Twenty
five years before, in year 1988, Article 326 of Constitution was amended. The
61st amendment Act empowered youth with right to vote. The age of 21
years was lowered by the then government to 18 years.
The
decision was welcomed by all as this was a step towards empowering youth and
giving them opportunity to express their views in Nation building.
Nothing
is static after 25 years, we have to think about the present youth-The scenario
& its impact on them.
In
year 1988, the youth after passing XII standard was entering in University for
Graduation program, he was open to the new world and after completing the
graduation was thinking about job and
future prospects.
Whereas
after 25 years, today, the student after passing X standard, are serious about
their career. They take decision about their studies and future growth. The
preparation of either to be an engineer or doctor starts at this age.
The
Information technology has empowered them with information, they are not only aware
of their society, country but also of the world. They have their views on each
topic and while shaping their career they start understanding the system, the
governance, but they can’t be part of system as they don’t have the voting
right.
The
concern is well understood & even noticed by Election Commission of India.
On January, 12,
2011 ( Indian Express ) – ( Quote )
“The Election Commission said
it was examining a proposal to reduce the minimum age for voting right to 16
years from the existing 18.
"We may recommend to the
government to reduce the minimum voting age to 16 years, if more youths,
particularly new voters, participate in the electoral process," Chief
Election Commissioner Y S Quraishi told a meeting organised by Youth United for
Voter Awareness (YUVA), an NGO.
Though above 35 per cent of
voters were youths, their participation was the lowest, he said.
Quraishi said though the
minimum voting right age was reduced to 18 from 21 years, participation of new
voters was not up to expectation.
As the present day youths were
well versed with technologies and comparatively better informed, there was no
harm in reducing the minimum voting right age to 16 years, he said.”
One of the concern raised by the then Election Commissioner, that
even after reducing age from 21 years to 18 years, participation of new voters
was not up to expectation.
I personally believe that the age of adult suffrage, should be
reduced from 18 years to 16 years because of the following reasons:
Reasons :
1) Adult Suffrage should be introduced at the
age of 16 years :
At present the right to vote is granted at perhaps the worst possible moment in
our life. If we see at the age of 18, most of us have passed our 12th
exam and it’s the time to leave our home town for higher better education. We
leave our Community we have lived in for most our life. The time when we are
supposed to vote we either have a new community that we are unfamiliar with or we
must attempt to vote absentee back home, a process that turns off many of us as
a new voter.
By lowering the voting right at age of 16 will give the youth to vote who have
roots in a community, have a concern for local issues, and will be more enthusiasm
about voting than those just two years older. Youth at this stage of life start
understand about society and they feel comfortable in their surroundings,
school, parents, and with stable friends, they feel connected to their
community; all factors that will increase their desire and need to vote.
2)
Voter
turnout will increase because of lowering the Voting Age:
We all understand that the earlier in life a habit is formed the more likely
that habit or interest will continue throughout life. Government and Parents
make attempt to prevent youth from picking up bad habits, then why not we can
encourage youth for being accountable to country by introducing a good habit at
young age. If these young people start voting at the right age, most likely
they will stick to this habit.
3)
If an
illiterate adult can vote, then why not let smart youth vote?
In our system the Adult suffrage is just related to age limit. Most of us argue
that the youth should not vote because they lack information and intelligent
decision. In the era of Information technology, youth are the most informative
citizen. This argument of lacking information doesn’t apply to all citizens who
are age 18 years. We have seen many illiterate voting, who don’t even know the
name of the candidate for whom they are voting.
We
also don’t deny voting right to those who have break the law and have been
punished by the court, nor do we deprive any of the people who are alcoholics, neurotics,
psychotics.
We have seen many youth showing disinterest towards politics and
many are filled with inferiority complex for being citizen of this country. They
feel helpless towards the present situation of our country. Empowering them
with right to vote will have a direct
effect on their character, intelligence and sense of responsibility. 16 is the
age when they start looking at the society in which they have to step in, they
want a better society for which they can feel proud off. After 18 years of
their life they are already in the society with their own difficulties and
problems which make them feel turned off by politics and don't vote?
5) When government is thinking of reducing
Juvenile definition for punishment from 18 to 16, then why not voting right ?
Feb,
4, 2013, Time of India
The Supreme Court decided on Monday to examine the constitutional
validity of the provision giving the definition of juvenile in the Juvenile
Justice Act which treats a person as a minor till he attains the age of 18
years.
The apex court has issued notice to the Centre on a PIL seeking
lowering of age of juvenile to 16 years from the present 18 years.
6) Voting ages around the
world of few countries less than 18 years :
National minimum age of 17 include East Timor, Indonesia, North
Korea, Sudan
and Sudan.
The minimum age is 16 in Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Cuba,
Ecuador, Nicaragua and the Isle of Man,
Jersey and Guernsey (three self-governing British Crown Dependencies).
People aged 16–18 can vote in Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro if
employed.
Some countries have variable provision for the minimum voting age,
whereby a lower age is set for eligibility to vote in state, regional or
municipal elections.
