The fateful Wednesday of the 26th of November, 2008. Mumbai - struck in awe and was brought down to shambles at the hands of an irresponsible lot of kid-terrorists who literally took the nation ransom and woke those sleepy politicians, police and national guard. The world sat in disbelief as their TV screens flickered with images of a burning Taj, flashing ambulance lights and the ring of bullets.
For three days the saga continued as each one of us was stuck to the stagnating pixels of our idiot boxes. Some lost, some wept, some tried, but we all cried. And then, the nation awoke. To righteousness, to valour, to courage and to unity. Every boy and every girl took to a candle to show their solidarity, to show their love, their passion - to show their patriotism. And did it stop right there? Of course not! Political movements, rallies, support groups, youth organizations, debates, deliberations. 26/11 got us talking. It got the youth talking. It got politicians talking. It got the media talking. It got Mumbai talking. It got India talking.
But as anticipated, a lot of the talk remained just talk. However passionate one was about actually making a change, the limitations we face are countless. But the outcry didn't go begging. If anything good came out of the conversation, it was our nation's realization that it's the people that make the nation. The people make the govrnment. Because the people have the right to. The people must vote.
And the saga began. Vote bak politics. Campaigning. Jaago Re India? Makes one wonder that 26/11 couldn't have been more perfectly timed, could it? I mean I'm sure the city lost. Lives, property, money, time; morale, too some say. But what about a vote leverage?
Media, newspapers, TV channels, debates, blogs, forums, campaigns, social networks all encourage us to take the fate of our nation into our own hands. So that we are not helpless at the mercy of such imbicles like Mr. Kasab. Election drives to sign up and register ourselves as voters, empowering us with the ability to not just sit in and breath India's sweet air, but to actually constitute this nation. And what was the outcome?
1000s flocked to the RTO to submit those scrappy little forms of registration. Flocking like cattle, as if the government was distributing free sweets! All in the spirit of patriotism. In the spirit of wanting to make a change. I too, was a part of this movement. This spark to make a change. It's been 5 months since. The elections are knocking on our doors. Barely just round the corner. But my name, still missing from the list. Like me, 1000s who were driven to be a part of this change. Who wanted to stand up, speak up and be heard. But are we really getting the chance to? Does our nation really want to let us? Does society really care? Does the government permit this?
A simple process. A simple proceedure. Filling in one form. Then the next. Stapling them together. Pasting a passport sized picture onto the top right corner of each of the forms. Handing it to the fat clerk behind the desk. Sounds simple? Sounds familiar? Applying for a college ID, a hall ticket, a driving license, a concessional train pass. The right to vote? Lost amongst the heaps and stacks of documents that line the interiors of flea infested draws of desks from Gandhian times. Acknowledgement slips with rigstration numbers that exist only on the ticket stubbs of Kingfisher Airlines' newest flight. Electoral roles that were updated on Prince Harry's 16th birthday.
And they say our nation wants us to vote?
For three days the saga continued as each one of us was stuck to the stagnating pixels of our idiot boxes. Some lost, some wept, some tried, but we all cried. And then, the nation awoke. To righteousness, to valour, to courage and to unity. Every boy and every girl took to a candle to show their solidarity, to show their love, their passion - to show their patriotism. And did it stop right there? Of course not! Political movements, rallies, support groups, youth organizations, debates, deliberations. 26/11 got us talking. It got the youth talking. It got politicians talking. It got the media talking. It got Mumbai talking. It got India talking.
But as anticipated, a lot of the talk remained just talk. However passionate one was about actually making a change, the limitations we face are countless. But the outcry didn't go begging. If anything good came out of the conversation, it was our nation's realization that it's the people that make the nation. The people make the govrnment. Because the people have the right to. The people must vote.
And the saga began. Vote bak politics. Campaigning. Jaago Re India? Makes one wonder that 26/11 couldn't have been more perfectly timed, could it? I mean I'm sure the city lost. Lives, property, money, time; morale, too some say. But what about a vote leverage?
Media, newspapers, TV channels, debates, blogs, forums, campaigns, social networks all encourage us to take the fate of our nation into our own hands. So that we are not helpless at the mercy of such imbicles like Mr. Kasab. Election drives to sign up and register ourselves as voters, empowering us with the ability to not just sit in and breath India's sweet air, but to actually constitute this nation. And what was the outcome?
1000s flocked to the RTO to submit those scrappy little forms of registration. Flocking like cattle, as if the government was distributing free sweets! All in the spirit of patriotism. In the spirit of wanting to make a change. I too, was a part of this movement. This spark to make a change. It's been 5 months since. The elections are knocking on our doors. Barely just round the corner. But my name, still missing from the list. Like me, 1000s who were driven to be a part of this change. Who wanted to stand up, speak up and be heard. But are we really getting the chance to? Does our nation really want to let us? Does society really care? Does the government permit this?
A simple process. A simple proceedure. Filling in one form. Then the next. Stapling them together. Pasting a passport sized picture onto the top right corner of each of the forms. Handing it to the fat clerk behind the desk. Sounds simple? Sounds familiar? Applying for a college ID, a hall ticket, a driving license, a concessional train pass. The right to vote? Lost amongst the heaps and stacks of documents that line the interiors of flea infested draws of desks from Gandhian times. Acknowledgement slips with rigstration numbers that exist only on the ticket stubbs of Kingfisher Airlines' newest flight. Electoral roles that were updated on Prince Harry's 16th birthday.And they say our nation wants us to vote?
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