This post was long due. And, the timing could not have been better.
No doubt you have followed the events in Mumbai. No doubt you have felt angry, frustrated and helpless. No doubt you have balked at the sheer incompetence of the incumbent Congress government.
What are you going to do about it? -- This is the question which plagues our minds. "Oh! This is out of my control", "Oh! What can I do?" is the usual refrain from most of us. In the grandest democracy in the world, a system which was designed to give the power to the people, we whine like children about how we can't do anything, how we are powerless. Well, you can! And you are the one who has to do it! The one, who has to influence the change. The one, to become the change you want to see.
What I am asking you to do is simple - be active citizens. Do not let our incompetent politicians get away with burning our beloved country to the ground while we stand by and watch. Stand up and come up to the front - Vote !; Influence people to vote; Make sure people come out in the hordes to vote; Make sure people know the issues at stake while voting. Yes, voice your opinion, even though you might think it is wrong, even if you are wrong; Voice it, for that's what democracy demands. Otherwise it is defunct. Voice it, for that will bring about change, real change.
Please, I beg of you, be an active citizen and Vote !
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Jaago Re – One billion votes campaign, is a joint effort by Janaagraha and Tata Tea to get people out to vote. The aim of this campaign to inform the voters, facilitate voter registration, explode myths and simple get the vote out. The importance of such a campaign is immense and the recent events have only underscored it.
However, such an effort is not done easily. We need volunteers and as many as we can get - People to participate in voter registration drives across colleges and institutions of India – absolutely anywhere possible. Please come forward and volunteer. You can find the details at www.jaagore.com /www.janaagraha.org. I implore you to sign up, no matter what city you are in.
I will admit that I personally have not been committed to this excusing myself with the "busy" signal but I hope to change that now.
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I will not hide my disdain for the current congress government. I just wish they go already. After these attacks, they need to simply resign on moral grounds if not for their cowardice. I personally think, Congress alone has been responsible for bringing the country down to its knees with 61 years of sheer incompetence, needless grandstanding and pandering. They have indulged in one bad decision after another only for the sake of retaining power. The country is paying a huge price for that.
But, that's my personal opinion. I invite you to form an opinion on your own. But, please, form one! And form it based on facts. It will decide the future of the country.
I hope BJP comes to power in the coming elections. But the bigger hope I have is that as active citizens, we keep any and every government on its toes. Give them no reason to become lax once they have been elected to power. The example of this could be the current BJP government in Karnataka. BSY has indulged in big words but in little action since he has come to power. A lot was expected of him. He needs to realize that little things will go a long way in improving this state; big projects alone will achieve little.
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"Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve." - George Bernard Shaw (Thanks, Ameya)
We deserve better.
3 comments:
Well said Gutgut. I for one would like to be part of the process but am not aware of any provision for ppl outside the country to case their votes.
Raj, I will find out if there is any provision like that and tell you. But you could help even more by spreading the message to folks you know in India. If you influenced even 2 relatives living in India, a lot is done.
Well written. I'd love to vote.. but I've never voted in my life.. for the simple reason that there is no one worthy of leading the country, in my opinion. All the politicians are the same - money-hungry, lazy, buck-passing, practically uneducated babus - each one worse than the next! They only care about hoarding as much wealth as they can during their tenure.. but care two hoots about the country. They bribe the poor people (like my maid, who gets biryani, liquor and a free ride to the voting centre) to vote for them, and get votes that way. Educated people can't be bought so easily.. and hence a majority of urban people don't vote. Can you really blame us? I'd love to vote, like I said. I'm an urban girl who considers herself modern and wants the nation to progress. But if I were to vote, who would you recommend I vote for? What solution would you offer to the lack of choice among leadership-worthy politicians?
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