Dear To-Be Prime Minister, Please Spare A Minute To Read My Wish List

With about a month left for the general elections, our social media is already flooded, with promises and trolls for, and by, various political parties of our country. Yes, elections do feel like more of a personal competition between the parties, than something for public welfare, but unfortunately, at the end of the day, they are our ‘leaders’.

As a woman, as a mother, and as a voter, I expect that our new Prime Minister, will take our nation to new heights and hopefully help us curb the problems that we are presently facing as a nation. Given below are my few expectations:

1. Better censorship – Our Television serials are becoming regressive day by day. Gone are the days, when day to day life of middle-class people was reflected in the story plots. With the daily soaps now only promoting superstition, prejudice and stereotype in our society, I feel we need stricter censorship laws for our television as well. Every man, woman, and child, and even animals, need to be presented on the small screen without encouraging any prejudice or stereotypes.
2. Better education system– When I say better education system, I mean quality education. The world is becoming digital and yet, children today are being burdened by the rote-learning system, to the extent that they have forgotten how to use their brains to write original and creative answers. They may end up graduating with the help of this system, but then it does not make them eligible for any job, because many of them lack the basic skill set.
3. Respect for all sections of the society– Some of our fellow Indias are so obsessed with the idea of hating the LGBTQI community, that they’ve even forgotten about their existence as fellow human beings. We need more policies, stricter laws, and better sensitisation of the society towards them. I am sure this point is going to invite various hate comments like ‘let’s just start allowing incest relationships’, because I’ve heard that before. That is exactly why I say we need ‘quality’ education.
4. Better sexual education – Lack of proper sex education at the right age, often leads to kids experimenting with a lot of wrong things. Lack of sex education is definitely one of the reasons for a rapid rise in unplanned pregnancies. Perhaps, also the reason as to why even today people are obsessed with the idea of a male child, and like to believe that the woman is responsible for the gender of the baby!?
5. Dismiss people who make ridiculous statements- Whether it was the Nirbhaya incident, or the recent Pulwam attack; from the character of the girl to terms with a neighbouring country, our leaders did not spare a single chance to make ridiculous statements. Unfortunately, even today in the interiors of our country, these leaders are worshipped as God. When they make such ridiculous statements, it leaves a huge impact on the minds of the people and influences their thought process.
6. Censor/control news channels – Yes. It is an open secret that news agencies run for propaganda these days. But the duty of a news channel is to inform its audience about the recent happenings, and not to generate an opinion. The amount of nonsense that the afternoon news promotes can put the entire media to shame. Instead, news channels can promote more educational programmes which are neutral.
7. Stop promoting regionalism and religious hate – This is something that is impossible for any political leader, because they thrive on the religious and regional hate created by them. I would really wish that the new Prime Minister asks his ministers and other party members to use logic while making any statement with respect to any incident, rather than connecting the same with blind faith in religion and regionalism.
8. Dismiss party members who make ridiculous statements – Please, immediately dismiss the party members, who make preposterous statements such as “Chowmein causes rape” or “Boys will be boys after all”, or “Mobile Phones cause rapes in India”. Our leaders are our representatives, who are meant to be sensible. Dare to take action against your own ministers if they go wrong.
9. We need quality education and not reservation – We understand that the reservation system is your vote bank. But remember, reservation can only help someone till a point. The student needs real talent to become a good professional. Reservation does not ensure professional skills. If we allow 60% reservation, then we are also reducing the scope of education for 60% of meritorious students who are capable of being good workers, and contributing towards the growth of the Nation.
10. Encourage more startups – We have a massive talent pool, but unfortunately, everyone is lost in the rat race of life to survive. It is important that we encourage people to be a part of local startups, instead of working for multinationals. If there is proper encouragement and support system, we can definitely be one of the superpowers in the world.

I am sure to be trolled for my wish list because unfortunately, as citizens, that is all what we have learnt to do. Troll people and discourage them, instead of taking out a minute to ponder over their suggestions. I am a nobody, just a grain of sand on the vast beach. Probably, my voice may not even reach the right authority, but if it reaches the right citizens at least, maybe we’ll be able to make a change together.