The first phase of assembly elections in Assam begins today for 62 out of 126 constituencies and I am proud to announce that today I had the opportunity to vote or put it in other words exercised my right to vote today for the first time. Now that i can see the mark on my finger, I can't help thinking of this incident as a significant rite of passage and a lesson in humility and a bit of megalomania. I know the combination of the two seems like opposite ends of the spectrum but thats just how it was. The time stipulated for casting our votes today was from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. Being the lazy citizen that I am, i slept till 8:45 am. And I am the future of this great country, so god help us. Apart from that I reached the polling booth at about 9:00 am with my father. Our polling booth was the Jorhat Law college Campus, befitting of the occasion was the location in a sense. There I was standing at the voting Centre Number 27 waiting eagerly to get my shot at writing the destiny of our country, and forming a favoured government with all my fellow Jorhatians. I know it sounds a lot more grand than what it was. So I was basically waiting alone in the line to cast my vote underneath a surprisingly blazing sun (it had been pouring for a few days). I was alone because my father dropped me off at the polling booth and went back home to get my mother (two trips because he was using the bike). To me in those moments of absolutely awkward solitude the blazing sun shining down at us seemed like a sign from the high heavens that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Finally both my parents arrived and it turned out the I was supposed to cast my vote at the number 21 voting centre not 27. What else out from this line and into the other. Thankfully both were in the Law college premises. Finally I did see the light at the end of my tunnel(the line), in my case which was getting inside the voting centre, getting the ink on my finger, pressing that blue button of the EVM and hearing that long beep. The moment wasn't grandiose at all, I kept fumbling the whole time through my pocket to get my Identity proof out, the ink went in my nail crevices and it looks quite dirty now and i almost ran out after the beep as the beep happened to be really long one and I thought I broke the machine. Only outside did I realise what I had done, more correctly what I had participated in. I had just taken part in feeding the machinery of the World's largest democracy. Many people regard the condition of this country as an unlivable slum, but today I know that i am not alone in this mess, there are just so many with me... that the key to opening this "chicken coop" ( the term chicken coop is adopted from the novel The White Tiger authored by Arvind Adiga) lies within ourselves. And how lightly do we take this right to vote right now seems like a crime to me, we have the right we have the means, its about time the absolute power rests where it belongs, with us the people.
If any Indian citizen reads this blog then please don't throw your rights away. 67% votes were cast in the first phase of the assembly elections in Assam. So people with children, if you may or can, take them out with you to see what an election or voting is all about . As a child I remember accompanying my parents to the polling booths and after they had cast their votes it was almost ritualistically that I would hop on my father's bike and both of us would go around to see what all was happening at other centres, and till this day the ritual is intact. Let the future of the country understand what it takes to remain as the world's largest democracy. On a patriotic note this time, JAI HIND
http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/First-phase-of-assembly-polls-begins-in-Assam/3632885564
http://search.indiatimes.com/websearch.cms?type=0
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