The voting dilemma and the issues affecting India

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The voting dilemma and the issues affecting India

4 May 2009 No Comment

Whom to vote for? Whom have you voted for? Why did fewer people vote in 2009 as compared to 2004? Why have all the various campaigns: lead india, jaagore, CEC campaigns like pappu and rab ne bana di jodi, jai ho, public service ads by the incumbent government coaxing people to vote and so on….have not resulted in any meaningful impact in these elections. I’ll probably attribute the decline to the following factors:

1. Voters are least bothered about who’s coming to power. They’re all equally bad

2. India being amongst the youngest and fastest growing countries in the world, can only talk about youth in politics, but not have the balls to induct the youth into high enough positions, which continue to be ruled by folks well into their eighties

3. Youth get excited by short-term losses, and show support through candles and marches and flowers…remember the aftermath of munna bhai’s gandhigiri, the rang de basanti effect, and the silent protests on gateway of india after 26/11? But the same youth are way too lethargic to go out and vote on a sweltering summer day. They’ll prefer to watch a movie late into the previous night, dance their soul out at a disc, knowing well its an off the next day, and then finally decide to snooze through the election day, as their single vote is not going to make any impact anyway….

4. The murky politics being played out, with parties fighting for the single motive to make money, hoping they’ll be given portfolios where maximum personal revenues can be realized, has led to a disillusioned populace, with the results increasingly being decided by caste politics, by divide and rule, by releasing manifestos which have a shelf life of 1 month, as the only motive is to garner votes, and then forget everything you said during the rallies…and carry on your original mission: to rampage and plunder your way to personal glory and wealth.

The sad reality is, we are a soft state. Our decision makers are soft. They let the world attack us, and are unable to take any strict action. They make policies and take decisions meant to please their political allies. Out of every 1000 crore granted for a developmental project, they prefer to keep 600 crore with them, and hope that the original development intent gets fulfilled in the balance 400 crore. if it does not, there’s always a next government to carry it forward. Our decision makers are experts in making policies, and don’t have the balls to implement the same. We are a nation that can speak, and speak out. But when it comes to doing, we always look at the person next to us, to take initiative and act. We love to shirk responsibilities. We love to be paper tigers. We let court cases drag for years, in the hope that people will forget about them in a while. We let the pandhers of the world get away, or delay the justice to such an extent that no one cares by the time it comes. We let MNC giants like eveready get away with their horrendous crime, and 10 years later, we take pride in reading that they’re the biggest battery maker in the country, even while the victims await justice. We let our neighbours compound our miseries every day, without taking them to task. We keep banking on the support of the world’s biggest economy, who keep changing their stance and loyalties every month. We’re too soft a state to take any action. We’ve been taught by our father that we should give the other gaal to be slapped, when attacked on the first gaal. And since we’re a soft state, we give all out other body parts as well to be slapped on, as well, as we’re hospitable and have always been so.

A plea to all the netas, babus, bureaucrats of India: Please step down, take a voluntary retirement, and lead a wonderful peaceful life. You have enough money to last generations anyways.

A plea to youth of India: Start making a difference. Act when and wherever possible. Go ahead and vote. If you don’t like someone, vote for no body but at least experience the voting process. Don’t give bribes, try not to take the easier way out. Try not thinking that you’re too insignificant in the larger scheme of things.

A plea to corporate honchos and senior executives: If you think you’ve done your bit for yourself nad your family, try getting into active politics and lead the country the way you have led the corporate life. About time we demanded that only apt people with resumes matching the portfolios come to power. The jaagore first ad was bang on. That’s what we need. We need people in power who understand the policies. Who understand what they’re doing and what the country expects from them.