Soon India will
have its most attractive dance of democracy in the form of General Election
this year. Campaigns have begun and
manifestos are making headlines.
Democracy – people have a choice of their own, but does it make sense to
voters? The uproar in Parliamentary
sessions has reached the farthest and remotest places in our country. Our political leaders have become objects of
mockery with no sense of responsibility.
Getting into parliament is a matter of power and not of opportunity to
serve the nation. The secular fabric of
India is undermined by fanatics. Can
there be some hope for India to be ruled better?
Recently the Lok
Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has called upon educated youth to play a
key-role in politics for the "rightful position" of the country among
other nations, feeling that politics have been criminalised and in this
context, politics requires more attention from the educated youth.
He said that
values are steadily declining in all sections of the society and in all walks
of life. It is the time for educated youth to offer their valuable services to
the nation. As educated youth are
harbingers of the new era of democratic values and torchbearers of a developed
nation they must realise and accept the responsibility to free the people from
injustice, corruption and divisive trends.
To translate people's expectations into reality, a large number of
committed youth are needed in national and regional politics.
I strongly
believe that young people have the ability and skills to create a culture of
commitment to democracy and democratic values such as equality, justice,
freedom and secularism. We may not be
able to contest the election but we can certainly educate people we come across
in our daily life to vote and to vote for the one who is educated, efficient
and concerned about people and their better living. In this way, we can contribute towards the
establishment of Kingdom of God on earth.
Let’s get involved and make a difference!
Kasta Dip
