Voting. Something that I have been looking forward to doing for a long, long time. My first election related memory is me accompanying my father to the polling booth in the 2004 General Election. But my own interest in politics started in the sixth standard and since then I have had an undying interest in it. I have looked forward to the day I get to vote, to participate in democracy. And that day was today. It was a 2 hour long wait, but it was well worth it.
My views and political understanding have radically changed since I was 11 or 12. I look back at that Ananth and I sometimes scoff at how stupid I was. But the truth is that I knew what I knew, and I was exposed to only so much, and only understood so much. Maybe in the future I will look back at this Ananth and scoff at him, too. That doesn’t matter, though. Today, I was able to vote my conscience, I was able to vote for something bigger than a political party To decide on the course of our nation. And that is not a privelege not everyone enjoys.
My single vote by itself might not decide the fate of candidates in my constituency, but I become a part of a process that does so. And my vote – that of a 21 year old student, has the same weight has everyone and anyone else. I have an equal say in the governance that affects me, and now I can proudly claim so. Our republican form of government has huge imperfections and problems, but it is in fact, the best available option we have. Where all citizens have an equal say in the government, in the state.
Vivat et res publica!
चित् 