CHENNAI: On the second day of the ThinkEdu Conclave on Tuesday, DMK MP Kanimozhi NVN Somu and former Telangana governor and BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan discussed the role of youth in politics and debated the two-language versus three-language policy.
Participating in a session titled “Transforming Youth – Changing India’s Politics”, moderated by Dinamani Editor K Vaidiyanathan, Kanimozhi assured that more young people would be involved in governance if the DMK returned to power. Tamilisai, meanwhile, said the BJP already promotes youth leadership, noting that the party constitution caps the age for district and mandal presidents at 40 and 45 years, respectively.
On whether youth movements have become dormant compared to two or three decades ago, Tamilisai said activism may not be visible on the ground but is strong on social media. “Whatever the movement or idea they want to put forth, they are expressing it strongly on social media,” she said. “Indian youth are empowered, intelligent, digitalised and motivated, but their energy must be channelised properly,” she said, stressing that elected representatives should interact more with young people. Kanimozhi said the DMK itself emerged from a youth movement and claimed that youth participation in politics had declined during the AIADMK regime but is now witnessing a revival under the DMK government. Responding to Tamilisai’s remarks on the alleged rise in drug abuse in Tamil Nadu, Kanimozhi argued that the centre’s decision to allow e-pharmacies has made access to drugs easier for students. On the language debate, Kanimozhi maintained that the two-language policy, followed since the time of Dravidian stalwart C N Annadurai, has helped TN students remain ahead of other states, while preserving Tamil. Tamilisai countered that childhood is the ideal stage to learn multiple languages and argued that introducing additional languages would not weaken Tamil.