Beyond the voting button

This is again that momentous time in the modern history of India, when the country goes for its general elections. Every five years, (and not to mention at times more frequently) we see the lime washed bungalows of Lutyens’ Delhi suddenly waking up to the calls of the millions that toil the Indian soil. Big promises made the previous time are conveniently forgotten, and new claims based on platforms of communalism and religious sentiments are built upon.
Before this editorial starts sounding like a fiery piece in protest of the state of Indian democracy, let us usher in some bright light. Although we cannot deny that the clichés still exist, yet we might also like to accept that change is happening, and in more than one domain.
The first and foremost change that will be witnessed in this year’s elections is the substantial proportion of young candidates. Educated, modern thinking people like you and I, who have spent years making it their own, before joining politics, offer hope. Candidates like Rahul Gandhi or Naveen Jindal, inspite of belonging to different political hubs and schools of thoughts, do not seem to agree more on issues like rural development, employment, development of the IT infrastructure in the country, etc. What they seem to have understood is that the common Indian is not as much concerned with the nuclear treaty or with the moral policing of the country, as he/she is with security and safety of life, presence of basic civic amenities, and most importantly a general sense of camaraderie and bliss within India.
The second and apparently the most significant change have been accepting past faults. Whether it is the 1984 riots or the Mumbai carnage, our politicos have emerged out of their usual denial mode. Accepting your faults and asking for redemption seems to be the flavor of the season.
The third wave of change are we Indians ourselves. Taking clue from the “Jago India” spirit, we are now more conscious and aware of our fundamental rights. People among us, like Meera Sanyal of Mumbai (do check her on Facebook) have taken it upon themselves to leverage the authorities of a politician to usher in change – definitely in a positive direction. Also, factions of the Indian society ranging from the corporate, to spiritual gurus to neighborhood associations are urging citizens to exercise their voting rights. A serious focus is to bring home the fact that a conscious political decision is the only key to this vast country’s better future.
However, the politicians and most importantly the political scene in India is yet to mature (yes, nearly 62 years after independence). The mud slinging still continues, with veterans of both camps, literally “kidding” their opponents.
Also, amidst the micro environment of Indian politics, we are somewhere missing out the much larger picture. And that is optimization of the environment, in a scenario of depleting natural resources and financial turmoil. The promises related to Kyoto protocol and carbon impact assessment seem to benefit the privileged nations, while third world suffers in murky smoke. India as a nation is expected to highlight its role in global and national sustainability in platforms like G20 summits. The concern around sustainability is expected to garner greater attention in a developing country like ours as have a prosperous proportion of natural resources that we are still to make full use of, and for the fact that much of this is gradually getting destroyed due to our negligence towards the environment. Interestingly sustainability does not seem to feature much in the manifestoes of most political parties.
This blog post is dedicated to this larger picture, that of sustainable existence. The Earth Day that went past us on 22nd April was a stern reminder of this fact. Expect more on this...soon...here