Loser? Who? (Part 2)

It is such a privilege to be able to think, to able write, to speak, to express, to roam around freely, to do what you wish to do, to swear on what you could not, to be able to choose whatever you wish too. We all do these so easily that we forget to acknowledge that all these are privileges. Privilege in a layman’s term, can be said to be something that one has and one does not have. In a way, it is an entitlement you own pursuant certain qualification.

So what is our qualification that we all are entitled to such privileges? I will attempt in this write up to explain this one. “We” are the “people” of India. “We” have given ourselves the “Constitution” way back on 26^th November, 1949. And mind you the Constitution is not merely a book or written piece of certain persons’ collective imagination. It is the supreme law of land. It is our binding force. Our collective belief in the Constitution (and therefore its contents) is what makes us “Indian”.

This very qualification of “being Indian” entitles us to various privileges. We all know these as “Fundamental Rights” (hereinafter referred to as FRs). Thanks to these FRs, we do what we do rather we are able to do whatever is written there or whatever “we gave to ourselves”. However, we hardly pay any attention to this fact. In fact our “sense of entitlement” becomes so strong that we ignore the very context to that entitlement or privilege.

I will elaborate this with an example. So today we are done with our assembly elections in Maharashtra. For this to be D-day, so much of time, energy and efforts were put in campaigning and related stuff. In all these, each one was bombarded with whatsapp forwards, trolls, debates, paid-news and free-of-cost-and-thoughts opinions that too in wholesale amount. Have you ever pondered why we could do this? Thanks to our FRs, we could do all these relentlessly.

These FRs play a vital role to make our country democratic and vibrant one. Democracy in simple terms is a system of polity - for the people, of the people, by the people. It essentially affords subjects (one to be ruled) a right to choose their rulers (under whom they want to be ruled). It means it is “by the people”.

We are so good at underestimating the power of these things. True these things may seem to be complicated. But everything this easy for “learned” one. And now-a-days everyone is “learned” – thanks to easily accessible (mis)information. We collectively believe in the ‘illusion’ that ‘we know everything’. We blindly trust whichever media serves us whatsoever. Well who is interested to dwell in the books and spend time on constructive analysis?

We talk vociferously on various issues, polity, black-holes in the system, corruption, exploitation and what not as if we have whole world’s expertise on the topic. But when it comes to doing what do we do? Nothing! We DO NOT EVEN BOTHER TO STEP OUT TO VOTE. Voting - it is the most simple and basic effort we as a citizen can do to improve things. True things do not change overnight; it takes time and small effort towards collective cause. But what pulls us back from doing this?

It is really distressing, hurtful and offensive on so many levels to find that so –called “learned” people are apathetic towards voting. Voting is a legal right. It is a privilege that entitles you to choose whose rule you want, in whom you put your faith for a shared goal, whom you look up to with hope. Trust me I find it to be a hopeless thing that you fail to cash on this entitlement. (By cash, I don’t mean cash-for-vote).

I will talk of my constituency. I was constantly keeping watch on the voters’ turnout. And as usual, voters’ turnout was low. It is painful to see this. Pune is known to be ‘Education hub’, ‘home of intellect’ and “Oxford of East” and what not. However, it is difficult to digest and agonizingly hurtful to admit that most people are just ‘literate’, they are not ‘EDUCATED’. Had they been so, they would have bothered to step out and vote. And it was not even raining today.

What deterred them to go to polling booth?

• No time – SOME OFFICES DECLARED HOLIDAY, SOME DECLARED HOURS OFF.
• No right candidate fielded – USE NOTA.
• Everyone does the same when voted to power – BUT GIVE A CHANCE.
• Nothing changes – IT WILL ONLY IF YOU HAVE BELIEF.

I think people have started to believe that they do not need any system. They think it really doesn’t matter if it is there or not. People think they are so ‘rich’ that they can afford whatever they want to just by ‘paying’ for things. They do not perceive any ‘reward’ of voting.

It is being apathetic. Not participating is doing more harm than any good. Expecting reward leads to entitlement and vice versa. This breeds collective corrupt mentality, lethargy and complacency on our part as citizens. By not voting we stand to lose credibility to even criticise any of the decision taken by the current or future establishment.

I am clueless why it makes me feel like a loser despite me voting at the first place. But somehow I feel for the cause. Somehow I have a hope that things will change. Somehow I don’t want to lose any of the privilege I wrote about earlier.

Lastly, I understand that nothing comes for free. Everything has a cost. Voted or not voted, that cost has to be bore by us all.