I keep getting castigated for refusing to cast my vote. And no one buys my theory that there’s no one out there worthy enough of my vote, and the advice is to, at the very least, go for the least of all the evils on display.
Okay, so even if I buy that argument, and forget about my beers and stand in line at some municipal school to exercise my so-called democratic right, there’s still one unresolved problem.
Even after a government gets elected into power, we the citizenry are left to be governed by alternative self-appointment governments, who not just dictate our lives, but call the shots in terms of politics and policies. So then why bother with the election process at all?
The Shiv Sena and its offshoot have already been doing their number on us in Maharashtra. Now some org called Ram Sene has sprung up in Karnataka. The VHP and their sisters have been telling us what to do and what to believe in for years now. They are deciding how we live, what we wear, what we do, etc. And the most sensational issue is the elected governments cannot protect us from these parallel sarkars, either because they can’t or they don’t want to. Which makes me think in the world’s largest democracy, the people actually running the show are those not elected, or not even in the fray! So much for all the moral education on the importance of casting the ballot.
Now, here’s my greater fear: So far these illegal sarkars have been tormenting us on the streets. They have now reached the pubs, multiplexes and offices will surely be next up. And soon, they will want to enter our bedrooms to ensure we live as per their predecided norms. Don’t laugh, this could easily happen. A few years ago people would have laughed at the idea of girls being beaten for hanging out at a pub.
So what’s to be done, since the ‘official’ governments won’t help us? It’s each man and woman for his own. We will need to spend and invest in our own security. Double locks, burglar alarms, etc. I am looking out for firearms these days. They may not be of much help against Mr Kasab, but will help when Mr Mutalik knocks on my door at midnight.
And am deffy not voting as usual. Cos it doesn’t count.
