By Abhinav Tripathi

Uttar Pradesh, INDIA – India is getting ready for its next general election in April. But politics seems to have lost its appeal among India's youth. If you ask a young person if he or she would like to enter the field, many will say no.
 
Nitesh Mishra, a 17-year-old student of Draupadi Devi School in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, is one of a few young Indian political aspirants. Explaining the unpopularity of politics among his friends, he said: "The main reason for not seeing young faces in politics is that from our childhood our parents and society tell us to focus on our studies and to get a so-called respectable job. Those who want to be in this field are, many times, teased or boycotted by society.”

India has a large number of young people. According to government census figures, more than 40 per cent of the country's population is between the ages of 15-24.

Amit Pandey , a 17-year-old computer science student in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, said, "We can’t earn our livelihood through politics. We have studied a lot, not for delivering public speeches and taking out political rallies.”

On asking why most parents also don't want their children to be in politics, Deepak Singh, a father of two, said, "No parent wants his or her child’s future to be insecure. You can’t get a pleasurable life with a political career."

“You can’t completely blame the parents. Somehow they are bound by society. If your neighbor’s son gets 99 per cent in his final exams and your child only gets 95 per cent, you will be disturbed for a whole week. Isn’t that so?” Singh said. “Parents think that their position in society is directly related to the position of their children. And it is very true. Maybe that is why every parent wants the best job for his or her child. Every step taken by us is for the benefit of our children only."
 
“You can easily understand it with the help of the share market," added Mishra. "Children are like a stock and parents are investing in their studies and personal needs. That is why they expect better results from them."
 
Young people in India reach institutions of higher education after difficult competition. After entering a good institute, they are expected to clear all exams with good marks and start hunting for a good job as soon as they graduate.

“Life here is quite busy. No one get times to think about other aspects. Everyone is running behind money. Then how can a youngster get left behind in this race? The same scenario prevails in most Asian countries,” said Mishra.