All,
Rs. 10crore for a vote in the Lok Sabha. This, under the watch of someone I have long respected, admired and looked up to as probably our sole saving grace of our political system.
I forgave him when no action was taken against Mayawati when she built umpteen statues of herself and her guru, each costing more than a few crores of rupees.
I forgave him when "Spectrum Raja" cost the ex-chequer more than a few thousand crores by selling spectrum at low costs.
I forgave him when an ex-IAF officer shamed what should have been our crowning moment in world sports when he took kick-backs during the Commonwealth Games.
I forgave him when he looked on benignly when the Adarsh Nagar scam was taking shape with the help of men from the army and the political system.
I forgave him, for each of these and many more.
It does not matter whether Wikileaks is right or wrong.
It does not matter that the Opposition themselves might be even more corrupt than the Ruling Party, but has suddenly developed a halo during these dark hours.
Why does it not matter, one might ask.
It does not, because we are the cause of this.
Yes, us. The Citizens of India.
India is the largest democracy in the world, we all know that.
An electorate of 714 million.
The largest democratic election in the world.
How many eventually turned up? A mere 57%. 407million.
Why the f*** should I vote?
What is 1 vote amongst 407million going to change?
That is exactly what the most of the remaining 307million citizens would have thought.
This past decade has seen Mumbai torn by at least two major terrorist attacks. Post every attack, televisions and newspapers were filled with calls for the heads of the politicians. Rallies were organized in order to force the government into taking action against those that had previously shown inaction. Come election day, only 44% turned up to cast their vote. Less than 40% of the elitist South Mumbai population turned up.
The reason? 35 degrees Celsius.
Put Sachin Tendulkar (who incidentally stands in line and votes in every election) in Wankhede, and you will see a million people stand in line on Marine Drive - even if the mercury touches 40C.
Similarly, Delhi. 52%.
Nagaland. Amongst the more backward states in the country. Voter turn-out: Close to 90%.
Assam. 70%.
For all those who wonder why Manmohan Singh has been voted in, ask the 70% who got their votes to count.
I know there will be a number of readers (I have very few, but most of them) will point out that percentages do not mean much given the sparse density of population in these regions. But these are the places where a lot of our politicians get voted from.
In spite of my hatred of classifying people into "classes", I will grit my teeth and proceed. A large percentage (there's the percentage word again) of the electorate is poor, illiterate and easily gullible. This is the vote-bank that the politicians target - something that we, the so-called educated citizens, are aware of. Do we not keep complaining against the the rise in number of slums in our beloved city, Mumbai? The city that we feel is being raped and plundered by the politicians. However, being educated, we seem to find ourselves to elitist to vote. And then we crib against the politicians elected.
To those who ask whom to vote when everyone is corrupt - you can register your vote without actually voting for one scoundrel or the other. People have done that. In spite of the Government not allowing a "protest vote" as part of the ballot entry, people have ensured that their vote has been counted WITHOUT voting for the arch-scoundrel standing in his/her constituency.
This boils down once again to that question - why should I vote? There are enough and more reasons why. We complain against these politicians, right? We do this even though we have not been part of the electoral process. We do this even though we have not exercised the Right to Vote - the Right that millions across the world crave for. It is the One Right that these millions wish they had, in order to shout out loud that they want change. We have been bestowed with that Right by the Constitution of India. We have the Right to Vote.
Any so-called Citizen of India who has not cast his ballot has absolutely NO F***ING right to complain against the rascals in the Government. The Right to raise your voice against the ruling party is a Fundamental one, but it is accompanied by a Fundamental Duty - and that Duty is to vote. There is no purpose in being a democratic country if its Citizens do not exercise this Right.
It is the apathetic elite class that has allowed this raping and plundering of the Motherland. Who are they to blame the Rajas and the Mamatas if they have not cast their ballot, and in fact, have more than likely been an integral part of this ring of corruption.
We ask for Raja's head, but why not those Loop Mobiles and the Tatas who have shamelessly been a part of this? Did they not benefit equally (if not more) as Raja in the 2G scam? Why blame the politicians who have been elected through a process that we refuse to be a part of? What message are we giving those who will be eligible to cast their vote in 2013?
It is up to us to make a new beginning. We have slept too long while our so-called-elected leaders looted the land. It is time to wake up...
Regards,
Aditya.
