At the very beginning, heartiest congratulations and greetings to Youth Ki Awaaz for completing 10 years. I believe that YKA is the perfect platform to share ideas and thoughts by anyone, to move forward and help in the upliftment of our society and nation. I hope that YKA will always be able to maintain this unique standard and always continue to stand for change.
Responding to YKA’s campaign #WhyIWrite, I will share why I feel we should write about the issues that concern our society or nation. Or why we should speak out? Why does a citizen’s voice matter?
We are living in an era where vote-bank politics is more important than national integration. Every single time, politicians fool us with false promises and win the elections. They talk more about our country’s development programme, but the reality is far from what they promise us.
Now, what do we really want? We want better lives, better hospitality, safety and security, a better economy, peace and progress, etc. These are the genuine aspirations that we seek from our nation. But are politicians equally serious about these issues?
We live in a society where we point fingers at fearless individuals wondering how they can possibly raise their voices. We are at this while we also become increasingly selfish, only concerned about ourselves. But who are we really afraid of? The leader of a system or the system in itself? What are the reasons for our silence?
India is a democracy and so, we have a substantial role in the nation-building process. But we refuse to talk. But now, it is the time to introspect. If we don’t, then we are equally responsible for our nation’s possible failures. We want better, more equipped leaders to serve our nation; we need to speak up about the injustice happening right in front of our eyes.
We fear our courts, our police stations, lest we are chargesheeted on a false case so that we don’t open our mouths. We do celebrate when someone gets justice after a long-drawn battle but we don’t think about the toll it takes on the person. If we can’t talk loudly, we should at least start a dialogue. If we can’t speak at a public event, we should at least voice ourselves on social media. But we shouldn’t be afraid to talk about the system and start a silent revolution by just sharing ideas if need be.
Today, I can sincerely say that I’m also making a habit of writing so that I can share my thoughts. Here, a digital media platform like YKA helps me raise and amplify my voice by publishing my articles. Because as citizens, our voices do matter and help in moving the country forward. Contrary to that, silence perhaps might not speak a thousand words.
( The major parts of this article was published by the writer earlier on OyeWiki blog)