Baby Steps: A Perspective on Voting

If you have ever observed a child in your family or friends’ circle grow up, it may sometimes seem ridiculous when everyone rejoices when he/she stands up for the first time and successfully puts one little foot in front of the other. Of course, this is usually followed by the little one immediately falling to the floor and crawling away. But are you discouraged? Do you think to yourself, “Wow, just one small step? She is never going to walk! How will she ever run?” Needless to say, most of us are aware that walking, let alone running, is a process – a skill that is developed one baby-step at a time.

Recently, the Karnataka State Government announced that the first phase of elections will begin to take place on the 10^th of May. In Bangalore, political parties are in frenzy, scrambling to announce the candidates who will run on their party ticket, while drafting and redrafting lists for various constituencies. Rallies seem to be taking place around every other street corner, as are dramatic displays of anger and enthusiasm. You might be absorbed in the excitement of it all or bothered by it. But simply said, it is election time and the question of the hour is not who you will vote for but if you will vote at all. Are you even registered to vote? And what is the point of voting anyhow?

In a conversation I had last week, a good friend candidly expressed, “Why even bother to get a voters ID? You are forced to take off from work, stand in queues for several hours, and after all that, you are still not guaranteed that your name will be entered in the lists correctly, or at all! And even if I could vote, who is there to vote for? Government officials, politicians, they are all thieves!”

Just one peek into the existing state of political exhibition around the city is enough to render the most idealist among us hopeless. In fact, my friend did not even list a fraction of the reasons why an urban citizen has no business at a polling booth or in a queue to register her name for a voter’s ID: the voters’ lists in Karnataka have an appalling error rate, polling booth crimes are rampant, bribery is second-nature to political party candidates, and poverty is exploited –these are all serious issues which make the act of voting seem unnecessary, even pointless. What use is it to vote? Will such a small action count for anything?

At this point you may be wondering, “What do baby steps have anything to do with elections and whether or not I have my voter’s ID?”

It is often difficult to look forward to a brighter future without understanding the past. Take a minute and pretend that the country is that child you are watching grow. It is an infant in diapers born on the 15^th of August, 1947. Already proficient in crawling, on the 26^th of January, 1950 she mustered up the courage to stand and take her first step. And then, lo and behold, she plopped back to the ground. You might laugh at this image of a nation in diapers, but really many of us forget that that is what India is – a nation in diapers. Naturally, it was not born running.

On the 26^th of January, 1950, the Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic of India produced one of the most comprehensive, inclusive and progressive constitutions the world had since seen. It was an extraordinary time in history where laws and provisions were set out to assure that India did in fact live up to its ideals. The Constitution of India incorporates some of the best aspects of a liberal democracy including individual rights, social justice, respect for diversity and minority rights, secularism, universal franchise, and federalism. As the constitutional scholar Granville Austin asserts, probably no other nation’s constitution “has provided so much impetus toward changing and rebuilding society for the common good.” As momentous an event as it was, the formation and implementation of the Constitution of India was in fact a baby-step.

To become a nation, up and running, it was evident that the success of the newly founded country would be highly dependent on the active participation of its people and the generations to follow. In his “Dawn of Independence” speech, Jawaharlal Nehru declared, “Freedom and power bring responsibility… We have hard work ahead. There is no resting for any one of us till we redeem our pledge in full, till we make all the people of India what destiny intended them to be.” A parent to the newborn nation, Nehru was in fact saying is “Little one, I am very proud of your first steps. Good job. But do not sit back down, get up and take another – one day you shall run.”

Let us fast forward once again to the elections taking place in Karnataka scheduled to begin on the 10^th of May. You may take one look at the chaotic nature of politics and want nothing to do with such a governing mechanism. But how can one be so harsh to a child? Yes, there are many instances of corruption, thievery, and unfulfilled promises, but does that warrant that the entire system be ignored? Does that mean we wipe our hands clean of participating in the growth of the nation on account that it is not as successful as we think it should be? If a baby were to fall back on the ground after taking its first steps, is it okay for a parent to abandon it and lose complete faith in it ever taking another?

By definition, the act of citizen participation is vital to the health of a Democratic Republic such as India. Whether it is by participating in activities to improve your locality or the “simple” act of voting – these are all duties which must be performed regularly in order to ensure that the vision with which India was founded is in fact fulfilled. Cast aside your cynicism for a moment and take a baby step. Come Election Day, do not shy away from participating in the political process. And as you are standing in queue for hours to wait your turn to vote or obtain your voter’s ID, remember that you too are fighting a battle to ensure that democracy prevails in an infant nation; you too are taking a step to reform a country which belongs to you - a baby step but a momentous one nonetheless. Who knows, as the years progress and with enough determination, India as an adult may be fit to become an Olympic sprinter.

I leave you with the wise words of Pundit Nehru, “To the people of India, whose representatives we are, we make an appeal to join us with faith and confidence in this great adventure. This is no time for petty and destructive criticism, no time for ill-will or blaming others. We have to build the noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell.”

- Fatima Alloo, Indicorps Fellow 2007-2008