Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Vote Before You Criticize
The educated classes in our metros are fond of bashing the Indian government machinery for its numerous failings. They speak of their discontent so vociferously that it may seem that they know the workings and goings on in the Indian political scene by the tip of their fingures. Ironically one of the lowest voter turnouts in the national elections in 2004 was in the nations capital New Delhi where the voter turnout was lesser than 50%* of those who were eligible to vote. The number of women voters in urban areas is substantially lower than their male counterparts. And yet it is these very same people who lounge and pass judgment over what ails Indian politics.
When I turned 18 I made sure that I registered myself as a voter at the earliest possible and voted with great pride in the last Assembly Elections in Tamil Nadu.To me voting is not just my right but a sacred duty. I was rabid when I found out that my name was missing from the list of voters in last year’s national elections. I am ashamed to say that very few people of my age that I know have even bothered to get themselves registered. What is even more incomprehensible for me is that for several of the registered voters in upwardly mobile areas the simple effort of going to a polling station, waiting in line and casting the ballot is an ordeal they blissfully evade. To hit the bull’s eye the point I am trying to make is simple-if you choose not to exercise your franchise then don’t loll and make sweeping comments of what is wrong with the system. By not voting you have made an unstated statement-I don’t care. In that case you abdicate yourself of your right to voice your political opinion.
* The statistic about the voter turnout in New Delhi is from a Press Trust of India release.
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11 comments:
ramana voting is the first step. the educated have enter politics, to clean the muck u have to enter the muck first, true it will stink and dirty your clothes but you have to remain above it. merely speaking about clean city or the environment is not enough. i am saying enter politics because the educated dont have enough power to dislodge a lalu, but they can send a message, but if they stand then they can maybe dislodge lalu. to change the system its imperative to be a part of teh system
its not enough if the educated sit around a coffee table and critise politicians and the system they have to be more proactive. they choose to fight the system but arent willing to be a part of it and change it. why? numerous activists are willing to fight the system, those who protest the narmada dam are fighting the system, but how many of them are willing to be a part of the system and change it?
I liked the vocabulary in that write up.
Maybe the reason why these non-voters choose not to vote is because they don't trust any particular party.You will need to convince yourself that party A or B can deliver their objectives.Otherwise people will vote just for the sake of voting which will only succeed in making the ballot boxes heavier.But it's good to see at least some of the youth(like you) showing an inclination towards elections and politics because we will be running this country some day.
this not trusting any political party excuse has been doing the rounds for eternity...it is just that- an excuse...the first step to change the system is to vote.have a look at what vatsan has to say about the political system...to sum it up in a nutshell he says that the educated classes must enter politics more substantially then at present.the most rudimentary reason why you must vote-if you dont someone else will cast your ballot.if you dont believe in our politicians then vote for an independent candidate or nullify your vote.BUT VOTE YOU MUST.
unless u vote you will not have a say. true one vote will not make a difference. kaniskaa, do u know that for the south madras mp seat there were over 20 independents who stood? and some of them were good educated candidates, did u take the trouble to have a look at them? without making the effort dont just sit and blame the system, it svery easy to do that, go out any try doing something,orelse help those who are, the least you oculd have done is voting for those good independent candidates. dont be an armchair critic
I think Siddharth is right with his statement for the voting.
We must accept that democratical politics are always acts of compromise. Therefor we cannot find absolute truth in any political party, you will never find a party which is worth to trust 100 percent.
Any political group that is believed to be so, turns politics into religion. One has to accept, that in reality political groups have to make compromises - that means, they are getting corrupted somehow, they make themselves "dirty"..
Also the politicians fear the power of the voters and so they make populistic decisions. We should critizise that not so much in a moral way as hypocritical (which it surely is), but see it in a political way as the acceptance of a pluralistic society.
Maybe the real problem is the mass media which is used as an instrument to manipulate the voter´s perception.
my comment is not meant as an expression of a conservative resignation about politics. we should work on politics of course till it gets near to the ideals of truth and justice. But it is a long road and we are living in a maya world..
Secondly, I want to raise a question to the round: what about consciously deciding not to vote, meant as a political decision, in order to show the professional politicians that they did something wrong? (maybe that is the point that Kanishkaa mentioned?)
well in a place like jammu and kashmir which is a disputed teritory not casting your vote is a sign of discontent.it is a powerful message that we cannot ignore.in the kashmiri capital srinagar the voter turnout was only 18.57%*(*source Election Commission of India)of the registered voters.but kashmir is an exception.as far as any other region is concearned(except the north east which is another story)there is simply no excuse for not casting your vote.
I take objection to the term that Kashmir is a 'disputed' territory. It is not. It is an integral part of India just like Mysore, Hyderabad and Travancore are. And people did not vote because there's are threats from terrorists and not because of discontent.
This apart, worldwise the voting percentage has been going down over the years. In developed countries 40-45% average is considered great.
i agree with sridhar when he says kashmir is a part of india. it was given as a part of india. if pakistan claims it is their based on the muslim population would they c laim other areas where the muslim polutation in india is high? clearly the muslim population is not the reason, they are eyeing economics potential of kashmir, nehru is sole reason for the problem,
Speaking about educated people and politics,i would like to bring to notice of everybody that laloo prasad yadav is one of the leading politicians of our country and also a very educated man!He was a disciple of Jai Prakash Narayan and studied in a college in Patna.....those were times when P.E.C or P.M.C was the premier institutions in our country,preferred to iits and aiims.Going on to say-Educated men can't save the country...anybody who wants to can.Its better not helping than destroying....we don't want another Laloo do we?
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