People often proudly proclaim, "I'm not interested in politics." In other words, this statement often translates to "I'm not concerned about my quality of life, my well-being, my job, my freedom, or my future.”

However, caring about how our country is governed, essentially caring about politics, is a crucial step towards shaping our nation's future. An informed voter becomes aware of the challenges our nation faces and seeks ways to make positive changes as an individual. Embracing politics can contribute to effective improvements for both the people and the country. 

Being engaged, attentive, and communicative can lead to meaningful consequences. Apathy and complacency have no place in our society. Unless we actively involve ourselves in the happenings around us and the affairs of our government, we risk enduring detrimental and harmful governance.

Among the Christian community, particularly the younger generation, there seems to be a prevailing sense of apathy towards politics. Many view politics as a tainted field, reserved for corrupt individuals. Christians often gravitate towards secure and comfortable professions such as education, healthcare, office work, and information technology. Furthermore, it's a common trend among Christian youth to seek opportunities abroad or in other countries, even when viable job prospects exist within India.

Christians in India are notably well-educated, partly owing to the access to education provided by the Church's educational system. In a way, the Christian community appears somewhat isolated within their parishes, which serve as a central part of their lives from birth to death. Political involvement is occasionally confined within the boundaries of the parish, leading to internal divisions and conflicts.

The Church also engages its youth in various activities, including volunteer work, leadership programs, cultural events, and entertainment. However, few Christian leaders have emerged on the Indian political landscape.
This raises questions about the level of civic awareness among Christian youth and their understanding of civic literacy and citizenship education. Civic literacy encompasses knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors related to government systems, governance, democratic institutions, bureaucracy, demographics, diversity, development, entitlements, and the rights and duties outlined in the Constitution's preamble. It revolves around whether citizens trust democratic institutions and leaders, and how the state can sometimes collaborate with the market while suppressing civil society. 

Citizens should also consider the issues in local, regional, and national elections that concern them. Should their votes be influenced by factors like caste, class, religion, age, gender, education, occupation, or place of residence? To what extent are citizens aware of political parties' ideologies, manifestos, and propaganda? How have media, money, power, and machinery been used to secure votes? And how do political parties attract, purchase, and manipulate elected representatives?

When considering the aspect of political engagement, it's important to examine how citizens respond to the messages propagated by political parties. Do they actively question, participate in protests against instances of corruption, scams, or the misconduct of those in power? Are they vocal about their dissent? Do they register complaints about governance irregularities and misrule, or do they simply observe silently? Do citizens primarily act as engaged members of the democratic process, or do they tend to selectively align their behavior with primordial identities, such as religion, caste, or language?

Google Survey on Civic Literacy and Political Participation

The Indian Social Institute, Delhi conducted a Google Survey on Civic Literacy and Political Participation. The survey was initiated with a sample group within a Catholic Parish in Delhi, with the objective of shedding more light on the current state of engagement among Christian youth. These findings were presented on Vianney Day to the clergy of the Delhi diocese, who expressed interest in expanding the survey to both urban and rural parishes in preparation for the upcoming Parliamentary elections in 2024.

This pilot study conducted among the Catholic youth in a parish under the Archdiocese of Delhi unveiled intriguing patterns. While all respondents were aware of the challenges faced by Christians, relatively few had actively participated in organized protests against such issues. The participation rate in these protests stood at just 30 percent.

Similarly, their involvement in local civic matters was notably limited. Despite showing a great degree of awareness of pressing local civic issues, many demonstrated hesitancy in taking proactive steps to drive positive change. Merely 15 percent had reported engaging in civic activities to address these issues. Among the most pressing problems in Delhi, unemployment was identified by 85 percent of them.

Approximately 50 percent of the respondents exhibited a willingness to volunteer, while the remaining 50 percent had not participated in any voluntary activities, such as blood donation, charitable work, or environmental campaigns. Regarding affiliations with associations beyond religious or parish groups, 70 percent indicated that they were not part of any such organizations. However, most of them were affiliated to parish associations, such as youth groups or Catholic associations.

While all respondents possessed voter ID cards, only 85 percent had exercised their right to vote in recent elections. Approximately 65 percent had voted in the 2022 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections, and 60 percent had voted in the Delhi Assembly Elections in 2020.

It was evident that there was limited interest in political activities, as none of the respondents identified as active members of any political party, and 90 percent had not taken part in political rallies.

When it came to sources of socio-political knowledge, over 75 percent of respondents cited social media and internet-based media as their primary sources. Despite this shift, traditional media, such as television (45 percent) and print media (60 percent), continued to serve as reliable sources of socio-political information.

Conclusion

The above findings give us a fair picture of the knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and behaviour of our youth and this needs to be further strengthened in preparation for the elections in 2024.

‘Don’t be afraid to change the world’, said Pope Francis at World Youth Day closing mass in Lisbon, Portugal on 6 August 2023. This should be the mantra of every youth in India, as we prepare to bring about a change in India through the General elections in 2024.

In the words of Yogendra Yadav, we are in a dire situation in the country as never before.
 
•    Never before has the Values of our Republic faced as heinous an assault as they have in the recent past.

•    Never before have hate, division and exclusion unleashed on us with such impunity.

•    Never before have we been subjected to surveillance, propaganda and disinformation at this scale.

•    Never before have we seen a regime so callous to the plight of the people while the economy lies in ruins, propped up only by a few favoured cronies.

•    Never before have the real nation-builders -- an overwhelming majority of the farmers and workers, Dalits and Adivasis -- faced such effective exclusion in shaping of the nation's future.

Compared to other religious groups, Christians as a whole, and especially our younger generation, have tended to avoid active involvement in politics, protests, dissent, and criticism, often opting for a cautious approach rooted in middle-class values. 

In contrast, other communities boast a robust presence of politicians, ideologues, spokespersons, writers, journalists, scholars, and intellectuals who are unafraid to voice their opinions. Is it possible for our Christian community and its youth to politically wake up before the 2024 General Elections?