India is warming up for the next general election. The phase the country is passing through is going to be quite a catalyst, with the economic slowdown and the problem of terrorism scaling new heights after 26/11.
What I have noticed in the recent past is that citizens are becoming increasingly conscious about their duties. It is no longer only political parties that contest elections; it is common to see citizens contesting in right earnest, too. It is as if people have begun to think, “If politics is a dirty game, then we need to clean it up.”
One has seen a vast change in attitudes after the terror attack in Mumbai, when one saw the people pouring out into the streets and making their elected representatives answerable to them.
As a young man, I used to think, “What difference would one single vote of mine make?” So I ended up not exercising my right. It is only in my mature years that I have realised the immense responsibility of that one single vote — it can bring about the sea change we need.
The Indian youth have been gearing up for these elections like never before. Earlier, with their I-give-a-damn attitude, they would not cross the threshold of a polling booth, but now they are actively promoting every citizen’s right to vote. A major “get out there and vote” campaign is on to get more and more young people to put that ink stain on their fingers.