As my TV
blares with Arnab Goswami’s voice bombarding politicians with questions, which
he answers himself, my mind races back to recap the impact of the Elections.
No, not for Narendra Modi, not for the Congress Party, but the impact it had on
me.
Last year,
I wouldn’t have bothered about the elections. I can say with reluctant
certainty, I wouldn’t have known that elections were even happening. Believe
me, this is the most shameful thing a Journalism student can admit. There was
no significant incident that dramatically turned my view around, no life-changing
reality check. But all I used to hear at one point of time was “Ugh, this
country? What is the point of voting? It’s gone to the dogs anyway. I’m getting
out of this s*hithole as soon as I can.”, and that made me feel queer. Was I
actually…upset? This was new to me. I had lived a comfortable life, filled with
ignorance and indifference. I heard people talk about the importance of a
stable government, but it always went over my head. The words “UPA” and “BJP”
just used to sound like the Alphabet Song to me. But when I saw, heard and felt
this indifference as a third person? That hit home for me.
Why? What
was the point of indifference? Indifference just gives out the message that we
did not care what happened to, for or with the country. That only gave the
people governing us more power, if they felt they were ruling an ignorant and
unaware country. But WE had the biggest power, we the people could kick them
out and throw them out on the streets if they didn’t make a good difference.
Why would anybody in their right mind not use that power? And I don’t mean
voting for the sake of exercising that right. Voting because choosing who
governs us cannot be taken lightly.
Why? What
was the point of “leaving this sh*ithole”, as people so eloquently put it? They
would spend crores on an expensive wedding and go settle in the USA and live a
life of their children getting fat with creepy accents. People can complain
about the country all they like, but they cannot sit back and expect change to
just happen. “But what difference is one person going to make anyway?”, we
might ask. Well, what if millions of us said that? “But the candidates never
listen to the public anyway!” Well, if you don’t vote, they can’t hear what we
have to say. I admit, all of this
occurred to me on a ten minute bus ride from Guindy. But it was one hell of a
thought-provoking bus ride.
I realise the voting lecture is about a month late - I must be Internet Explorer personified. Well, voted
or not, the election results were declared today. And it was a historical
victory for the BJP, for Narendra Modi, and hopefully, for the country. The elections changed me from an ignorant and
clueless student, to somebody who set an alarm just to wake up and watch the
results being declared. From somebody
who did not who Narendra Modi was, to somebody who knows the exact number of
seats he bagged. They don’t call us the “Watchdogs of democracy” for nothing.
