Dilip Thakore interviewed Dr. Manjunath Sadashiva, a co-founder and director of the Children™s Movement for Civic Awareness (estb. 2000), in Bangalore. Excerpts:
Congratulations for commissioning CMCA™s unprecedented Yuva Nagarik Meter aka Young Citizen National Survey 2015. What were the aims and objectives of the survey?
The preamble of the Constitution of India ” the world™s most populous and complex democracy ” promises to secure justice, liberty equality and fraternity for all citizens of the Republic. The objective of the Young Citizen National Survey is to measure the impact that civics and co-curricular education have made on young India ” high school and first year college undergrads.
What are the major outcomes of the  Young Citizen National Survey 2015? How satisfied are you with them?
We are not satisfied at all. The 10,542 respondents of the survey including 6,168 class IX and 4,374 first year undergrad students across the country who were administered written tests to measure their awareness of citizenship issues in seven domains, recorded an average score of a mere 21 out of a maximum possible 100. We also tested 757 social science teachers for their social attitudes and classroom practices, and their average score of 32 percent wasn™t much better.
What in your opinion are the most disturbing outcomes of the survey?
The regressive views of respondents on issues of gender equality and acceptance of diversity of the country™s population and social justice. Moreover, awareness about democratic rights and responsibilities of the country™s youth and their respect for democratic governance is depressingly inadequate. The findings of the survey quite unambiguously indicate that the education system is not developing the critical thinking skills of children which would enable them to reflect on larger social and political issues, and sift the grain from chaff.
What are the root causes of the alarming democracy deficit and regressive social attitudes of youth across the country?
In my opinion, India is a superficial democracy. The ground reality is that patriarchal authoritarianism is normative in most households, and hierarchical authoritarianism is practised and accepted in education institutions. For democracy to strike deep roots in Indian society, it™s important democracy is not merely preached, but practised at home and in schools. Unfortunately, there™s a big gap between theory and practice in Indian society, and the poor quality of education at all levels doesn™t help bridge this chasm.
The CMCA Survey indicates that the country™s youth are thoroughly unprepared to be good citizens of a democracy. What are the implications of the shocking and pervasive democracy deficit for Indian society?
There™s a real danger of the country slipping into dictatorial rule in the near future as hundreds of millions of youth become decision-making adults. The preference indicated by the overwhelming majority of respondents for military or one-party rule shows the country™s youth don™t value democracy and take it for granted ” a dangerous complacency. Moreover their regressive attitudes towards gender equality and acceptance of diversity and social justice, is an indication of tolerance of substandard human development which is anti-democracy. You must remember there was widespread acceptance of the Emergency in 1975-76 within the educated middle class and even currently, there™s widespread support for majoritarian rule.
What is your prescription for halting and reversing the country™s creeping progress towards authoritarian rule?
The country needs to advance beyond mere electoral democracy, and become a participatory democracy and demand a National Citizenship Education Policy. This will require a specially trained cadre of master trainers to promote and teach democratic and good citizenship values, and enable teachers to integrate progressive democratic values into all subjects of the curriculum. Moreover, education institutions and parents need to start practising democracy by switching to interactive teaching and respecting child rights at home.
CMCA has rendered society a signal service by conducting the country™s first Young Citizen Survey. What are your future plans?
Currently we are working with 300 member schools which have established Civic Clubs to promote democratic citizenship. Our future plan is to enable democratisation of all schools countrywide by encouraging their managements and teachers to establish Civic Clubs. The commissioning of the Young Citizen National Survey, which highlights the democracy deficit of the country™s youth, is another step in that direction.
Simultaneously, we are developing democractic citizenship literature, audio-visuals and networking with several NGOs which are helping us disseminate the message of good democratic citizenship countrywide. We are determined to reverse the democracy deficit highlighted by the Young Citizen National Survey and transform India into a robust democracy of the 21st century.