Rs. 10crore for a vote in the Lok Sabha. This, under the watch of someone I have long respected, admired and looked up to as probably our sole saving grace of our political system.
I forgave him when no action was taken against Mayawati when she built umpteen statues of herself and her guru, each costing more than a few crores of rupees.
I forgave him when "Spectrum Raja" cost the ex-chequer more than a few thousand crores by selling spectrum at low costs.
I forgave him when an ex-IAF officer shamed what should have been our crowning moment in world sports when he took kick-backs during the Commonwealth Games.
I forgave him when he looked on benignly when the Adarsh Nagar scam was taking shape with the help of men from the army and the political system.
I forgave him, for each of these and many more.
It does not matter whether Wikileaks is right or wrong.
It does not matter that the Opposition themselves might be even more corrupt than the Ruling Party, but has suddenly developed a halo during these dark hours.
Why does it not matter, one might ask.
It does not, because we are the cause of this.
Yes, us. The Citizens of India.
India is the largest democracy in the world, we all know that.
An electorate of 714 million.
The largest democratic election in the world.
How many eventually turned up? A mere 57%. 407million.
Why the f*** should I vote?
What is 1 vote amongst 407million going to change?
That is exactly what the most of the remaining 307million citizens would have thought.
This past decade has seen Mumbai torn by at least two major terrorist attacks. Post every attack, televisions and newspapers were filled with calls for the heads of the politicians. Rallies were organized in order to force the government into taking action against those that had previously shown inaction. Come election day, only 44% turned up to cast their vote. Less than 40% of the elitist South Mumbai population turned up.
The reason? 35 degrees Celsius.
Put Sachin Tendulkar (who incidentally stands in line and votes in every election) in Wankhede, and you will see a million people stand in line on Marine Drive - even if the mercury touches 40C.
Similarly, Delhi. 52%.
Nagaland. Amongst the more backward states in the country. Voter turn-out: Close to 90%.
Assam. 70%.
For all those who wonder why Manmohan Singh has been voted in, ask the 70% who got their votes to count.
I know there will be a number of readers (I have very few, but most of them) will point out that percentages do not mean much given the sparse density of population in these regions. But these are the places where a lot of our politicians get voted from.
In spite of my hatred of classifying people into "classes", I will grit my teeth and proceed. A large percentage (there's the percentage word again) of the electorate is poor, illiterate and easily gullible. This is the vote-bank that the politicians target - something that we, the so-called educated citizens, are aware of. Do we not keep complaining against the the rise in number of slums in our beloved city, Mumbai? The city that we feel is being raped and plundered by the politicians. However, being educated, we seem to find ourselves to elitist to vote. And then we crib against the politicians elected.
To those who ask whom to vote when everyone is corrupt - you can register your vote without actually voting for one scoundrel or the other. People have done that. In spite of the Government not allowing a "protest vote" as part of the ballot entry, people have ensured that their vote has been counted WITHOUT voting for the arch-scoundrel standing in his/her constituency.
This boils down once again to that question - why should I vote? There are enough and more reasons why. We complain against these politicians, right? We do this even though we have not been part of the electoral process. We do this even though we have not exercised the Right to Vote - the Right that millions across the world crave for. It is the One Right that these millions wish they had, in order to shout out loud that they want change. We have been bestowed with that Right by the Constitution of India. We have the Right to Vote.
Any so-called Citizen of India who has not cast his ballot has absolutely NO F***ING right to complain against the rascals in the Government. The Right to raise your voice against the ruling party is a Fundamental one, but it is accompanied by a Fundamental Duty - and that Duty is to vote. There is no purpose in being a democratic country if its Citizens do not exercise this Right.
It is the apathetic elite class that has allowed this raping and plundering of the Motherland. Who are they to blame the Rajas and the Mamatas if they have not cast their ballot, and in fact, have more than likely been an integral part of this ring of corruption.
We ask for Raja's head, but why not those Loop Mobiles and the Tatas who have shamelessly been a part of this? Did they not benefit equally (if not more) as Raja in the 2G scam? Why blame the politicians who have been elected through a process that we refuse to be a part of? What message are we giving those who will be eligible to cast their vote in 2013?
It is up to us to make a new beginning. We have slept too long while our so-called-elected leaders looted the land. It is time to wake up...
Regards,
Aditya.
So, are you planning to go back to India in 2014 to vote in Lok Sabha elections?
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