Wasted Sacrifice?

This may be coming at a time out of place but knowing the fact that the British elections are
going on reminded of the fact that I’m 18 I have the right to vote and the elections in India have
passed. Though I’m fairly satisfied with the outcome of the elections, i.e. the strong victory of the
congress, it still leaves me dissatisfied with the political scenario in our country, and honestly a bit
sore.

Our country being a democracy is almost half a joke for the fact that 60% of the voting done in
this country is in the form of a vote bank of sorts, the rural people. It probably is chauvinistic to judge
them for voting for a government that makes their lives easier, yet may lead the country in a whole
backwards. Also I think a lot of you will agree that the dirtiest kind of vote banks that this country has
are the communal ones, where caste and religion, through “oppression” and “injustice”, are merged
with the politics of this country. And the above when put together with the corruption, which is deeply
rooted in our system, makes a hell of grimy mixture that causes not just the country but also the
common man to suffer. 

Recently a thought crossed my mind. Our country does not have the safest borders in the world
and needs constant protection from infiltration by terrorists and militants from our surrounding
nations. There a great amount of strife that goes on there every day and often lives are lost in their line
of duty, The lives of brave soldiers who fight every day to protect the country from any harm, The
lives of valiant sons and husbands, who fight so we at home can be safe, the lives of munificent men
who chose to go out and fight instead of staying in the warmth of their homes, the lives of proud men
for whom patriotism still has a meaning to die for.

It clicked unfair to me the fact that we might actually be taking for granted what they sacrifice
for us in their line of duty. They protect the country from the outside, so we within, can cherish it. But
if we keep following the herd into the tar pit, the Indian democracy has almost become, then why not
recall these soldiers from the borders and let foreign tyrant overrun this place, it is a violent thought,
given, but the tyrant that fill their pockets today at the expense of the common man's, the power
amount of power they have and yet crave astounds me to the extent of wondering as to how far people
can go just to control other lives. And at the end of the day it's all done for the money. The portrayal
of Indian politicians in movies, has to be first mediated by them lest their egos should be hurt, and in
that rage wage a malevolent amount of violence against the movie with the help of their "supporters".

I know all this sounds all holier than thou. It half is, if today I were to say that I want to take up
politics and lead India to a better, changed and more prosperous future, I would be half lying. Half,
because I want to, the other half because I know every good change made for this country will rob a
political portfolio of some sort "income", and that is something they can't stand. So the reason I
wouldn't want to start a clean up in the grime, is because in their rage of loss I would have to pay most
dearly, with my life. Fact: lead change = die, work for corporate job = live but with a conscience
nagging you about you having the ability to do something, and not having done it (damn hypocrite!!
X(  ...)

A few days ago I was watching the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha, not really sure, in th hopes to
see some of the most powerful men in the country sitting together solving he problems we face, but all
that was going on was pleas by representatives of different states standing there and begging for
special rights for the poeple of their state. What a bliming Waste!

Now see I don't say all politicians are bad and that the Indian democracy is all dirty and muck,
only 90% is. There are political figure in India today I look up to and respect for their commitment
and perseverance, my favourite, Mr. Shashi Tharoor. Awesome dude! He write for
the Hindustan Times, was almost UN sec gen, and today after 30 long years in politics still stands to
be one of the cleanest man around. And yet the Indian politicians fail to disappoint. They throw
allegations at him of having gained from mentoring a business deal for the IPL 2011 and helping a
friend and state meet their common interests. All this without considering his record and work ethic.
Ladies and gentlemen, free malice! 

So an open question I send out here is how many things must we sacrifice, to finally understand
that "chalta hai..." chalta nahin hai, That the poor remain poor and the illiterate remain illiterate, over
a battle over seats and power which was supposed to be used to help them, That we are the reason the
entire system is like this and we are the ones with the power to change it and actually do something to
prevent the internal roadblocks preventing India from becoming a force to be reckoned with in the
century ahead of us?