Why I did not vote!
"Why I did not vote!". I pose it as a sentence in blatant violation of English language principles. Because if it is posed as a question, people will give all arbitrary and nonsensical (sic) answers. However if it is left as a sentence, then it might help them think about the situation arising out of it and may be won't repeat this blunder next time. Because, I feel that it is of no use to pose the question that leads to all types of thoughtless answers, thus serving no purpose.
You may ask, how did I conclude about the futility of that question. It is based on some of the interviews I had in last few days (leading to the voting at Bangalore). I present a few of them for your consumption.
On voting day Case 1:
Interviewer is Yours truly.
Interviewee is a professor at a highly respected educational institution.
Interviewer: Hi. Have you voted today?
Interviewee: No, I could not. I do not have the voter id card.
Interviewer: Oh, that's not required. You can still vote without that.
Interviewee: Oh, really? Can I?
Interviewer: Yes, you can. Provided you are a registered voter.
Interviewee: Oh, okay. I have not registered here.
Interviewer: But you have been in Bangalore for quite a long time, right?
Interviewee: Yes, but... I feel that it is better not to vote, when I don't know anything about the candidates, as I will be wasting my vote!
Interviewer: Yes, and all the information about the candidates is available on many places, including internet. If you don't know about the candidates then it is your fault.
Interviewee: Yes, it is my fault. But... I do not know what the existing candidates did all through out the five years. What is the use of voting when I vote without knowing their history?
Interviewer: Yes, even that information has been made available. And it is your duty to find out the history of the candidates.
Interviewee: Hm... Oh, is it... Do you really think my single vote is of any use?
Interviewer: (Gave up, after hearing it from a highly educated person.)
On Voting day (case 2)
Interviewer: Yours truly.
Interviewee: A neighbor.
Interviewer: Hi, did you vote today?
Interviewee: No, I could not. I am registered in Mumbai and not here.
Interviewer: Oh, you could have registered here.
Interviewee: Yes, but you know how hard is it to get registered.
Interviewer: Did you submit the application and not have your name in the list?
Interviewee: Well, I did not even try. I know things don't work.
Interviewer: (Gave up).
Prior to voting day (case 3)
Interviewer: Yours truly.
Interviewee: A colleague.
Interviewer: Hi. Did you get yourself registered?
Interviewee: No.. I could not. Did not get time.
Interviewer: Why? You should have tried. You have been here for quite long.
Interviewee: Well, it is just too hard to get yourself registered.
Interviewer: Did you know that all you need to do is to fill a simple form and and submit?
Interviewee: Oh.. Actually, I will be here in Bangalore only for a couple of years and why bother about registering here. Further, things don't work easily.
Interviewer: (Gave up)
In all these cases, I felt that people making general excuses just to escape the question. Sometimes they don't even feel the remorse for not voting. I agree that there are many genuine cases, (e.g. who tried a lot and still did not get their names registered, or recently moved, .... ). But to me what hurts me is the complete apathy towards voting and complete lack of responsibility towards casting their vote. Further, they don't mind complaining about "the system"!
Talking about voting, let me add as a side note how things are going in some parts of Bangalore. I live in a rural area of Bangalore. I went to buy milk in the morning (like every other day) and there lot of not-too-posh people were crowding couple of desks. I found out that, they were there to check if their names are there in the voter list. Felt proud that not-so-posh people have lot of enthusiasm to vote. These desks are manned by different political parties who set up their desk near the polling booths so that they can help people identify their booth number etc. A bit of prodding and I found that people take a note from the desks and get cash/kind from different places. If you have five slips (corresponding to five voters in your home), you get 5 X amount of cash/kind, where X is the amount fixed by that political party/candidate. Felt a bit disappointed, came back home. Was talking to our maid and asked her how much money is she making. She made a more interesting observation: People from her colony go to each party, take money from all, and vote whomever they want! I thought, wow! That's super cool. In a way, this is also an awakening. People are catching the bluff of all these candidates in a nice way and making money on the way.
