“Mahatma Gandhi had said, "When the panchayat raj is established, public opinion will do what violence can never do."
Everyone kept gaping at Valraj Sahni when he quoted these words of our father of the nation. He was the president of the student council in his college and well understood the importance of voting and that of a good leader. Gram panchayat elections were round the corner and their tattered, underdeveloped village badly needed a strong candidate, who would actually work dedicatedly for the betterment of the commoners. The current sarpanch, Brijesh Kumar, was a wolf in sheep's clothing and Valraj needed to convince his fellowmen to open their eyes and look for a change.
One of his friends stood up and said, "Our handful of votes is not going to make any difference. Whoever has to win, he will only come in power. This entire practice of voting is useless."
Another student contradicted him forcefully, "It's people with your thoughts who don't vote and then bad officials take the chair, the ones that are not even worthy of it."
Valraj added his own comment, "Exactly! Then contestants like Brijesh Kumar win, who are selfish and greedy. They simply think of becoming richer and care a damn about our village or its development. Moreover, as a responsible citizen, if we don't utilise our authority to vote, then we don't have the right to complain and curse the system. After all, we are the ones who are encouraging the dirt in the government to continue to grow."
An uncomfortable silence spread throughout the room and Valraj took a deep sigh. He had no intention of berating his friends, their support was extremely important. Schooling his anxiousness, he calmed himself and began again, more gently this time.
"Friends, we may have our differences of opinion, but I'm certain everybody will concur upon one common element. Don't we all want to reform and ameliorate our village?"
All nodded in agreement. Valraj was encouraged to speak further. "Great! So this time let's give our votes to Ram Singh. He is educated, humble and compassionate. More than anything else, he is selfless without any ulterior motives."
One of the girls raised her hand and enquired, "How do we know Ram Singh is better than Brijesh Kumar?"
Valraj grinned, "Good question."
He turned around and drew two columns on the blackboard, writing both the contenders' names on either side. Facing the audience again, he stated, "Let's list out everything, whatever these two have done for our community so far."
To the astonishment of all present, Ram Singh's litany was bigger and included some noble activities like, he had arranged for books in the local school, made drinking water accessible, helped people make their ration cards, donated to the orphanage, etc. In comparison, Brijesh Kumar's recordings were not only very few, but people also recollected some of his shenanigans which involved police cases.
The crowd gathered was stunned by its own discovery. Scanning the dumbfounded googly gazes of all, Valraj grabbed the opportunity and remarked, "As everyone can see the proof, Brijesh Kumar is all bluff and bluster, meaning, only bol bachchan. Friends, voting is a powerful weapon and each single one of them counts. Let us give the dynamics in the hands of a person who we are sure will articulate the views of the poor and work for the grassroots level."
Not to forget, each one available in the room that day had friends and families. Their thoughts and wishes were spread like wildfire. Therefore, it didn’t come as a surprise when Ram Singh won the elections with an unmatchable margin of votes. Valraj was happy that his village was eventually going to witness a new sunrise!
Shamim Merchant, Mumbai
_______________________
Author's note:
My dear readers,
We live in a democratic country and the biggest advantage is to be able to vote for the type of government we wish to see in power. Every responsible citizen must perform his civic duties, not for anything else, but for his own long term benefits.
_______________________
Shades Of Simplicity
This is my page on Facebook. I request you to please share it with your friends and family. Thank you so much
https://www.facebook.com/Shades-of-Simplicity-104816031686438/
Follow me on instagram
https://instagram.com/shades_of_simplicity?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
