Indian Youth in for a Change?

The recent terror attack on Mumbai sent nerve-wracking feelings into the Indian citizens. Outfall of the incident is a “mood of anger, agony and sadness”. A major fallout of the crisis is a turmoil in the sentiments of citizens which has lead to questioning of the governance system of India. A series of blame game has been started by the youths and the urban population of India on the governance in the forms of agitations, peace walks and rallies.

However, in a democratic setup of such a large scale, the blame game  completely violates the premises of the democracry because “In a democracry, the government  is of the people, by the people and for the people“. The abysmal working of the government needs to be attributed not only to the officials and the politicians of India but also to the people and the youth of India. Consider the facts below :

1. 35% of the Indian population is youth. However, a very few represent the population in Lok Sabha.
2. In India the poor, who comprise the majority of the demographic, are more likely to vote than the rich and the middle classes, and turnout is higher in rural areas than urban areas. Recently urban area population is the one which is carping about the failure of the system.
3. Around 10% of Mumbai Youths between 18 and 24 are voters. Think about – how many actually turn to vote on the D-Day !!!!

Has the urban population and the youth of India turned into individuals with external anchor? (An individual with external anchor blames the surrounding, the environment and the system for any fault of his own) Introspection is a must for urban and the youths of India. 

One of the first step for making a change in the governance is to be a part of the system and being among the decision makers. Participation of youth in Indian politcal system and bureaucracy is a must for bringing the change expected. It is necessary for the best and the brightest among the youth to join politics and serve the nation. Indian youths have to aspire for a political career path for bringing in a change.   

Leaders like APJ Abdul Kalam have constantly raised voice for involving youth in the governance system. He has set himself as a role model for youths who aspire to become a part of Indian democratic and  bureaucratic setup. Politicians like Advani (Youth can change the ugly image of Indian Politics)  and Rahul Gandhi(Rahul peps Youth) have also raised voices on the same line.Professional Party of India which has endeavored to alter the governance system of India by fighting all seats of the Lok Sabha and forming a Government with honest, patriotic and professional Indians, is one of the recent efforts indicating a change in the mindset of Indian Youths. However, we still need more leaders like Karkare and visionaries like APJ who can incite the desire in Indian youths to be a part of the INDIAN system.

 

 

Money Minting Auto Rickshaws of Chennai

The video is an incident in which me like many other auto-rickshaw commuters in Chennai ended up paying much more than the stipulated amount (Metered Amount – Oops, meters do not work here). The extra amount one pays above the stipulated amount can vary somewhere from 10% to 100%. For new travellers, the extra amount a traveller pays can go upto 200%.

Traffic Meters are installed but are not used by the rickshaw drivers. The commuter needs to fix upon the fare before boarding the auto. Haggling with auto-rickshaws over the fare is an usual scene on the roads of Chennai. Haggling can be based upon your previous amount paid by you for the previous ride to the destination or based on some other commuters’ advice. Even, a day-to-day commuter cannot persuade the driver to agree upon the correct fare. Result – every rickshaw commuter pays much more than what he is supposed to.

I have payed an amount equivalent to the metered amount for the ride only once during my one year stay in Chennai. Thanks to a Tamil speaking person who haggled and argued with the rick-driver. For a non-Tamil speaker the job will be an Herculean Task, a task next to impossible as per my opinion. The only place from where you can board an auto which accepts metered amount is the railway station auto-rickshaw stand. Unlike any other metro-politan cities in India, where few auto-rickshaws stationed at airport or selected few locations charge sum above metered amount, the unfair practice is prevalent and practised by auto-rickshaw drivers of nearly every part of Chennai. Such unfair means practised by auto-rickshaw drivers are reported by newspapers frequently and by many society conscious writers. Many reports of “Auto-Rickshaws being owned by traffic police personnels and hence non-stringent implementation of meter usage by traffic police” have been floated by the media.”

Frequent tariff revisions are institutionalized by authorities to incentize and encourage meter implementation in Chennai. However, the implementing system has been loosely structured and red tapism has inflicted it badly as reported by the media causing an abysmal performance of the system. But, how can we get rid of this menace on roads?

Promotion and encouragement of public transport like State Transport Buses and Local Trains can help the authority confront the situation. For attracting and encouraging travellers to adopt public transport mode, a lot of investments to improve the condition of public transport needs to be made. The public transport needs to match commuters’ needs and expectations. One of the most important need of a rickshaw commuter is time limitations hence public transport also needs to strictly adhere to time deadlines to attract the commuters. Such a strategy of improving public transport system will be a multiple result oriented strategy leading to results viz decrease in road traffic, increase in government revenue, reduction in environmental hazards and monetary saving of commuters.

DIVISIVE POLITICS WILL FALL AND SHAKE THE EARTH

Divisive politics exploits   the fissures in the society for political mileage. Using divisive politics as the tool to generate favor among the voters has been an old methodology in India. Divisive politics has been constantly into play right from 1984’s Blue Star operation to recent clashes in Rajasthan. Recent verbal warfare accompanied by violent clashes in Maharashtra using regionalism as the framework to capture vote banks is one of the example of divisive politics.

India boasts of a secular state and an amalgamation of diverse cultures but do divisive politicians playing devil in the society portray an India which is a cross-cultural web (one which is sketched by tourism program ‘Incredible India’). Caste based reservations were fabricated in 1947 with an aim to bridge gaps between various strata of society but now has become a tool for divisive politicians to exploit the ignorance.  Indian society which easily absorbed the cultures of kings and colonies who conquered or transgressed in India now detests the differences among itself.  

Poverty and ignorance are the two pillars on which the divisive politics fundamentals stands. Terrorists exploit the society on the basis of religion similarly divisive politicians divide the society exploiting the ignorance and poverty for political mileage. ‘Society Terrorists’ would not be a misnomer for divisive politicians. Divisive politicians today are creating an invisible enemy “Hatred” which would soil the harmony in India.

Weigh the Indian population welfare and the Indian vote bank on politicians’ weigh, you will find vote bank weighing more than welfare. Divisiveness is a huge tree deep rooted in the mindset of Indian population. When this tree will fall it will shake the earth.