Is it the "Jagrata Bharata" our forefathers had dreamt off? Are we going in the right direction? Not sure. May be... May be not....
Anyways, in case you are one of those who did not vote, here is a sentence to chew upon "Why I did not vote!".
You may ask, how did I conclude about the futility of that question. It is based on some of the interviews I had in last few days (leading to the voting at Bangalore). I present a few of them for your consumption.
On voting day Case 1:
Interviewer is Yours truly.
Interviewee is a professor at a highly respected educational institution.
Interviewer: Hi. Have you voted today?
Interviewee: No, I could not. I do not have the voter id card.
Interviewer: Oh, that's not required. You can still vote without that.
Interviewee: Oh, really? Can I?
Interviewer: Yes, you can. Provided you are a registered voter.
Interviewee: Oh, okay. I have not registered here.
Interviewer: But you have been in Bangalore for quite a long time, right?
Interviewee: Yes, but... I feel that it is better not to vote, when I don't know anything about the candidates, as I will be wasting my vote!
Interviewer: Yes, and all the information about the candidates is available on many places, including internet. If you don't know about the candidates then it is your fault.
Interviewee: Yes, it is my fault. But... I do not know what the existing candidates did all through out the five years. What is the use of voting when I vote without knowing their history?
Interviewer: Yes, even that information has been made available. And it is your duty to find out the history of the candidates.
Interviewee: Hm... Oh, is it... Do you really think my single vote is of any use?
Interviewer: (Gave up, after hearing it from a highly educated person.)
On Voting day (case 2)
Interviewer: Yours truly.
Interviewee: A neighbor.
Interviewer: Hi, did you vote today?
Interviewee: No, I could not. I am registered in Mumbai and not here.
Interviewer: Oh, you could have registered here.
Interviewee: Yes, but you know how hard is it to get registered.
Interviewer: Did you submit the application and not have your name in the list?
Interviewee: Well, I did not even try. I know things don't work.
Interviewer: (Gave up).
Prior to voting day (case 3)
Interviewer: Yours truly.
Interviewee: A colleague.
Interviewer: Hi. Did you get yourself registered?
Interviewee: No.. I could not. Did not get time.
Interviewer: Why? You should have tried. You have been here for quite long.
Interviewee: Well, it is just too hard to get yourself registered.
Interviewer: Did you know that all you need to do is to fill a simple form and and submit?
Interviewee: Oh.. Actually, I will be here in Bangalore only for a couple of years and why bother about registering here. Further, things don't work easily.
Interviewer: (Gave up)
In all these cases, I felt that people making general excuses just to escape the question. Sometimes they don't even feel the remorse for not voting. I agree that there are many genuine cases, (e.g. who tried a lot and still did not get their names registered, or recently moved, .... ). But to me what hurts me is the complete apathy towards voting and complete lack of responsibility towards casting their vote. Further, they don't mind complaining about "the system"!
Talking about voting, let me add as a side note how things are going in some parts of Bangalore. I live in a rural area of Bangalore. I went to buy milk in the morning (like every other day) and there lot of not-too-posh people were crowding couple of desks. I found out that, they were there to check if their names are there in the voter list. Felt proud that not-so-posh people have lot of enthusiasm to vote. These desks are manned by different political parties who set up their desk near the polling booths so that they can help people identify their booth number etc. A bit of prodding and I found that people take a note from the desks and get cash/kind from different places. If you have five slips (corresponding to five voters in your home), you get 5 X amount of cash/kind, where X is the amount fixed by that political party/candidate. Felt a bit disappointed, came back home. Was talking to our maid and asked her how much money is she making. She made a more interesting observation: People from her colony go to each party, take money from all, and vote whomever they want! I thought, wow! That's super cool. In a way, this is also an awakening. People are catching the bluff of all these candidates in a nice way and making money on the way.
Is it the "Jagrata Bharata" our forefathers had dreamt off? Are we going in the right direction? Not sure. May be... May be not....
Anyways, in case you are one of those who did not vote, here is a sentence to chew upon "Why I did not vote!".
posted by N V Krishna at 11:49 AM
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