This article was originally published on 15th December, 2018.
Before I knew it, there I was giving a speech on the importance of democracy, without being free myself. This is the irony of the word democracy. Everyone, free or fettered, talks about it. Little do we know how many actually experience it.
Some may disagree, but democracy is directly linked to our lives. Although, it may have a different meaning for a twelve year old (who has experienced too little of it) and for a fifty year old (who has experienced too much of it).
I remember being in the fourth class, and being asked to either contest for the, then prestigious, post of a monitor; or to vote for our favourite candidate. Before doing the procedure, our teacher told us to deliver a sixty-second speech on how we plan to carry out the duties of a monitor. We did as asked. To my surprise, absolutely no one voted for me. Now I know why. It was because I promised that I’d make sure the class is quiet, whereas my opponent suggested that he’d give everyone the freedom of speech, but, in a systematic way. That was my first experience with the, so-called, procedure of voting and contesting elections.
I also learnt a very important lesson that day. The lesson being; never sacrifice one’s constitutional rights while trying to make one’s life better. This is because people, from very early on, fall in love with the concept of freedom and democracy. Even if they do not know the responsibilities and duties that come with them. I saw many such proceedings, then on. Be it voting for class representatives, grade representatives or, perhaps, the school representatives.
When the time came, for them to allow me to vote for the head girl and the head boy, I felt a responsibility I’d never felt before. That being, I was one of the nine-hundred students, deciding the course of the next one year of our school’s improvement and growth. Little did I know that that pressure I felt upon myself, while being one of the nine hundred voters, is going to get multiplied by a billion while voting for the future ruling party of our nation.
Every student growing up to be a national voter, should keep this responsibility in mind every time they approach the polling booth.
Another thing to remember is that promising to make a difference is different from, actually, making a difference. One should sit and analyse, how realistic the promises are and how achievable they are. It is only then, one should vote.
Throughout the term of the elected representative, the people should keep an eye on their governance. To know whether they made the right decision and if they should change their leader in the upcoming elections.
The bottom line is that democracy, elections and voting are inherited traits and wants in an individual; and it is important that we treat it with the same respect, importance and honesty, as our founding fathers treated it with.