High flyers: (From top) M.S. Dhoni, Rahul Gandhi and 2007 Indian Idol Prashant Tamang

The cynics might still want to pass all this off as mere coincidence. But the patriots obviously aren’t listening. And there’s reason not to. A spate of recent achievements by India’s generation next in different spheres has left the nation asking only one question. If this isn’t the day of destiny for Young India, what is?

Call it premature conclusions or wishful thinking. But sample the events that have just gone by. Earlier this month, a young Indian men’s hockey team laid their hands on the Asia Cup. Then, last week, a 24-year-old constable, Prashant Tamang, rose to be a singing star in Indian Idol, a TV programme for youth that has kept the nation riveted. Rahul Gandhi, known until yesterday as the chocolate boy of Indian politics, was crowned Congress general secretary. Jhulan Goswami, 23, was named the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year. And the icing on the cake was provided by the new Boys in Blue, who, despite the absence of old-timers, blazed their way to the ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup under the captaincy of a raring-to-go M.S. Dhoni.

And that’s not all. In recent years, 35-year-old Jaideep Sahni has established himself as the master scriptwriter of Bollywood, penning such blockbusters as Chak De! India, Khosla Ka Ghosla and Bunty aur Babli. Young leaders such as Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasad and Milind Deora have brought in a fresh lease of youth in a political scene otherwise dominated by geriatrics. The jobs boom has ridden on the shoulders of India’s youngsters. And somewhere down the line, the country has begun to boast of a green population, around 70 per cent of which is below 35 years of age. And with a mere 7.5 per cent above 60, a young nation has just been born.

Clearly, such developments can only bring about a rush of celebration. “I see signs of a young India on the rise,” says one observer. “There is a hunger in India’s youth,” he adds. Calcutta-based adman Anurag Hira sees the effect such accomplishments might have on the image of the country. “The recent success is changing the face of India from a corrupt country run by old politicians to one brimming with hope fuelled by young blood,” he says.

To be sure, it would be wrong to use ‘young’ as a blanket term here, since the age that defines youth varies widely from one field to another. While Rahul Gandhi, at 37, may be young in politics, Sachin Tendulkar, at 36, is already a veteran in sports. Youth is indeed relative, and can’t be bracketed.

But when it comes to individual spheres, the young are taking on challenges like never before. Consider the job sector. “Given the current hiring trend, a majority of employers seem to be shopping for talent below 40,” says Sanjiv Bhikchandani, CEO, Naukri.com, the jobs portal. “If experience that comes with age was the only thing valued earlier, employers these days are also placing their bets on quality and freshness,” he adds.

In the entertainment industry, blockbusters such as Rang De Basanti and Chak De! India are also endorsing the young. “These movies have been made to target the youth, and to tell them that they have the power to make a difference,” says a Mumbai-based director and analyst. “The fact that these movies are doing well at the box office only shows how the masses are responding to their messages.”

But why, one might ask, is all this happening all at once?

Sociologists stress that this is a period of hope that’s followed an era of political and economic stagnation. Says Delhi-based sociologist Patricia Uberoi, “With newer avenues opening up in every field, youngsters are getting pushed into roles at a much younger age. As a result, they are maturing earlier and delivering whatever their positions demand of them,” she says.

A similar rise of the youth happened in the 1950s and 1960s, says Uberoi, when, in post-Independence India, new opportunities were opening up and standards being set. It was an age of optimism, when a fledgling nation relied heavily on the power of its youth. “In academics, for example, young intellectuals rose to the occasion, and people like Amartya Sen and sociologist Andre Beteille became professors in their early 30s,” says Uberoi.

Through the following few generations, the boom died out.“In our times, we were not very proud to be Indians as the system was so corrupt,” says Mumbai adman Prahlad Kakkar. “The current generation can thump their chest and say they are Indians. And the confidence is there for all to see. It is there in the movies, in the way we play cricket.”

The change has been ushered by a rush of optimism — fuelled more by economics than politics. This time round, opportunities happen to be coming a dime a dozen. Niret Alva, co-founder of Miditech, the production house behind Indian Idol, says the show provides the young with an avenue for self-expression. “It has given them a chance to showcase their talents, irrespective of their backgrounds, and has thus brought out the best in them,” says Alva of the programme which limits the age of participation to those between 16 and 30.

Clearly, these are opportunities which gave yesterday’s youngsters the slip and today’s youth are in no mood to let go of them.

But then, for all the rejoicing, some have a caveat or two to share. Delhi-based political analyst and academic Mahesh Rangarajan throws in one in the political context, taking the new breed of Congress politicians as an example. “It’s a good idea for the party to have young faces when few other parties have leaders to showcase below 40,” he says. “But what really matters here is not their age but their vision. Whether Rahul Gandhi and his colleagues can match a young Jawaharlal Nehru in capturing the imagination of a nation remains to be seen,” he says.

But a nation deprived of political heroes is, seemingly, all for new blood. “When the young kids come on the block, there will be bloodletting. They will clean up the system,” says Kakkar.

Media consultant Dilip Cherian has a few niggling doubts, but refuses to give in to them. “It’s important not to paint too rosy a picture of an India secure in the hands of its youth. That would be a mistake,” he notes. “But let’s leave such gloomy matters for another day, and enjoy the moment.”

Let’s call for the bubbly — suitably young and effervescent.