But as it often does, reality bit hard, as 2008 brought with it something close to the 'great economic depression'. Its effects will be felt now; now in 2009.
And then there was 26/11. Its become something of a fad to name these brutal days as 7/7, 26/11 so on and so forth. The brutal attacks on our motherland exposed some harsh realities. Our security infrastructure is lackluster. We are not prepared to deal with terrorism. These facts tell the story. India has a single base of its elite NSG at Manesar. The NSG's did not have a craft of their own to get to the situation. When they got to Mumbai after an enormous delay, they travelled to the hostile regions in BEST buses. What does this tell you. A severe lack of basic security infrastructure. Something a 'liberal' country cannot afford these days. Lets face it, terrorism is for real.
To shore up things the defense budget was increased, a new federal investigation agency was setup and extra NSG base creation was taken up. But until these things are completely implemented and running nothing is for certain.
Then came another slap in the face. It was a great movie, and take nothing away from Danny Boyle, he did not show India in bad light. He depicted the slums and the high rises. And the movie did India proud what with Resul and Rehman picking up Oscars. But with its glory it also exposed the scam that is the 2nd fastest growing economy in the world. What good is such growth if there are people struggling for basic needs.
Our basic infrastructure, pertaining to water supply, housing, health care, electricity supply, public transport etc. remains horribly inadequate even in major cities. A country with hundreds of flowing rivers is seeing its farmers die due to lack of irrigation year after year, so much so that we the middle class have gotten used to it. Slums, although being celebrated these days, are growing and are a breeding ground for numerous diseases.
Corruption!! That is something which is fast becoming a part of our culture. Of course its not the police or the politicians that are to take the blame alone. We are part of and as much responsible for this corrupt system as anyone else. All you have to do is observe the traffic at a busy square for a few minutes and you will see our contribution to corruption.
If you get the feeling that I am trying to merely bash the current central government, well that is not so. We have had two governments running the show for 5 years now. I am not going to hyper emotional and say that nothing was achieved in these terms, but a lot more could have been achieved.
These are but a few social evils that plague our society today. There is more information to share and more sectors to touch upon. Now, don't get all worked up reading thus far and call me a pessimist. I totally agree that we have come far. We have done well in some sectors. India's recent performance in the Olympics was something to cheer about. And there are signs that in some areas we are moving in the right direction.
Why I am bringing these issues up now; is because India goes to elections during April-May 2009. The Indian Lok Sabha Elections. Something that has become bit of a mockery in recent times. I know there are quite a few of you out there who are planning on not voting this time around. In India, we have had the tradition of voting for a party and not the candidate. But seeing the hung parliaments of the last few times we can safely say that it would not be a big harm to reconsider this habit.
Its only March 1st. And there is ample time. Find out about the candidates in your region. Things like his/her educational qualification, agenda for development in the region: things like "What are the plans for development of roads, water supply etc". Check if this person has some cases pending against his/her name, if yes do not vote for such a person. Do not vote for anyone above 75 years of age. Such a person does not represent the aspirations of a young country and neither is healthy enough to govern. Do not vote for anyone who has been creating communal disharmony. Do not vote for anyone who hasn't proven his/her political metal and has not done any actual service for the nation.
I will be putting up more information about how to actually go about finding out the background of the candidates in one's constituency as soon as I can do so.
Most important though, do exercise your right to vote. Your vote is crucial for two reasons, it may reduce the chances of bogus voting and more importantly you may help the right person to come to power in your constituency.
These are testing times for our young nation. These are critical elections. Getting the right people to power is in our hands, please please and i reiterate; i implore; please exercise your right to vote.
Thanks. Signing off for the day.
