglected present will never produce a secure future. Young people are the “leaders of tomorrow” sounds encouraging, but it quietly pushes them out of the present. It suggests that their time has not yet come, they should wait, observe and prepare while others decide on matters that already shape their lives. That idea is more damaging than it appears. Because the truth is, young people are fed-up of waiting for tomorrow. They are already dealing with the consequences of political decisions. Their education, employment, freedoms and social realities are being determined today. To exclude them from politics is to deny them a voice in decisions they must immediately live with.
Politics does not happen in the future. It happens now. The idea that “tomorrow” is the right time is flawed because tomorrow is never where decisions are made. Policies are drafted today, budgets are allocated today and priorities are set today. A young graduate facing unemployment cannot wait for a future political role to influence job creation. A student dealing with gaps in the education system cannot defer their concerns to a later stage of life. By the time tomorrow arrives, the structures are already in place and the opportunity to shape them has passed. Youth involvement in politics, therefore, is not about preparation, it is about presence.
Across India, there are clear examples showing why youth participation matters when it happens in the present. In Nagaland, student bodies and various tribal youth organizations have long influenced public discourse. They have mobilized around issues ranging from education and employment to broader questions of governance and identity. Their interventions have not been theoretical; they have shaped conversations, pressured institutions and brought attention to issues that might otherwise have been overlooked. Yet, their influence often stops short of formal political power. This gap reveals an important truth; youth are already engaged, but systems have not fully opened the door for them to participate where decisions are actually made.
The importance of youth in politics lies in what they bring into the system. They carry immediacy. They question things that others may have accepted for too long. They are often closer to emerging issues; digital transformation, climate concerns, changing job markets etc. This does not mean that youth are inherently more capable or more ethical; it means that their absence leaves a gap. Any system that does not include youth is not balanced, it is incomplete.
There is also a common argument that young people lack experience. On the surface, it sounds reasonable. But it misses something fundamental. Experience does not come through observation, it comes through participation. Breaking that cycle means giving real responsibility; not token roles, not symbolic positions but actual space to participate and make decisions. When that space is given/taken, youth have to be willing to stand firm to question and to disagree when necessary. Not for the sake of resistance but because that is the only way change actually happens.
Involvement alone is not enough. It matters why young people enter politics in the first place. It cannot be because someone pushed them into it, or because it seems like the next step. It has to come from within, from a sense of responsibility as citizens. Without that, participation becomes fragile. If politics becomes a way to gain power or wealth, then the system simply reproduces just another role with new faces. If youth participation is to mean anything, it has to be rooted in the idea of social change not personal gain. At the same time, youth involvement in politics does not necessarily mean contesting elections; it means actively engaging in democratic processes; participating, exercising one’s rights and questioning the system when it goes wrong.
No doubt, the barriers are real. Politics/elections require resources, time and efforts. Political spaces often favour well established networks. Families and communities may push young people toward stable careers instead of uncertain political paths. These are not small challenges; they decide who gets in and who stays out. But there is another risk that is less visible and equally important. The risk of becoming what you once criticized.
Politics, as it exists, often runs on money, influence and compromise. Without strong grounding, it is easy to slip into the same patterns. This is where preparation matters, not just skills or knowledge but clarity of purpose. Young people entering politics have to consciously resist becoming part of a system that people no longer trust. If anything, they have to help rebuild that trust.
Youth are the present for tomorrow is to insist on urgency. It is a reminder that the future is not built in some distant time, it is constructed through choices made now. Waiting is not a neutral act; it is a decision to let others define the terms of that future. If youth are to live with the promising outcomes, they must also be involved in shaping them. Politics does not operate on delay and neither should participation.
There is also a mindset that needs to shift. Many young people see politics as something dirty, corrupt or not worth engaging in. That perception may come from real frustrations but stepping away does not fix it. It only leaves the system in the hands of those willing to operate within it.
Also, seeing politics as separate from ourselves is part of the problem. In reality, we are already part of politics and politics is part of us. The quality of our education, the opportunities we get, the rights we exercise and even the spaces we feel safe in are all shaped by political decisions. Ignoring politics does not shield us from its effects; it only ensures that those effects are decided without us.
For youth, this means moving beyond criticism into engagement. It means refusing to reduce politics to skepticism and instead approaching it as a space that demands accountability, participation and action. The system will not reset on its own. It transforms when people step in, question, contribute and persist.
So, the question is not whether youth should be involved in politics; the real question is whether youth are willing to break the chains.
(He is an independent writer with a specialization in Peace & Conflict Transformation Studies, MSW)
