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41-Yr Old Indian Minister Tells Us Why the Youth Should Choose Politics as a Career Today Entrepreneur spoke to Minister of Labour in Karnataka Santosh Lad to understand the importance of young minds in shaping the political story of India.

By Sneha Banerjee

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Govt of Karnataka

Indians are currently swamped by a wave of political emotions and promises from leaders of respective states across the country. The interesting point here is the number of young leaders that have emerged in India over the years with the likes of Akhilesh Yadav, Sachin Pilot, Priyank Kharge, Smriti Irani and others, who are steering the political game of India in their own, niche manner.

These leaders have in their own way proven the fact that politics, as a profession, is definitely a career for the young and dynamic souls of India.

Entrepreneur spoke to Minister of Labour in Karnataka Santosh Lad to understand the importance of younger minds in the political story of India.

Briefly recalling his journey, Minister Lad, said that he was an actively involved in politics from his college days. Having lost his father early in life, 41- year-old Lad said he became very serious about things from his teenage days, which eventually lead him to become a Member of the Legislative Assembly at 26 years of age.

Challenges of being young into the game

"Politics as a profession comes with no guarantee. There must be a lot of passion coming from within when you start early as a politician because one needs to be consistently focussed on what he is doing. Sometimes you lose, you lose for no reason," he said

Born in Sandur Taluk, Lad completed his B. Com from Sandur Education Society's Arts, Science & Commerce College, Bellary, Karnataka. He hails from a family that was involved in the mining industry since the 1950s. Lad was an active member of the sports community.

Speaking about the profession constantly being targeted for being corrupt, Lad said that every profession comes with its own set of good and bad. "I believe power corrupts people. It's very easy for someone to get corrupt when you have the power but one must ignore these temptations and have their own passion and commitment towards their profession," he adds.

Politics invites the youth

Lad urged the young population of India to pick politics as a career as India. "The power younger the people , the more innovative ideas one can bring to the table, Today, exposure has taken precedence over experience in terms of number of years in the field. Exposure allows the inflow of innovative ideas," he adds.

Lad emphasized on the fact that it's a great time for politics in India considering the number of young and dynamic people that comprise the India population today.

Shri Lad recalls the most memorable event of his political career was at the time of the Uttarakhand floods in 2013, where he was appointed by the state government to spearhead the rescue operations. The riveting experience of saving lives of common man under difficult situations helped him see life from a different perspective and he realized that the eternal truth of life is death!

Visa issue - boon or bane for India?

Commenting on the H1B Visa norms that are haunting IT workers in India and abroad, Lad said he personally feels that U.S. is all about migrants. "All the best brains across the globe are working in the United States. It is these migrants that have come up with innovative ideas and patents and it will not be easy to replace such strength of talent easily," he adds.

Adding to that Lad also believes that considering India's stage of growth today, even if NRIs were to come back, they would be given equal opportunity and importance back home. We have to calibrate the after maths and see how the rule gets implemented and act accordingly as a country.

Sneha Banerjee

Entrepreneur Staff

Former Staff, Entrepreneur India

She used to write for Entrepreneur India from Bangalore and other cities in South India. 

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