Power to vote

Everyone in India has a view and every one of them will express it irrespective of the time, place, and occasion and whether anyone is actually listening to them (Of course, I wouldn't be a true Indian if I didn't express my views on my blog even if no one will read). People will tell you that you should pursue your masters in the US because it’s the land of opportunities, never mind the fact that India’s economy is growing by leaps and bounds. They will also tell you to apply for a government job rather than going in the private sector just because their son happens to be working there. They will tell you that taking risks is, well, risky. Politicians are only in the race for more power and they do not work for the greater good. You’ll only burn yourself if you enter politics, that’s what they say. Don’t try to change anything because you can’t help it. What difference will one vote make?

Hello? One vote DOES make a lot of difference. The right to vote means that you have the power to change and that power is as priceless as the right to freedom and liberty. Young people are normally very passionate about what they think and feel abut different things. And so am I. I do not like it when people blame the government/politicians for everything that happens. Especially if they are themselves responsible for bringing in the same politician to power or worse, if they hadn't voted in the first place. And so, I wanted to vote too. But I found out a couple of days ago that my name hadn't been included in the list of voters when I went to get an Electoral Identity Card. Looks like I wouldn’t be voting in these Elections after all.

I went with my Mom to the polling booth because unlike me, she was perfectly able to cast her vote. There was a long line of people waiting to exercise their right to vote. The crowd consisted of an assortment of people belonging to different sections of the society. Some of them belonged to the lower class and probably didn’t enjoy some of the comforts that we all take for granted. Today, I felt envious of them because they could vote and I couldn’t. I felt ashamed that I never thought of the ways I could change the society instead of complaining about it. Somehow, it was never important to me whether I vote or not. I never cared about who’s going to win the elections. But it suddenly, it really matters. Because I care about what happens in the country. I want society to be a better place to live in, for everybody and not just me. I want REAL development to take place.

I just hope Narendra Modi doesn’t mind. He missed my vote.