By Jim Lahey:
Elections remind me of the year-end assessment days at school. These judgement days keep our world balanced. One might try to run away from these judgement days, but we all know that there is no running away. Having seen my fair share of judgement days, I know that disappointed parents will always bite the usual bullshit that the next year will be any different. However, both the parents and the students know that more likely than not the world is going to be pretty much the same.
The election cycle in May 2014 is an important one for a specific reason. India has the largest youth population in the world and is about to become the youngest population in the world by the time the next government leaves office in 2020. The fate of a large number of people is at stake and if we do not amend our actions, we might never be able to do so in the future. We do not want to be that high school bully who realizes that there is no hope for him once he graduates from school.
India does not possess educational institutions, businesses, infrastructure, utilities, and facilities for its billion plus population that is required to live in a dignified manner as per world standards.
Maybe you are fine with naked children on your street and people taking a dump right next to your luxury complexes every morning, but I am not. The fact that a human being has to defecate right where my dog defecates shows the deprecating condition of poor people in India. We do not have sanitary provisions in the richest part of our country. Students from the best schools have poor cognitive abilities which render them useless in all professional fields. The conditions in B and C Grade schools are far worse where education carries not value as none takes place.
Our leaders have failed us and we have been drowned so deep in our own shit that we cannot realize how we are being wronged. Education is by far one of the cheapest and most effective means to unleash the power of our human capital. But the youth has been dumb-downed by our terrible government which has hindered the development of our educational institutions for private interest and neglected requirements of the Indian people.
Our businesses cannot prosper because every government official is out there to conduct his own petty corruption scheme. As a result, India has remained unemployed to a large extent. The people have not developed. Instead of being able to afford medical and technological advancements, we have remained backward and illiterate, hiding in the shadows of our small huts, saving ourselves from the heat of summer and chills of winter.
This election let us ask, “Why is this happening to us?”
Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing again and again expecting different results.” You voted for Congress expecting an outward looking Sonia Gandhi to unleash the economic power of India. Then you voted her again to develop nuclear capabilities of India. Now, you might vote for Narendra who claims to be the bagpiper who shall rid India of its troubles. Despite having supported Narendra at a time when there was no real alternative, I advise caution against post-election fairy tales under him. Let us not repeat the same mistake every decade hoping for change when we are unwilling to support a political ideology which is worth admiring – the Aam Aadmi Party.
Governance is not about strong individuals being able to rally hard and cut last minute election deals using public money (current Gurgaon candidate from BJP, Rao Inderjit Singh, is a prime example of such politics). Governance is about human beings (the non-political class of today’s India), understanding the needs of their surroundings, and adapting accordingly. It is a very basic and instinctive concept which is only different from animals in terms that we have outsourced this function to a specialized body. Governance means providing water where it is needed, weeding out the corrupt officials and businesses, providing education locality by locality, improving security one cop at a time, and bringing electricity to villages one jhopri after another, all at the same time. Businesses, on the contrary, do not need to be supported for they shall prosper once the conditions are optimal.
The Indian government has become too powerful an organization, having the ability to raise and to destroy fortunes by policy fluctuations which it exercises often. The government cannot take part in activities which go against the basic tenants of freedom and independence. The government’s primary role is to manage public resources efficiently- the very reason for their creation. It is not there to exercise power over the people of India, but to manage our resources effectively as per our wishes.
You might love to be enslaved, but I am a free spirit. This election I will be voting for Aam Aadmi Party so that I do not participate in another despicable election term with failed promises. Moreover, the current governance seems closer to tyranny and not to democracy. Democracy’s true essence is in undertaking activities which are in the best interest of the people through their support.
I want a free and independent country for my fellow Indians. I want power for my people and not for my government. As the government becomes more powerful, the weaker people become. In India, the people exist for the government, whereas the government should exist for the people. The Gandhi family did not give me my freedom; I possess it by the very nature of my existence.
I will not ask you to vote for AAP. It is your own decision and if you are still not convinced on the merits of having a true democratic government, then you cannot be convinced. But please do not hallucinate in the false promises of change which a new government will bring despite 60 years of opportunities. Voting for the same type of government again and again expecting different results shouldn’t be the mantra for this election. Let’s give authority to people who deserve it and who possess the skills to reinvent our India. Let’s throw Congress and BJP out of our country and occupy our own parliament by giving opportunity to real Indians.
This election I will vote for India. This election I will vote for AAP.