Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,

Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,

A lonely impulse of delight

Drove to this tumult in the clouds;

— W. B. Yeats

Years back we had fought a battle, a battle for freedom and rights against the British Empire. Our ancestors laid their lives to show us the glorious sunrise of independence. But today, our country is battling again… battling for existence. And this time our enemies are not foreigners, our enemies are we.

India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% hovers below the age of 35, the so called Youngistan. But this most valuable portion of the population has no interests in fighting the battle whatsoever. Today’s youth have no interest in governance; a fact clearly exhibited in the small percentage of the GenNext who care enough to vote in elections.

To paraphrase many a politician as well as leaders of our country, “India needs young leaders”. But where are these leaders? The youth of today is absent from the political landscape. How often do we hear of a friend, relative or cousin choosing a political career? At the time of independence, Gandhi called upon the youth to participate actively in the freedom movement, and young leaders likes Nehru led the movement. On the other hand, the young leaders nowadays are by and large, the successors of the leaders of yesteryears. The handful of young leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Sachin Pilot, Varun Gandhi etc, are in the political scenario because they belong to influential political families. Others are too hesitant to step into the murky, shady world of politics. 

There is a will among the youth to employ their fundamental rights but none to fulfill their duties. Swami Vivekananda, the youth icon of India once said, “Your success is not measured in terms of what all you obtained but in term of what you become, how you live and what actions you do. Youth life is the most precious life. The way in which you utilize this period will decide the nature of coming years that lie ahead of you. ”But we somehow place a disproportionate emphasis on our rights against duties as citizens. We fail to see that as rights are inalienable, so are duties. Rampant corruption, scams, scandals and deprivation aside, we rarely try to do our part for the democracy; we bribe, we break rules, we flout laws, and then, of course, we crib for our duties. “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good” has become the war cry of the Indian populace!

This needs to be changed. The youth need to roll up their sleeves and urgently get to work on ensuring that our nation’s administration system begins to work again and the root of the problem itself is eliminated. The youth of modern India are aware of the problems facing our country and the world at large. Given a chance they would be ready to change the political condition of the country for better. As any V for Vendetta fan would know, "People should not be afraid of their government; governments should be afraid of their people".

For this to happen, two things need to be done. One, to redress immediate problems on hand; which involves a campaign to educate and feed millions of hundreds of disadvantages. And two, to create a political will, a nationwide campaign to create a new breed of politicians who are progressive, educated, enlightened and patriotic. Fortunately, there are many Indians who fit the bill.

Meet Kaizad Bhamgara, 19, who, before the November terrorist attacks on this city left three of his friends dead, spent his evenings jamming with his hipster goth-rock band or chilling on the wave-sprayed boulders along the high-rise-ringed shoreline. But the pain of his loss and his frustration over the ineptitude of the government's response to the attacks moved Bhamgara to put down his drumsticks and pick up his laptop.

He set up a Facebook page called "Rise Up Mumbai! Rise Up India!" It soon expanded into a Web site, a YouTube channel and a blog, all devoted to encouraging his peers to vote in India's national elections, which will be held in five phases from April 16 to May 13. "For young India, there was an explosion of anger after the Mumbai attacks. We didn't want that energy to be wasted," said Bhamgara, at the popular Leopold Cafe, one of the 10 sites attacked. "Young India is restless and desperate for honest political leaders, for better security, for a voice. Earlier, we just weren't sure how to go about it."

India’s resurgent potential as an economic and socially responsible power rests on the Indian Youth. It is this population which constitutes for India, a potential demographic dividend. It is time to realize, “If not me then who? If not Now then when?” Remember, we will be the ones to bear the consequences of every decision that we make today.

Amitabh bacchan has correctly quoted in his speech:

There are two Indians in this country. 

One India is straining at the leash, eager to spring forth and live up to all the adjectives that the world has been showering recently upon us. 

The other India is the leash. 

One India says, give me a chance and I’ll prove myself .The other India says prove yourself first and maybe then you’ll have a chance. 

One India lives in the optimism of our hearts. The other India lurks in the skepticism of our minds. 

One India Wants. The Other India Hopes. 

One India Leads .The Other India Follows. 

But conversions are on the rise .With each passing day more and more people from the other India have been coming over to this side. 

And quietly while the world is not looking, a pulsating, dynamic new India is emerging. 

An India whose faith in success is far greater than its fear of failure. 

An India that no longer boycotts foreign-made goods but buys out the companies that makes them instead. 

History, they say, is a bad motorist .it rarely ever signals its intentions when it is taking a turn. 

This is that rarely ever moment. History is turning a page. 

For more than half a century ,our nation has sprung, stumbled ,run , fallen ,rolled over ,got up ,dusted herself and cantered ,sometimes lurched on . 

But today as we begin our 60th year as a free nation, the ride has brought us to the edge of times great precipice. 

And one India – a tiny little voice at the back of the head – is looking down at the bottom of the ravine and hesitating. 

The other India is looking up at the sky and saying, its time to fly…