Are youngsters interested in politics nowadays?

Very often, elders ask me this particular question and we all cannot deny the fact that nowadays, we find the majority of youngsters showing less interest in politics. Being myself part of the youth, I ask many young people their views on the current political situation, and most of their answers are either they do not know or simply they do not care.

Some of the youth are even not aware about what is happening in the Parliament. One of the possible reasons might be because they are not given the opportunity to bring forward their innovative ideas. They find Mauritius a country where there is lack of meritocracy. […]The main aim of the current government is to stand high and compete with other developed countries which might be very beneficial for the economy of Mauritius however, solving the actual problems and improving the standard of living of Mauritians should also be their priority.

Almost every week, we can hear cases of young people being caught taking drugs, smoking synthetic and cannabis. Fortunately, our former Prime Minister, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, on the occasion of his 87th birthday, during his speech, said that many sanctions will be taken to stop drugs trafficking in Mauritius. Some even rape their grandmothers or beating their grandparents or old age people for some money or some invalid reason. This is a bad sign for the future of Mauritius as later, we might hear worst cases.

Nevertheless, there do exist some young people that show great interest in the world of politics. They are well aware of the ongoing events and are concerned about issues affecting the society. Very often, they try to voice out about the misdoings of the government as well as their personal views on the government through social media. This gives youngsters a platform to express oneself. There has been a great contribution of the youngsters during the past election campaign by making the song ‘viré mam’ and making it viral.

Recently, Sir Anerood Jugnauth also said that Facebook is a great place to spread news faster and through such media, he is receiving free publicities. Such platform is essential for the youth as they are the future leaders. It helps them in developing their critical thinking and they learn more things. At times, their views on this subject matter seem to be concrete, however sometimes they are unrealistic too. They presume that one day they will wake up and change the whole system in Mauritius and making it the best economy if they would be given the power!

I firmly believe that the political spectrum in Mauritius has evolved over years and we had a stable government compared to other countries. I do follow politics and I find the world of politics to be interesting.

Moreover, I feel that during election campaigns, the more you criticize their opposition, other politicians and ministers, the more chance you develop in gaining votes from Mauritians. My views on this subject matter about youth in politics, the most youth of Mauritius show no great interest.

The government must take control of the situation and start thinking about the future leaders of this country. They should not take the development of the young people for granted and they should focus in building more mature and responsible young people as the future of Mauritius lies in their hands. Also, they must not only tell us their projects for the young people, but instead take some concrete steps.