INK IS IN

The ink on your index finger is suddenly IN. Because it IN-dicates that you have exercised your right to vote. Because it shows your IN-clination: you care for the future of this nation. Because it is an assertion of your citizenship – your identity as an IN-dian.

In the elections this time, because of the model code of conduct enforced by the Election Commission, there has a marked absence of posters, pamphlets, wall-paintings, sloganeering; all the loud and colourful accompaniments to the political juggernaut.

Instead, there has been a lot of visibility given to citizen groups and NGOs like Jaago Re, groups of people asking other people to come and vote. Celebrities are urging us to use the finger (not oily-smiley politicians mock-humbly begging for votes with folded hands). The inky finger has become the hottest fashion accessory.

The first round voting turnout was 58-62% - not bad. The rural populace, stoical, suffering, yet upright, has always exercised its franchise. It is the urban upwardly-mobile class that was accused of distancing itself from the democratic duty of voting. The designer sunglasses and the headphones clamped to the ears blocked the sights and sounds of the Real India. Now that the upward mobility has been halted in the tracks somewhat, perhaps there is time to look at the bigger picture.

The picture that includes all of India – the hut and the high-rise, the yuppy and the yokel. We will not be able to change this picture substantially, but, if we vote, we will be able to put our own mark on it.

So, let’s go vote. But let us think before we ink. And let us not forget that voting should be a matter of INFORMED CHOICE. Therein lies the true worth and power of that tiny dot of ink.

REPUBLIC DAY THOUGHT

I've always felt that 15 August is a day when we celebrate our Independence from the shackles of the past, our liberation from servitude to another nation, our freedom from the imperial British bondage.

And 26 January is a day when we celebrate our founding fathers' vision for our future. The Constitution embodies the hopes and dreams of what India should be, it is a blueprint for the future and the building blocks of the present.

And so, on Republic Day, while it is all very well to garland photographs of freedom-fighters and pay homage to past leaders, it is more important to tell our students and children about the significance of our Constitution, so that we can learn and follow about our duties and rights, about how the government and citizens can together build the nation - a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic, each nomenclature lending meaning to and completing the others. It is a time to renew our pledge that in our own small way we will contribute to the making of our nation. We will stand up for justice, we will fight for liberty, ensure equality and foster fraternity. It is a time to affirm, "Yes, we can", and promise, "Yes, we will."