Why Mumbai youths can afford to be apolitical?

Image source- HR Katha

Being apolitical seems to have become a trend. To not care about politics is seen as cool. Youths, though highly opinionated, kind of refrain from politics. This apolitical nature is even more observed among the youth of Mumbai. Though politics and political affairs affect people directly or indirectly, how can Mumbai youth afford to be more apolitical than youths from other parts of India?

Disclaimer- This is based upon my observations, and hearing/being part of conversations between youths in Mumbai. The Mumbai youth referred to in this blog post are educated and mostly from middle-class or affluent families, which would not be drastically affected by politics and not are heavily influenced by others (privileged). This blog post does not target any politician or political party in particular and is referred to in general political scenario of India. These are just my observations and shouldn't be taken as gospel truth😅.

In India, a lot of politics works on religion and communal hatred. Politicians often state something which is phobic against any other religion and being in a high position, they can influence more people. Also, many political parties are associated with 'religious leaders' or 'messengers of gods', who also have a criminal background or hatred against other religions. But in Mumbai's fast-paced life, youths do not have much time to think or care much about religion, while hustling between colleges or work. Religion is not given so much importance in all this hustle, or due to one's personal opinions.

Politicians promise a lot before elections, and once they come to power, they forget all promises they gave during elections and do not act on them. They then wait for the next elections, hoping to win votes again on the same promises. Example of never fulfilled promises includes women's safety, development in agriculture, infrastructural development etc. This leads to a sense of distrust in political parties and politicians. Also to note, a lot of politicians have criminal records. So a lot of youth, not only in Mumbai but overall India are hesitant to vote for any politician or political party to power.

Mumbai is a region quite influenced by western countries and cultures. Even though the state is governed by a right-wing party, it doesn't feel so in Mumbai. This is because of the open-mindedness in Mumbai (or what I can also call, not getting enough time to pay attention to all the politics due to the hustle), which is a result of western influence, Bollywood etc. Lets take the recent example of Deepika Padukone's bikini controversy. While a politician followed by others few called her dressing "obscene" and criticized for the colour (as if they own the patent to the colour), many youths in Mumbai and other parts of India ridiculed the regressive statement of the politician and stood up for the right to dress as she chooses/directed to (though might object to the sexual objectification in the song). Delhi being the national capital and a major political centre, the youth there may not get much freedom to be apolitical. But with various influences and open mindedness, the Mumbai youths have the freedom to take a back seat from getting involved into the politics. 

To vote any political party to power, one would usually see that the one's core values or aims matches with that of the party's. Many parties or politicians are orthodox and youths may have a leftist view. This also causes youths to not vote for any party.

Due to open-mindedness, religious hatred and crimes, and influence of western ideology, a lot of Mumbai youths do not believe in religion, and hence even in politics, which works majorly on religion and spreading hatred. 

Even though politics do interfere in our lives in some way or another, by means of which party gets to power, the policies/bills introduced etc, a sense of distrust plays an important role why (Mumbai) youth don't feel any Indian political party worthy to govern the country/state/region and feel hesitant to vote any political party to power. Though they may criticize government's moves or actions, or the bills passed, which maybe within close groups (don't wanna get jailed for the criticism or opinions🙂) or public. 

A lot of apolitical behavior of youths of Mumbai (and anywhere else) can actually also be defined as hesitancy to vote any political party to power rather than not getting involved in politics at all (or that it doesn't affect you), however opinionated they may be.

P.S- Being apolitical or not, or why being apolitical is wrong, is a whole different debate. This blogpost focuses on why (Mumbai) youths are getting apolotical nowadays and refraining from voting.